Abstract:

The aim of this study is to determine the opinions of prospective teachers about their professional competencies in using Web 2.0 tools in education. For this purpose, quantitative and qualitative methods were used in the study. The prospective teachers' views were analyzed quantitatively through the many-facet Rasch model. On the other hand, in the qualitative context, data were analyzed by content analysis via MAXQDA-11 package program. The study group of the research consists of 18 prospective teachers studying at a state university in the Southeast Anatolia region of Turkey in the spring semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. According to the Rasch measurement model, there are three facets of the study, the first of which consists of 18 prospective teachers as judges, the second one of eight Web 2.0 tools, and the third one of 13 items developed for these tools. The study used the "Web 2.0 Tools Evaluation Form" developed by the researchers based on experts’ opinions as the data collection tool for quantitative data. Also, an interview form with open-ended questions was used for qualitative data collection. Rasch analysis revealed that WhatsApp and Storyjumper tools had the highest quality, while Aurasma, Z-Book, and Edmodo had the lowest quality among the eight Web 2.0 tools. In the qualitative dimension, Web 2.0 tools were found to have a positive impact on the development of teachers' professional competencies and to facilitate sustained learning by making visual content-enriched lessons fun, fluid, and understandable. However, the use of Web 2.0 tools has also been shown to pose issues, such as problems accessing the internet and technology, technology addiction, inability to create appropriate presentations with limited content, isolation rather than a social environment and negative effects on some mental and physical abilities. It can be suggested that such problems should be eliminated so that Web 2.0 tools can be used effectively in education. It is expected that the research results will guide the further studies and applications on this topic and make important contributions to this field.

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