8th Grade Students' Opinions on 3D Virtual Laboratory Applications

Abstract

Experimental applications in science education make learning more meaningful, and learning without experimenting cannot be fully absorbed. However, increasing costs, time constraints and risk factors that may occur during the application make hand-made experiment activities difficult. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the 3D virtual laboratory application prepared for science education on students, unlike traditional plain lecture teaching, and to reveal the opinions of students who are taught with the application. In this context, the research was conducted on 5 8th grade students in Konya province in the 2021-2022 academic year with the 3D virtual laboratory application prepared for the science unit "Matter and Industry". After the research, a semi-structured interview was conducted in which open-ended questions were asked to the students about the applications and the process, and the students' verbal opinions were taken. During the interview, student conversations were recorded on the computer and then transcribed and examined. As a result of the interviews with the students, it was seen that the effects of 3D virtual laboratory applications on students were very positive. In addition, considering cost, time and risk factors, it can be suggested that virtual laboratory applications may be preferred to handmade activities.