Improving the competence of junior high school teachers in using PhET virtual lab media to support online learning

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to online learning. In science lessons there is material that requires practicum so that students better understand the concept. In this case, the teacher has difficulty in overcoming the practicum. In fact, technology has provided a virtual science laboratory called PhET. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to provide information and training on PhET as a virtual lab that can be used during online learning to teachers. This research includes community service research with the targets being teachers at SMPN 16 Malang. The stages are carried out starting from analysis, activity design, training and evaluation. The results of the activity showed that teachers were enthusiastic about the course of the training as indicated by the number of teachers who asked questions and the teacher’s PhET development task. The results of the activity evaluation show that teachers are happy with the training because it can improve their competence and skills in teaching during the online learning period. It is hoped that further training of other learning media for teachers can be held.