Virtual Classroom

From WikEd

Revision as of 19:59, 9 May 2006

Definitions, Description, Synonyms

Definitions

Cyber Media Creations defines the virtual classroom as "A simulated classroom that allows students to interact using software such as live chat, forums, desktop sharing etc."

The report The Quality and Extent of Online Education in the United States, 2003 and 2004 defines online learning as having 80% of its course content delivered online. It also defines the blended or hybrid course where 30% to 80% of the course is delivered online.

Description

The virtual classroom is located in your living room and may be accessed 24/7. The student typically needs only basic software to access their online course and is expected to have a high speed internet connection. The online course provider typically provides any additional software needed to participate in the class. The software providing the classroom experience is hosted by the provider and is known as Course Management System software.

Software

The components that make up a virtual classroom or online learning experience are found in Course Management System software. These components typically include:

• Delivery of lecture or course material
• Place for students to interact with each other or make online presentations
• Post homework assignments
• Take quizzes or tests
• View Grades
• Communicate with the instructor or other online students

Many of the software CMS are available at no cost to the user. Not all examples below are Course Management Systems. Some such as WebEx provides an online real-time training experience without the other features such as grade, assignments etc. Examples of software packages available to deliver online training or the virtual classroom are:

Moodle - free open source classroom management software offering chats, grades, posting of syllabus and assignments and more. Moodle Home Page

Manhattan - UNIX based virtual classroom software written entirely in C language delivering features such as assignments, lectures, surveys, chats, grades and more. This package is available free. Manhattan Home Page

Blackboard - The Blackboard Learning System™ is a course management system with capabilities in three key areas: Instruction, Communication and Assessment. Blackboard Home Page

WebEx - an application and conferencing service that is widely used for presentations, demos, training and support. This not a free package Webex Home Page

Elluminate - is a real-time virtual classroom environment designed for distance education and collaboration in academic institutions. Elluminate Home Page

SAKAI - The Sakai Project is a community source software development effort to design, build and deploy a new Collaboration and Learning Environment (CLE) for higher education. SAKAI Project

Hardware

There are hardware requirements for participation in online learning. Each school or provider will specify what is needed in their course registration documentation.

Typical Hardware requirements would be:

• Power Macintosh (G4, G5) or IBM compatible Pentium 3 or equivalent
• Minimum 256MB of memory (more is better)
• CD-ROM drive
• Mac OS X -OR- Windows 2000 or Windows XP.
• cable modem, DSL connection, LAN, or other high-speed network
• Internet provider for home access

Other hardware may be required specific to the course being taken such as a headset and microphone.

Synonyms

Online learning, eLearning, Distance Learning, Cyber School are all synonyms for the virtual classroom.

Applications in Education

The virtual classroom or distance learning can be found both in secondary school and the college/university level. Secondary school typically supports online classes for the grades nine through 12 although more offering are being made available for grades six through eight. In the college arena the highest number of online learners are pursuing Associates degree followed by Master/Doctoral Research.

Rapid growth in the offering and participation in online learning has been realized each year since the first offerings. The expected growth of students taking online course is 25% for the 2005 academic year. It is also interesting to note that for most institutions, their expected growth in online enrollment far exceeds their brick and mortar student enrollment growth. The majority of providers over 90% consider online learning to be a critical component of their future planning.

Student satisfaction with online courses versus the face to face experience is a concern for providers. Studies show that 41% of students are satisfied with the online experience relative to the face to face experience. This level of satisfaction increases proportionately with the size of the institution providing the online course.

Evidence of Effectiveness

A study was conducted in the Fall of 1996 at the California State University, Northridge. In this study students studying sociology were divided on the first day of class into two groups; online students and traditional classroom students. A pretest was administered to highlight any demographic differences between the two groups. Then the results of the Midterm and Final were compared. In both cases, the midterm and final exams, the online students scored higher than the traditional classroom students, twenty points higher to be specific. The author of this research did note that the online students expressed frustration stemming from the inability to ask questions of the professor and as such study groups formed to replace the interaction with the professor. This formation of study groups or collaborative learning model could be sited for the higher scores of the online students. It should also be noted the online students must be motivated and organized to get the work done, they are often self directed learners.

To read more about this study go to Virtual Teaching in Higher Education

Another article published in The Technology Source, May/June 2003 by Mark Kassop expressed a very positive view of the online educational experience by sighting ten ways that online education matches or surpasses the face-to-face model. The ten ways sited in this article are:

1. Student Centered Learning
2. Writing Intensity
3. Highly Interactive Discussions
4. Geared to Life Long Learning
5. Enriched Course Materials
6. On-demand Interaction and Support Services
7. Immediate Feedback
8. Flexibility
9. Intimate Community of Learners
10. Faculty Development and Rejuvenation

For more details see Ten Ways Online Education Matches or Surpasses F2F Learning

Critics and Their Rationale

Critics sight several concerns regarding the development and delivery of online learning:

1. Faculty time commitment - online learning requires more time on the part of faculty to administer. Online students have expectations of 24/7 communication with their instructor.
2. Sense of Community - the distance learning model can hinder the student's development of a sense of social connectedness.
3. Faculty does not necessarily have the technical knowledge needed to effectively develop and deliver an online course. Staff development must target this need.
4. Availability of the technology. Reliability of the hardware and software must be ensured.
5. Evaluation of quality - both course content and delivery. There remain concerns that there is no reliable way to measure this element of online learning.

Personal Testimonies

I have had the opportunity to use three different forms of the virtual classroom. Blackboard was used for my first distance learning experience. It provided us with a view of our syllabus and grade, course lectures and tests. We also posted our assignment to our professor using the blackboard. The next distance learning experience was with WebEx. This was a six week online real time class taken two hours a day, three times a week. The WebEx tool was used for applications sharing and testing. Lastly as part of CTER I have used Moodle and Elluminate. Moodle provides the course syllabus, grades and forums for posting assignments and replying to assignments and more. Elluminate was used as the application sharing software for live lectures with both video and audio. By the way - my virtual classroom is located at home using my home computer. This gives me the freedom to do my course work anytime I have a free moment. If this method for participating in continuing learning opportunities did not exist - I would not have been able to pursue additional certifications and degrees. ~BSmall

As all teachers do, I continually am looking for graduate level courses to expand my teaching and subject knowledge and help me to use different methods for my wide variety of students. Because of many extracurricular commitments, finding a class that would be beneficial and meets at a convenient time is becoming next to impossible. Five years ago I discovered my first online course and my education has never been the same. During this time I have become a grizzled veteran of virtual classrooms. I have used many different modes of online courses including Blackboard and Moodle. Each of these has their faults and benefits and each is relatively easy to use, but the ability to access the class whenever I wanted, no hard copies of reports to turn in and the ability to get to know fellow teachers and students from around the world were just three of the many reasons I have enjoyed the virtual classroom and 3 of the many reasons I might not take a regular class for some time. Brad Frey - Johnsburg High School

References and Other Links

ECAR Study of Students and IT 2005

2006 Horizon Report

Hitchhikers Guide to Course Development

Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks

Guide to Online Schools

Distance Learning Home Page

Virtual High School

Keeping Pace with K-12 online Learning