Virtual Classroom

Asma AL-Amri Tamadher AL-Za'abi

u054767 u063225

Definition:
Virtual classrooms are complete programs of learning .They
consist of a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous events. They are
special application of computer and network technologies to the task of
education. Virtual is something whose existence is
simulated with software. Actually, they are considered as teaching and
learning environment located within a computer-mediated
communication system. All activities and interactions take place
through the computer instead of face-to-face. Virtual education refers to
instruction in a learning environment where teacher and student are
separated by time or space, or both, and the teacher provides course
content through course management applications, multimedia resources,
the Internet, videoconferencing, etc. Students receive the content and
communicate with the teacher via the same technologies.
Virtual classrooms may involve three overlapping scopes of
interaction technologies: VC courses, meetings and presentations.
Among the synchronous events are online meetings, which may include
online presentations.
Objectives for using the virtual classroom in DE

Technology serves to facilitate teacher/student and

student/student interaction at a distance.Virtual classroom enrich
interactive communication through integrated voice, video, and data.In
addition,he Web plays a supporting role in this environment. For that,
Virtual classroom can be used in DE due to it's technological capabilities
and features as just as DE is.Also,usually refer to the fact that the
students are at a distance, but the greatest benefits is to be able to use
teachers at a distance. Contact and interaction with the instructor was
the primary contributor to student satisfaction at a distance. A virtual
program (or a virtual course of studies) is a study program in which all
courses or at least a significant portion of the courses are virtual courses.

If someone wonders why we craete virtual classroom? What is the

need of using vitual classroom? We can convence him/her by providing
some advantages of using such class. Using vertual classrooms enables the
instructor to adapt learning to learners. Moreover, virtual classrooms
provide the community and discipline some learners need. In addition,
classroom learning is familiar and proven. Furthermore, learning is
flexible and active.

Features/advantages and limitations of the Virtual classroom.

Virtual courses are delivered on the Internet. "Virtual" is used here

to characterize the fact that the course is not taught in a classroom face-
to-face but through some substitute mode that can be associated with
classroom teaching. Virtual classrooms provide the community and
control some learners need. In the virtual class, learning is familiar and
proven. It has Flexible time: students may participate at
any time of the day... (Learning is flexible), Economical, Efficient
learning, Location: students are not limited to courses offered in their
geographic locality. (Overcome distances) and it is more active learning:
the computer forces response and attention.
 In the other hand, virtual classroom has some limitations such: it’s
a limited offering that means the choice of courses is limited at present.
In addition, there is a problem of equipment requirements: students
who do not have a computer will have to travel to use the necessary
equipment. Moreover, the feedback may be delayed hours until a
question is answered by the teacher.

Researchers and distance students' concerns about virtual classroom

There are many concerns raised by researchers and distance tutors

of Virtual classrooms. These concerns could be divided to different levels
and sides as following:
Instructor should consider the following:Select a qualified
instructor, Provide complete instruction, Simplify tasks for learners
(Keep the class small, offer a textbook and respond promptly and
reliably),Manage teams (Decide whether you want teams and manage
collaborative activities), Deal with problem learners which are like Give
fair warning, Deal with bad behaviours, Handle with common problems
such as (Sloppiness, Plagiarism, Copyright violations, Latecomers,
Flaming, and Dominating).In addition, it must enable interpersonal
communication, Pick tools to suit learners: (Such as: Language fluency,
Accents, Typing skills, Technical expertise).Consider the speed of
learners’ network connections, so, you have to layer learning activities:
 When creating a virtual classroom, you have to think about who
will use it and how they will use it? Is it wholly online or a supplement?
Is it available for all the Internet users or only to those enrolled in the
course? What is necessary in use of a virtual classroom?

Wimba Classroom, an example of a virtual classroom through the

internet and how does it used to deliver and support DE

Wimba is a company focused solely on education and dedicated to

the principle that people learn more when they are drawn closer together
.In fact Wimba Company provides us with a collection of collaborative
suite that support people to teach others at a distance interactively. The
suite contains of Wimba Classroom , Wimba Create, Wimba Pronto and
Wimba Voice.
Wimba Classroom is one example of virtual classrooms available
through the internet. Wimba classroom supports two way
communications between learner-instructor and between peers.
Moreover, student-content interaction and student-media interaction are
also supported. During the live class instructors can use audio tools, chat
boards and web cam to talk, explain and see students as well as learners
can. Audio tools available at Wimba Classroom enable the instructor and
learners to speak, listen and collaborate together without being tied to a
computer. That is because phone simulcast tool allows anyone to join the
class via cell phone, or landline while travelling not to miss the class.
Wimba Classroom provides instructors and learners with some services
that make them to feel as they are studying in a face-to-face classroom.
Application sharing enables them to share the whole or part of their
desktops with others in the class. Another service is the electronic board
and its interactive tools where the instructors can use those tools to
explain different contents and to make some annotations while
presenting the content. Instructors and students can use breakout rooms
for private chat. Instructors at a distance can insure learners
understanding by asking them immediate questions during the class and
provide them with immediate feedback or by using Polls, Quizzes &
Surveys.
 Beyond the synchronous virtual class, any course at a distance
requires pre-development before the class time. Wimba create course
Genie enables anyone who can use Microsoft Word to easily create, edit,
and maintain robust online courses. Moreover, instructors do not need
to change their learning management system (LMS) that they usually use
such as Moodle, Blackboard, Angle or WebCT. In few clicks instructors
can integrate Wimba Classroom into their regular LMS.

As learners learn in their own at a distance; they always need a

kind of support whether academic support or technical support. Wimba
Pronto allows students to contact their instructors, administrators,
academic advisors and others to get any support that help them in their
learning. Moreover, Wimba Pronto includes unique features to
specifically benefit students, teachers, and educational institutions
including instant access to campus services, queued chat for tutoring and
office hours, blended audio and video conferencing, instant school-wide
notifications. Thus, this service with all its communication capabilities
extends the boundaries of the live classroom, enabling learning to take
place anytime, anywhere. Students can stay connected and continue to
build relationships while expanding their learning within a social
context.
 Another service that supports live discussion between students and
teachers is Wimba voice. With Wimba voice teachers can encourage on-
going discussions and debates about different subjects and ideas and
students can learn all aspects of a language through listening, speaking,
and writing exercises. In addition, Students and instructors can send
vocal email messages to anyone, and recipients simply reply by sending
their own voice email. Wimba voice offers a threaded voice boards where
students can Speak and read a language at the same time.

References:

1. Education Queensland. (2008). "Virtual Classroom:

What is a virtual classroom?" Available at:
http://education.qld.gov.au/learningplace/onlinelearni
ng/virtual-classroom.html
2. Murray Turoff. (1995)." Designing a Virtual Classroom".
Available at:
http://web.njit.edu/~turoff/Papers/DesigningVirtualC
lassroom.html

3. Prof Cronje. (1998). "Why a virtual classroom?

Definition of a virtual classroom". Available at:
http://www.und.ac.za/users/clarke/rto/vt
2.html

4. Wimba. www.wimba.com