Thanks For Reading

Thank you to those who have been reading this blog week by week and have enjoyed it. I hope that in the end the blog gave you some things to think about and taught you some new and insightful things about the virtual classroom.

My Personal Experience with Virtual Classrooms

Throughout my school career, including college, high school, and even middle and elementary school, I have personally been exposed to the virtual classroom in some form throughout my developmental years.

In elementary and middle school this came in the form of the Advanced Reading (AR) tests that comprised an entire curriculum for me for four years. The AR program was a simpler version of what I have now in that it did not offer any interaction with teachers and other students or get feedback on my work from professors. Instead the AR program was a simple test that I was periodically required to take on a computer in my school’s computer lab. The test questions would be about a book that I had recently read and the grade I would get would be based on how many points I would get on all of the tests (which was based on the difficulty of the book and how many questions I got right) out of the preset goal that the teacher’s decided I had to reach for a school quarter.

After I graduated middle school I wasn’t exposed to virtual school again until my junior year of high school in which I took a Florida Virtual School (FLVS) class that is more typical of a current virtual classroom. I had an instructor who consistently gave me feedback on my course work and would even schedule a few phone calls with me and the rest of her students to discuss the course, how we where doing, and what was expected of us for the rest of the course. In high school this was a great way to get the extra credit I needed to graduate without any scheduling conflicts with my other face to face classes.

After high school in my sophomore year of college I started taking online classes again, primarily in communications courses. I have taken three online classes and one of them I am currently taking. In college these are especially convenient because they don’t clutter up my already hectic school schedule and job. The flexibility of the virtual classroom gives me plenty of opportunities to work on my own and build time management skills as well as the skills I was learning from the class.

Overall, my personal experience with the virtual classroom has been an overall positive one and I am more of a proponent of it because it has worked well for me an my inflexibility when it comes to schedules.

Pros and Cons of Virtual Classrooms

Naturally, when a new type of technology is released it has some potential benefits but also usually has quite a few bugs that need to be sorted out. Even after years of a technology being on the market it can still have its flaws. In the case of virtual classrooms there are many good and bad aspects that can be found in the system if it is sought after thoroughly enough.

Firstly, lets talk about all the good that comes from virtual classrooms. One of the more obvious advantages to the virtual classroom is what I had discussed in the previous post and that is that anyone with a computer and some wi-fi can access a virtual classroom at any time. That means students with busy lives can easily work at their own pace on their own schedule and still be able to interact with their fellow students and professors.

This ready classroom access also assists the teachers in the class, which in turn assists the students. Professors can use the virtual classroom to interact with students any time they wish, given that they have access to a computer (Hiltz 433). By being able to readily interact with students, professors can provide feedback to students more easily and thus more often so then a student will be given feedback on their week multiple times a week whereas a traditional classroom setting would only yield feedback once a week or even less (Hiltz 433).

Another positive aspect of the online classroom is that it forces students to more independently develop the skills the courses are striving to teach (Hiltz 433). I think this is a positive aspect of the virtual classroom because it allows students to develop the skill of on their own learning that can be applied outside the classroom setting to develop almost any skills whether it is for a job or for personal betterment.

One of the main issues that virtual classrooms can yield is that it is still a developing concept. This means, while many students will adapt to the concept pretty easily others might have issues going through the transition between the regular classroom environment and the virtual environment, which could end up being a hindrance rather than a n enhancement (Grenier-Winther 253-256).

All in all, virtual environments can be either beneficial or dyer or both depending the personality that’s using it. Since it’s still a developing software there are still kinks to figure out but overall it seems to be primarily beneficial to the modern student. 

Sources:

Grenier-Winther, Joan. "Real Issues in the Virtual Classroom." The French Review 73.2 (1999):                   252-64. Web.

Hiltz, Starr Roxanne, and Meinke Robert. "Teaching Sociology in a Virtual Classroom." Teaching

         Sociology 17.4 (1989): 431-46. Web.

What is a Virtual Classroom

The virtual classroom is a technology that can effectively be used as a teaching tool for students. The Virtual classroom allows students to fully access all the materials they require for a class online so that they do not need to attend scheduled classes (Hiltz 431). This is made possible through the use of a cyber environment that can be accessed by both students and teachers with the use of a computer (Hiltz 431). The Virtual Classroom is a registered online system that links multiple computers together for the purposes of learning and teaching alike (Hiltz 431).

In order for a given person to be able to use a virtual classroom, the student or teacher must first install the software on their computer (Hiltz 431). After the software is installed students can use it to send and receive messages to and from their classmates and professors, readily interact with students and teachers, read and comment on lecture materials such as online texts and recorded talks, take tests online, and receive feedback from their teachers and classmates (all without having to step foot in a tangible classroom) (Hiltz 431).

The primary purpose of the virtual classroom is to readily provide access to classes to those who might not have access to it in regular circumstances, whether it be due to various time constraints that prevent a person from going to regularly scheduled class (i.e. jobs, family etc.) or being in a different city or town than the institution that you wish to study at (Hiltz 431).

The use of a virtual classroom can be accessed by full time and part time students from anywhere with a computer and an internet connection, which makes it ideal for anyone in almost any situation. Although, the use of a virtual classroom isn’t necessarily just each student facing a computer screen for an entire class as mixed mode classes have also been offered in the past (Hiltz 432). In mixed mode classes, the class will be comprised of anywhere from 25 to 75 percent online with to rest being offered in class (Hiltz 432). This combination allows students to still have in person classes, just not as many of them as these types of classes only meet once every one or two weeks as opposed to a typical classes multiple meetings each week, which is perfect for busy students who still want to have a face to face class.

I hope this post helps you understand the subject a bit more!

 Source:
 Hiltz, Starr Roxanne, and Meinke Robert. "Teaching Sociology in a Virtual Classroom."
            Teaching Sociology 17.4 (1989): 431-46. Web.

Hello, welcome to your virtual classroom

This blog will be exploring the different capabilities of a virtual classroom through different media techniques.