INTEGRATING VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS

IN HIGHER EDUCATION

Defining “Virtual Classroom”

• A virtual classroom is a electronic way for educators to interact with e-learning or face-to-face students either via video-conferencing, internet broadcast, or email.

• Allowing education institutions to hold synchronous live courses over the web.

Defining “Virtual Classroom” (cont.)

• Educators are able to schedule and deliver live online classes, share videos and presentation content.

• Virtual Classrooms are incorporated into institutions learning management system (LMS) using any Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI)-compliant LMS.

Top Virtual Classroom

Tools

Blackboard collaborate is the leading online collaboration platform built for education, allowing scheduling of online classrooms and sharing of multimedia content.

Wimba classroom is a live, virtual classroom environment with various features that include audio, video, application sharing and content display, and MP4 capabilities. (Lu, 2011)

Wimba classroom & Elluminate was purchased by Blackboard in July of 2013 and will soon be obsolete.

Virtual Classrooms

Groups Meeting Space

Virtual Classroomin the

Learning Management System

Research:E-learning satisfaction will be influenced by the quality of the e-learning system, multimedia instruction, interactive learning activities, and learners’ self-efficacy. (Liaw, 2008)

Videoconferencing is a useful adjunct to traditional educational delivery modes, and can enable quality education opportunities that would be prohibitive due to time, travel, and cost constraints. (Biden, 2005)

The increase of efforts to understand the make-up and needs of the audiences and become acutely aware of the teaching style and the cultural contingency of the theories, models, and pedagogies that are used (Szudlarek, B., McNett, J., Romani, L., & Lane, H., 2013)

Adding synchronous components(virtual classroom technologies) to online courses can facilitate interaction. (Martin, F., Parker, M. A., & Deale, D. F., 2012)

Research:

Research:Its pedagogical design and ease-of-use ensures that educators and students engage as if they were meeting face-to-face. (Wimba, 2011)

Results showed that the blended teaching media and virtual classroom practices had a statistically significant contribution on the achievement of the students in geography and their attitudes towards the geography course compared to the face to face expository method. (Dikmenli, Y., & Unaldi, U., 2013)

Results show that the use of the virtual classroom enhance the communication in the online mathematics teaching. (Lu, 2011)

• Virtual Classroom

• Web Based Instruction

• Synchronous Communication

• Online Courses

• Distance Education

• E-Learning

• Online Instruction

• Online Collaborating

• Computer-assisted Instruction

Keywords that can be used to research the topic

“Virtual Classroom”

References• Atasi, M., & Madanmohan, S. (2008). Learning Through

Virtual Classroom. Retrieved from Learning Through Virtual Classroom: http://www.aiaer.net/ejournal/vol19207/24.Atasi___Madan.htm

• Birden, H. (2005). Teaching by videoconference: a commentary on best practice for rural education in health professions. Rural and remote health, 356.

• Dikmenli, Y., & Unaldi, U. (2013). Effect of the Blended Learning Environment and the Application of Virtual Class upon the Achievement and the Attitude against the Geography Course. Online Submission.

References• Lu, Y. (2011). Using a Virtual Classroom to Teach Online

Mathematics. Online Submission.

• Martin, F., Parker, M. A., & Deale, D. F. (2012). Examining Interactivity in Synchronous Virtual Classrooms. International Review of Research in Open and

Distance Learning, 227-261.

• Shen, D. (2013). Unpacking online learning experiences: Online learning self-efficacy and learning

satisfaction. The internet and higher education, 10- 17.

References• Doughterty, K. J. (2012). Transforming Teaching and

Learning through the Virtual Classroom. College Quarterly, 9.

• Liaw, S. (2008). Investigating students' perceived satisfaction, behavioral intention, and effectiveness

of e-learning: A case study of the Blackboard system. Computers & education, 864-873.

References•Taras, V., Caprar, D. V., Rottig, D., Sarala, R. M., Zakaria, N.,

Zhao, F., & Zengyu Huang, V.(2013). A Global Classroom? Evaluating the Effectiveness of Global Virtual Collaboration as a Teaching Tool in Management Education. Academy Of Management Learning & Education, 12(3), 414-435. doi:10.5465/amle.2012.0195•Wimba (2011). Wimba Classroom 6.1. Retrieved online from http://www.wimba.com/products/wimba_classroom