Virtual Classroom
Published on Nov 21, 2015
Here is a short presentation on aspects of the Virtual Classroom
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Virtual Classroom Examples
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Virtual classroom software today brings the experience of the classroom into the home, and it makes the virtual experience just as real as the classroom experience. Only a few years ago, online learning meant self-study with the help of a CD or a website with frequent visits to a traditional classroom set-up in order to have interaction with the instructor. The virtual classrooms of today have developed way beyond this. Web collaboration technology gives live e-learning the best of both delivery options, including access to the subject matter directly from the student’s computer and real-time interaction with an instructor online. These online classrooms are capable of imparting knowledge to a large number of students, who may be at diverse locations. The live training sessions can also be archived for subsequent revision of the learning program.
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There are many examples of virtual classroom success. The Illinois Virtual High School serves as an excellent case study. This service provides high school content through an online venue, throughout the entire state. It is meant as a supplement to students at traditional high schools and solves the problem of students who cannot take a particular course because it is not available at their local high school. It also provides added content for home schooled students. Going far beyond simple static content, Illinois Virtual High School provides a highly interactive environment with two-way voice communication and collaborative facilities. Instructors who conduct the live virtual classroom sessions also have regular virtual office hours, so students can have access to one-on-one sessions with the instructors.
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Fanshawe College in Ontario, Canada is another example of virtual classroom success, with their FanLive! Program. Moving from a one-way approach to a live system, the college was able to significantly enhance the student experience, incorporating the Desire2Learn learning management system and the Elluminate e-learning and collaboration technology. In addition to holding live online classes, this technology is also used as a platform for joint projects between classes, meetings, and even faculty training sessions.
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At the elementary school level, fourth grade students at the Keystone Elementary School in Pennsylvania used virtual classroom technology to host a webinar that linked several classrooms across the state to help students learn more about other communities.
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Going across the ocean, the technology has proven useful to promoting education throughout Asia and Africa. For example, the African Virtual University unites five African nations and is headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. The group has the largest network of e-learning institutions in Africa. Virtual classroom technology is used to connect African instructors and students with instructors in the United States and Canada, providing an interactive platform that can be easily implemented in schools throughout the continent.
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Benefits to Student Achievement
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The correct blend of teacher support and technology is critical to student success. A number of research studies show that at-risk students experience success when they have access to strong teacher support along with interactive technology-based learning.
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Students display increased engagement and stronger skill development when they use technology to explore concepts and create content that displays their learning.
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The flexibility of the virtual classroom also benefits student achievement by allowing students to work at their own pace. Students that struggle can spend more time on their mastery of the content, while students that excel can be pushed further into the curriculum by extending and deepening there understanding of the content.
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Another advantage of the virtual classroom is its ability to be used as an organizational tool for the teacher and student. A system of virtual folders or notebooks can allow class materials, document, assignments, class notes, and other information allows information to be easily organized and it can quickly and easily be accessed by the students and teacher. The virtual classroom can also be used to help organize the posting, completion, and grading of class assignment/assessments. This helps teachers maximize the time spent in class for learning, and allows teachers to spend more of their time to focus on the individual needs of the students.
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This study of a Wisconsin school district shows that the virtual classroom was used for disruptive students. It was noticed that much instructional time was lost due to disruptive behaviors and because this behavior is typically chronic, the virtual classroom was used. By using a virtual classroom these students could participate in the instruction without disrupting others in the class because they were attending class from a different location and not actually in the classroom
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According to Mack McCary, Chief Academic Officer of the Guilford County Schools, by using Blackboard Collaborate in their classes, NCVPS:
• Science students went from being 20% proficient in
2007-2008 to over 80% proficient in 2008-2009
• Students in two schools in a first year US History class beat district averages by all scoring 100% despite
some students only having a 0.3-0.5% chance of scoring proficient
• Algebra 1 students scored 100% proficient
• 90+% of Geometry students scored 100% proficient
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Tools for the Virtual Classrooms
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Second Life is a three-dimensional (3D) electronic environment where members can socialize, hold virtual meetings, or
conduct economic transactions. Utilizing virtual environments like Second Life is believed to provide educators with a new
medium for teaching and information dissemination that bypasses the normal boundaries associated with traditional online and
face-to-face interactions. This unique platform not only provides educators with traditional online teaching conventions but also allows for simulated social interactions, which are essential to student-teacher relations in the classroom. This paper presents a series of field trials and focuses on one recent case study of the integration of Second Life into an introductory computer course. The benefits, lessons learned and effective practices of integrating the technology are provided. The case study findings are supplemented with results from student surveys. The study found that the integration of Second Life activities improved students’ learning experience. Furthermore, students participated in the Second Life activities in the case
study showed higher learning motivation and better performance.
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Tools for the Virtual Classrooms
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How the Virtual Classroom Affects Teaching
by
Darren
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Being knew to the teaching profession, I never really thought about implementing any type of virtual class, but after doing my research this week and having conversations with my colleagues, the virtual classroom is not as impossible as I first thought it would be. There are so many resources that are available to make this a reality. One is making a Youtube Channel for my class. I can post videos of lessons and strategies for my students, using my own videos or those of others and make them readily available for my students to use at school and home. This will help them when they need assistance. As I have said before many of my students do not have support at home to help them do their work, so instructional videos would be a great source for this type of issue.
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Also, working at a rural school that does not have the funding to take many fieldtrips, the virtual classroom can take virtual field trips. These field trips can be taken anywhere, not just within the distance that the school district says that classes can go. With this type of fieldtrip, students can explore the world without leaving the school, and the best part is that all students can participate because there will not be and issue for the parents of being able to afford to give the student money to attend.
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Another way that I feel that a virtual classroom would affect my work would be to boost student achievement. If my students had availability to class resources outside of the class or even within the confines of the school, my students could use virtual lessons to enrich their minds and work on questioning that will require higher level thinking. Stimulating the students' minds with the virtual class will keep them more engaged and enjoy learning more, which in turn would give me more satisfied students and decrease inappropriate behaviors, thus making them more successful.
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The virtual classroom is a great way to meet the various needs of students in the classroom, especially those with special needs. The virtual classroom can provide more individualized and differentiated instruction to all special education students. For the ESL learner, the virtual classroom can offer them lessons that the student can work on during and after school. For ESL students, keeping up can be difficult, so pulling them from instruction can develop into a problem which can lead to them falling further and further behind. I know of some students who use Rosetta Stone software to learn the English Language while their peers are attending Language Arts. By implementing the virtual classroom, these student cannot only receive their services for learning English, but they can access, videos and other information that will keep them from getting behind in their Language Arts class.
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How the Virtual Classroom affects Teaching
by
Daniel
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I believe that the virtual classroom can help all students take a larger responsibility for their learning, and can help increase student achievement in school. I believe that the virtual classroom could be used as an organizational tool for the teacher and student by developing a system of virtual folders or notebooks that organize class materials, document, assignments, class notes, and other class information. This will allow information to be quickly and easily be accessed by the students and teacher, and help both manage time in a more organized manner.
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. I also believe that the virtual classroom would be a great aid in differentiating instruction for various student needs. First, a virtual classroom can be used to create/organize modified assignments or notes for students with special needs, or it could be used to help incorporate apps like Read and Write for google that can be used as assistive technology for students. Also, translator software and documents modified to be in students native language could be posted in the class.
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. I also believe that the virtual classroom would be a great aid in differentiating instruction for various student needs. First, a virtual classroom can be used to create/organize modified assignments or notes for students with special needs, or it could be used to help incorporate apps like Read and Write for Google that can be used as assisstive technology for students. Also, translator software and documents modified to be in students native language could be posted in the class.
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Finally, the virtual classroom can be used to help allow students to work more at their own pace. Student that struggle can spend more time focusing on the key points that they struggle with, while students that excel can move quickly through the content and extend their learning by pushing forward and deepening their understanding about key topics. Some ways that I hope to extend my students learning outside the classroom is to:
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• Build a virtual classroom using Classroom by Google where I can organize/post class materials, document, assignments, class notes, and other information for students to access in one spot. Also, I could Classroom by Google to help organize the posting, completion, and grading of class assignment/assessments. This will help me maximize the time spent in class for learning, and allow me to spend more of my time to focus on the individual needs of the students.
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• Another way to extend student learning is by incorporating the use of virtual fieldtrips and other online resources into my instruction. I would hope to incorporate these resources to help students make connections with their learning, and to allow them to see items that they might not be able to see otherwise.
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• Another way that I would like to try and extend my students learning is by incorporating Google Apps for Education into my instruction. I really like that collaborative features that it offers, and that you can create an online workspace for students to work together or collaborate with you. Finally, this app would allow students and me to create documents and to use Google Apps to collaborate and edit their work in real time.
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• A fourth way that I could include the digital cloud into my classroom is by using flipped learning. I could post instructional videos onto my class site for students to watch as homework, and then I could extend their learning in small groups during class time the next day. Also, students that excel can work ahead, while I spend a majority of my time working with the group of students that struggle to originally get the concept.
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• Finally, I think that a virtual classroom would be a good tool to aid in the organization of materials for students that are absent or when I am absent. Students that are absent can easily access class materials from home, and can begin working on assignments before they actually return to school. Also, I can easily access my own virtual classroom from home as well to post sub plans, assignments, homework, and other class resources.
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