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RACT: platform structures with the perfect

The paper presents the results of
the "Virtual Classroom" project sponsored
by the University of Westminster,
Educational Initiative Centre (EIC) for
delivering lectures online. The ultimate
aim was to provide a portable hardware
and easy to use software toolset as well as
easy to follow guidelines on how to propel
the lectures from the conventional dull
chalk and talk environment to the realm of
all interactive computer assisted Web
based electronic classroom. The additional
goal was to minimize the number of staff
required to give the lectures and allow
them to use their valuable time for other
academic duties. The proposed system
hardware/software setup is a fully
automatic solution controllable from a
single PC. It allowed full student
interaction and use of multimedia in the
lecture.
Developing a virtual classroom
system to promote a greater count of
students to spend interest into the field of
education. It integrates the benefits of a
physical classroom with the convenience
of a virtual learning environment minus
the commuting hazards and expenses. It
will provide immense flexibility and
sophistication in the existing learning
combination of synchronous and
asynchronous interaction. It provides a
means of collaborative learning for the
students.
1. INTRODUCTION:
In 2006, the Open University of
the Netherlands (OUNL) started running
trials with a so called virtual classroom. A
virtual classroom is a combined set of
tools for conducting classroom like
sessions live over the Internet. Since 2006,
more than 20 pilot projects have been
carried out, involving more than 25 tutors
and over 200 students. We intended to use
the virtual classroom as a replacement for
face-to-face (f2f) tutoring sessions, which
are normally organized in our study
centres located across the country.
All pilots were organised in a
project that was positioned directly under
the OUNLcentral board, and in which
most faculties participated. We
investigated several virtual classroom
instruments in order to come to a first
selection of promising candidates.
All pilots were evaluated
extensively. Our findings indicate that the
virtual classroom is a valuable addition to
our educational offerings. In this paper we
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will describe what a virtual classroom is, The classroom material is
why we choose to implement it and how supplemented by extra activities available
we came to our selection of an instrument. from the virtual classroom pages of our
web site via the internet.
In the Virtual Classroom we are
attempting to approximate the shared and
supportive environment of a real-world
class. The aim of the Virtual Classroom
project is to create an environment that
will help stimulate purposeful
communication between English language
learners across the world.

In the real-world, language teaching

is becoming increasingly concerned with
giving students the ability to use their new
2.DESCRIPTION:
language spontaneously to express their
thoughts, needs and desires. In the The description of virtual classroom
classroom context, the process is greatly is as follows.
enhanced when the provision of new
language skills occurs in a supportive 2.1 What is a virtual classroom?
environment where these new skills are A virtual classroom is an
allowed to develop though use and instrument for conducting live classroom
experimentation. like sessions over the internet. In this,
students and tutors can communicate using
At starting point we felt that it was
voice, video, chat and whiteboard tools.
necessary for all the participants in the
They also have facilities like application
Virtual Classroom to use the same course
sharing, polling, breakout sessions and
materials, since this would provide them
quizzes. It allows the tutor and students to
with some common ground regardless of
participate in real time lessons and
their geographic distance from each other.
discussions. Students can ask questions,
The trial phases of the Virtual Classroom
drawn on the whiteboard, and participate
were restricted therefore to learners
in breakout sessions. Almost everything
attending language classes.
that can be done in a real classroom, can
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also be done in a virtual classroom.
Moreover, the whole classroom session
can be recorded and made available for
review afterwards.
In this figure we present a screen
shot of the virtual classroom instrument
Elluminate live(student view indicating
some interaction functions)
2.2 Why we are using virtual classroom?
The f2f meetings offer the students a
sense of connectedness. They get to know
each other and their tutor and get
immediate feedback on questions and
problems. So, as a result the students
were very positive about their experiences.
So, the main pedagogical (teaching)
model of the Open University of the
Netherlands aims at supporting self-
directed learning. Ana also they thought
the virtual classroom an efficient
alternative for the f2f-meetings, as they did
Priyadarshini college of engg & tech
not have to travel to the study-centres and
as the sessions were more frequent.
Contact with tutors are limited and in most
cases it takes place through e-mail or in
discussion groups.
But students and tutors all still felt
that the virtual classroom should be a
supplement to f2f meetings and not a total
replacement. They missed the direct
communication, the meeting over coffee
and the general chitchat which makes
learning fun. In the beginning tutors felt
very insecure when using the virtual
classroom and they certainly felt exhausted
afterwards. But after some sessions they
got used to the specific requirements on
communicating and keeping track of
interactions in the virtual classroom.
2.3 Selecting a virtual classroom:
In order to select a virtual
classroom we developed a list of
specifications based on the needs of tutors,
students and educational experts: we
scored potential candidates on educational
use, user friendliness, features and
administration.
For procedures, the features of the
integration educational use we looked at
the way different teaching activities were
supported, such as discussion, workshops,
group work, assessments etc.
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 User friendliness was assessed by 2.4 When to use a virtual classroom?
examining the installation into our Virtual Virtual classroom is a powerful
Learning Environment (VLE) and the tool to use as a replacement for traditional
availability of training materials for teaching sessions such as workshops and
students and teachers. structured discussion. We even had some
For features we looked at the experience with structured role play and
availability of voice over Internet(VoIP), this also worked very well. Supporting
presentation tools, whiteboard tools, group work and free discussion is a bit
application sharing, public and private more difficult, as it requires more
chat, feedback tools, document sharing, student/tutor experience and feeling-at-
polling and quizzes. ease in using the virtual classroom. We
We looked at how the system should expect that all involved will become more
be installed/administered way students and comfortable in using the tools and as a
tutors were authorized. the way students result it will become much easier use them
and tutors were authorized for use and the in a less directive and restricted way.
licence fees. We initially looked into a
The virtual classroom is technically
whole range of virtual classrooms and
well suited for lectures, but teachers have
assessed them using the list of
to be aware of the fact that boring lectures
requirements. Finally we decided to
become even more boring when you listen
choose for virtual classroom, mainly
to them on the computer.
based on quality of audio, extensive
feature set, support for multiple platforms, Group size should not be to big,
automatic reconnection features and low certainly not in the beginning when tutors
bandwidth requirements for use and the and students are not used to the tool. We
licence fees. worked with groups of 8 to 15 students
and that seems a manageable size. A
virtual class session should also be fairly
short. One and a half hour is an absolute
maximum. otherwise attendance is too
exhausting for both the tutor and the
students.

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2.5 Preparations to make:
The first teaching session in a virtual
classroom feels the same as first-time
teaching in a real classroom. Tutors feel
thet they are well aquainted with the
software and are well trained. It is
important that the tutor must have some
hands-on experience before facing the
students. It really helps to use two pc’s,one
showing the student perspective and the
other the tutor’s perspective or to work
with one or two colleagues. Specially for
the first session we recommend having an
experienced colleague around who can
point out things or take over when you
forget something.
A virtual classroom session requires
good preparation. Tutors should have a
scenario of their lesson available and
upload all the required materials to the
classroom before the students enter the
session. It is a bit more complicated to
improvise during a virtual classroom
session than it is in a real classroom,
especially for the inexperienced tutor.
One should also be aware that
everything proceeds at a bit slower pace
then in a normal classroom setting.
Furthermore, the students who participate
in the virtual classroom should be well
prepared and instructed.
Priyadarshini college of engg & tech
2.6 Training and support for tutors and
students:
Several training sessions for tutors were
organized. Each tutor who contemplates
using a virtual classroom is offered to
participate in an introductory virtual
workshop. After she/he decides to set up a
real virtual class a f2f tutorial is organized
in which the tutors learn how to set up the
classroom and how to use it in their role of
session moderator. However, even after
the training some tutors still feel insecure
about conducting a virtual class all by
themselves, so for help and support during
the first few sessions we always provide
backup from someone from the Online
support project. All the participating
students receive an instruction on how to
prepare their pc’s. Each student is offered
an individual 30 minute test session,
during which the audio communication
facility is tested and a short instruction is
provided.
2.7 Interactions:
It is advisable to encourage interaction in
the virtual classroom and to consider how
you will interact with your students. There
is a whole range of tools available in the
classroom but it is important to decide in
advance which tools you are going to use.
We felt that using polls and quizzes and
then presenting the results to the whole
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group were a very powerful way of
interacting with the students and to keep
their attention.
2.8 Recordings:
Students appreciate the fact that the
virtual class can be recorded and made
available via the VLE for later use.
Students use it for revision or to make up
for a class they missed. Just make sure
that, in accordance to privacy laws,
students agree from the onset of the
session that the class will be recorded.
3. APPLICATIONS:
Virtual classroom is used in
applications like robotics and engineering
educations.
4.ADVANTAGES:
The advantages of virtual classroom are as
follows:
4.1 Sharing live experience:
Like conventional classrooms, the students
within a virtual classroom can exchange
Priyadarshini college of engg & tech
and share their experiences with
themselves or with their teacher. They ask
their questions and get the answers just
like the conventional classrooms but have
an edge over those who attend the latter. If
they wish (and provided the technique
used permits so) they can ask questions in
the complete privacy as if each student is
individually interacting with the instructor.
Adult education has a long tradition of
valuing the life experience of learners. The
live virtual classroom enables learners to
share their experience in a virtual
environment with tools that can take that
sharing to a new level. The LVC(live
virtual classroom) allows learners to do
things such as share their screens to
demonstrate tricks and tips for searching a
customer database or surf to helpful
websites.
4.2 To Extend the Access to Experts
A related benefit of the virtual classroom
is the ability to make scarce resources
accessible to a wider audience. The
program is more widely rolled out, it is
delivered by people who are less skilled.
4.3 To Do Modeling and Application
Sharing in Breakout Rooms
Educators have long known that learning
is more likely to occur when the students
can transfer learning from the abstract to
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the practical. In the virtual classroom there
are tools that make it possible for students
to run simulations or test models. That is
rather simple talking about investment
concepts such as dollar cost averaging, and
Capital Asset Pricing Model students can
learn about these concepts by conducting
modeling exercises in the LVC.
4.4 To Capture and Repurpose
Recorded Sessions:
If you are reading this and recall a corner
of your office in which there is a pile of
dusty videotapes of classes that no one has
ever watched, I don’t need to caution you.
There is very little to recommend the
recording of a typical live virtual session
for playback at a later point. On the other
hand, if you have the ability to add value
by creating a program that has the purpose
of being viewed later or if you have the
ability to edit the key pieces of the
program, then you may have an asset.
5. LIMITATIONS:
5.1 Limit Class Size for Optimal
Interaction:
Don’t get confused by the recommended
maximum number of learners who can
attend a live virtual classroom versus the
recommended number who should attend a
Priyadarshini college of engg & tech
live virtual classroom program.The answer
to how many people should be in a live
virtual classroom is . . . it depends. The
number of learners per session depends on
how complex the content, how technically
competent the learners, how skilled the
facilitator, and how much interaction you
have designed into the program.
5.2 Avoid Teaching Software Skills:
The ability to do application sharing
means that you can teach software skills
using the virtual classroom. Choosing to
teach software skills such as Word,
PowerPoint, or custom applications is
tempting because it seems like such a
natural use of the LVC. It is technically
possible, but the virtual classroom adds a
level of complexity that must be
considered. If learners are not computer
savvy and technically self-sufficient
enough to manage the new application and
the LVC application at the same time, you
may overwhelm them. It is also boring to
watch other students practice an
application.
5.3 Anticipate That LVC Classes Will
Take Longer to Deliver than
Traditional Classroom Courses
There are longstanding statistics on the
power of computer-based training to
reduce the time. These statistics do not Heerlen: Open Universiteit Nederland –
apply to live virtual classrooms. The often- IPO.
quoted statistic assumes that through 2) Rusman, Ellen en Giesbertz, Wil
pretesting, branching, and empowering (2008). Gebruikerservaringen met een
learners to move at their own pace, the virtuele klas. Heerlen: Open Universiteit
time spent learning can be shortened. In Nederland – IPO.
the live virtual classroom, pretesting and
branching are of little help because the
program requires all learners to go through
the entire program at the same pace. The
virtual classroom can theoretically take
longer to deliver the same content than a
traditional classroom. The LVC has the
added burden of frequently stopping and
checking on learners understanding, which
would be seen in the traditional classroom.

6. CONCLUSION:

The virtual classroom transcends the

boundaries of location, time and space
providing a flexible learning environment
for all. Schools, universities and corporate
organizations benefit form Virtual
classrooms because it provides an
excellent way for experts to teach a
geographically dispersed group of students
without hassle.

7. REFERENCES:

1) Giesbertz, Wil, Rusman, Ellen,

Spoelstra, Howard en Wigman, Marcel
(2008). Verder met de virtuele klas.
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