Virtual Classrooms Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Classroom management refers to the actions and strategies that teachers use to maintain order in a classroom. A Virtual classroom is an asynchronous-based online learning environment that delivers course materials to learners and provides collaboration and interaction using an asynchronous-based forum as the main platform to support the learners' independent study. In a physical classroom there is physical contact between the students and the instructor. This makes it easy for the instructor to enforce rules that are intended for effective classroom management. This physical contact is elusive in a virtual classroom and yet effective classroom management is desired. Virtual classroom is useful to the students for revision exercise; as a backup for physical classroom contact. This paper proposes a conceptual model using existing virtual tool to bring about an effective classroom management strategies in a Virtual classroom.

- by
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- Instructional Design, Educational Technology, E-learning, Distance Education

This study aimed to examine students' perceptions of the effectiveness of virtual classrooms in enhancing their communication skills. Study participants were 43 female English majors at the College of Education at a Saudi Arabian university. This study was conducted during the first semester of the 2020/2021 academic year when COVID-19 restrictions necessitated online learning. The study implemented a mixed methodology approach in which qualitative and quantitative tools were used to collect data. Two data collection instruments were used: a questionnaire and observations. In the questionnaire findings, students identified lack of confidence, anxiety surrounding making mistakes, and lack of vocabulary as their greatest challenges when communicating in English. The questionnaire also revealed that students held positive attitudes towards the effectiveness of virtual classrooms in enhancing their oral communication skills. The observation data revealed that virtual classrooms can play a significant role in enhancing students' communication skills. However, despite their positive views of virtual classrooms, students agreed that the lack of face-to-face communication was a major obstacle in online learning.

This paper aims to describe the online 3D chat rooms that can be used for educational activities by creating virtual classroom setting where each student or teacher is represented by an avatar in order to navigate the 3D environment. I will present an innovative teaching and learning activity that offers EFL students in real-time written communication through textbased chat with 3D graphics, which is able to integrate web pages as teaching material resource such as blog or any educational website. The idea is based on the assumption that this tool will provide EFL students with opportunity to improve their English in written communication.

- by rizki israeni
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- Instructional Design, Educational Technology, Teacher Education, Distance Education

La relación de desencuentros entre las nuevas tecnologías y la práctica docente fue muy bien reflejada por Seymour Papert quien imagina a un cirujano del siglo XIX transportado de repente a un quirófano moderno, probablemente, ni siquiera tendría idea de dónde se encuentra; en cambio, un maestro de la misma época, transportado a una escuela actual no tendría demasiadas dificultades para seguir con lo que se estuviera haciendo en ese momento. Por otro lado, considerando que la existencia de medios como instrumentos de comunicación e intercambio no garantiza ni determina una metodología ni un aprendizaje concreto ya que se requiere del proceso de construcción y de socialización donde los medios vienen a contribuir, pero no son decisivos para lograr los aprendizajes.

- by Luis R. Lara
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- E-learning, Virtual Classrooms, Educación a Distancia

Mastery of English is indispensable for students to pursue their university major in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, it is mandatory for Saudi undergraduates studying at the preparatory year programs to get high scores in the EFL course to be eligible to enroll in the Bachelor’s degree programs. However, the sudden shift to distance learning worldwide to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic affects the university beginners’ attitudes to learn EFL. This article examines the general perceptions of Jubail University College EFL female students’ towards learning English through full online mode. Also, the study displays the benefits and drawbacks the EFL students have encountered while using the virtual classroom during the pandemic. Their views were investigated through in-depth one-on-one interviews and focused group discussion done virtually by the author. The results reveal that the majority of students have formed negative attitudes toward EFL virtual classrooms and preferred traditional classrooms. In addition, the results present solutions suggested by the participants to enhance the quality of full-online English language teaching, which could be useful for EFL language instructors.

- by Arab World English Journal (AWEJ)
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- Virtual Classrooms, EFL Students, EFL Learning

On a global scale, computer mediated communication (CMC) is becoming one of the most important pedagogical sites for upper and middle class people. CMC encompasses all the existing narratives (conversation, speech, written and visual), either produced individually or massively. CMC is more powerful than other media not only because it allows for a fusion of technologies and texts, but because it enables people to have instantaneous, decentralized and continuous interventions. Thus CMC makes it possible to explore, manipulate, produce and distribute discourses all over the world.

- by Fred Schied and +1
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- Distance Education, Critical Pedagogy, Virtual Classrooms, Cultural Imperialism

— In this modern age, Information and communications technological innovations have turned the world into a small global village. E-Learning is one of the by-products of ICT and has been widely recognized as a valuable tool for learning and training other than the traditional method of learning (which involves physical contact between the student and the instructor). This paper presents the design of virtual classroom interface for teacher and student interaction using VSAT technology, which offers a tremendous potential to provide high-quality education to remote areas in Nigeria and Anglophone countries in Africa. Virtual classroom is a form of e-learning that acts as a supplement to the traditional learning methods, whereby, the physical contact is elusive and yet the classroom management is effective. The case-study for the proposed system is ARCSSTE-E. A conceptual framework for ARCSSTE-E is proposed and is developed to enhance and reach out to people within developing (Africa) countries that cannot make it to ARCSSTE-E due to constraint in time, distance, lack of sponsorship, Financial or other challenges. The study confirms the relevance of the growing interest in the use of virtual e-learning system for distance education.

- by Ayodeji O Salau
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- E-learning, Satellite Communications, Virtual Classrooms, VSAT communication

A Virtual Classroom is a place where people can teach and learn interactively, communicate, view and discuss presentations, and engage with learning resources while working in groups, all in an online environment. Virtual Classrooms are developed to promote a greater count of students to indulge into the field of education. The students can choose courses and attend lectures either at the scheduled time or view lecture at a later time. Faculties can take lectures, upload assignments, make announcements, evaluate answer sheets and can also upload lectures and other discussions in various formats as videos, powerpoints, etc. Users must have a valid user id and password to login thus creating their individual profiles. Students can also take up various quizzes which can help them realize their inbuilt talents in various fields.

- by GRD JOURNALS
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- E-learning, Virtual Classrooms

In this modern age, Information and communications technological innovations have turned the world into a small global village. E-Learning is one of the by-products of ICT and has been widely recognized as a valuable tool for learning and training other than the traditional method of learning (which involves physical contact between the student and the instructor). This paper presents the design of virtual classroom interface for teacher and student interaction using VSAT technology, which offers a tremendous potential to provide high-quality education to remote areas in Nigeria and Anglophone countries in Africa. Virtual classroom is a form of e-learning that acts as a supplement to the traditional learning methods, whereby, the physical contact is elusive and yet the classroom management is effective. The case-study for the proposed system is ARCSSTE-E. A conceptual framework for ARCSSTE-E is proposed and is developed to enhance and reach out to people within developing (Africa) countries that cannot make it to ARCSSTE-E due to constraint in time, distance, lack of sponsorship, Financial or other challenges. The study confirms the relevance of the growing interest in the use of virtual e-learning system for distance education.

- by Ajala SAMUEL
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- Satellite Communications, Virtual Classrooms, VSAT communication, E Learning

Özet
Koronavirüs (Covid-19) pandemisi ile birlikte küresel düzeyde sanal sınıf uygulamalarında zorunlu bir artış meydana gelmiştir. Bu durumda, sanal sınıf yönetimi, sanal sınıflarda etkili bir öğrenme ve öğretim bakımından büyük önem taşımaktadır. Bu araştırmanın amacı, sanal sınıf yönetimi ile ilgili genel ilke ve uygulamaları belirlemek ve etkili bir sanal sınıf yönetimi için öneriler geliştirebilmektir. Bu araştırma, sanal sınıf yönetimi ile ilgili kavramsal tartışmalara dayalı bir alan yazın taraması olarak desenlenmiştir. Araştırmada doküman incelemesi sonucu elde edilen veriler, betimsel bir analiz ile değerlendirilmiştir. Araştırma sonucuna göre, sanal sınıfların yönetimi geleneksel sınıfların yönetimine göre bazı farklı özelliklere sahiptir. Sanal sınıfların yönetiminde öğreten, öğrenen, sanal ortam ve teknolojik altyapıdan kaynaklanan bazı sorunlar bulunmaktadır. Etkili bir sanal sınıf yönetimi için, bu alanda kapsamlı araştırmalara, öğretmenlerin hizmet öncesi ve hizmet içinde eğitilmelerine ve teknolojik altyapının geliştirilmesine ihtiyaç bulunmaktadır. Ayrıca, sanal sınıf yönetimi ile ilgili yasal ve pedagojik düzenlemeler yapılabilir, sanal sınıf uygulamaları konusunda toplumda farkındalık yaratılabilir.
Abstract
With the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, there has been a mandatory increase in virtual classroom applications at a global level. In this case, virtual classroom management is of great importance in terms of effective learning and teaching in virtual classrooms. The purpose of this research is to determine the general principles and practices regarding virtual classroom management and to develop suggestions for an effective virtual classroom management. This research was designed as a literature review based on conceptual discussions about virtual classroom management. The data obtained as a result of document analysis in the research were evaluated with a descriptive analysis. According to the result of the research, the management of virtual classrooms has some different features compared to the management of traditional classrooms. In the management of virtual classrooms, there are some problems arising from the teaches, learner, virtual environment and technological infrastructure. For an effective virtual classroom management, there is a need for extensive research in this area, pre-service and in-service training of teachers, and development of technological infrastructure. In addition, legal and pedagogical arrangements can be made regarding virtual classroom management and awareness can be created in the society about virtual classroom applications.

- by Ertuğ Can
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- Virtual Classrooms, Virtual Learning Environments, Sınıf Yönetimi

In response to the pandemic spread of COVID-19, universities all over the world have shifted to e-teaching The Department of English, Mustaqbal University, College of Administration and Humanities, Saudi Arabia, used the Microsoft Teams App for teaching all courses in virtual classrooms However, reading as a receptive skill, was difficult to teach remotely because it was not so interactive for a teacher to know whether the students have performed the assigned tasks or not Therefore, there was a need to search for a strategy that could be integrated while using technology to help EFL students improve their reading comprehension This strategy was think-aloud strategy which could potentially make use of participants’ mental data while interpreting and responding to a text During reading, this strategy is capable of making the mental processing covert showing direct evidence of internal reading processes A quasi-experimental design with an experimental group and a control group was used...

The buzzword “virtual” means a simulation of real thing. Virtual
Classroom is a simulated classroom via Internet, which provides a
convenient communication of web enabled professional
environment for learners just like traditional face-to-face classroom.
It is derived from Industrial and Systems Engineering and from the concept of
"virtual reality”. Today’s and tomorrow’s generation fully adequate
with "virtual" classrooms, "virtual" libraries, “virtual" organizations,
"virtual" learning environment for all kinds of domain. It is a “virtual"
knowledge sharing hub so it is called as a “virtual" universities. This
will mainly incorporate with technology participation and contribution
in academics (education) and non -academics (industry) for
e-teaching/e-learning and e-training/e-development. Its significant
opportunities are growing and expanding rapidly.This paper will
explore the pedagogy and faculty fraternity who are teaching and
facilitating on -line classes through a virtual classroom. This interface
proposed a new and promising tendency. At the same time the
affordance of the internet media offer many opportunities to improve
the quality in higher education institutions.

- by RajendraPrasad M
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- Virtual Classrooms

Learning a foreign language individuals' oral and written communication skills are effected by and depend on vocabulary. Gain vocabulary is very important phase in foreign language obtain. Therefore teaching vocabulary to the foreign students is not only important at learning language but also at using the language effectively. Turkish language is an agglutinating language. Derivational affixes are usually used for composing a new word. When a derivational affix is added end of the word stem or the word root, there will occur new meaning. Agglutinating structure of Turkish language inconveniences vocabulary expanding of foreigners whose languages are not agglutinating structure. However, in the practice that we did in the e-classrooms on foreign students we observed that foreign students can expand their vocabulary easily when they learned functions of derivational affixes and the meaning of derivational affixes that added to the stems or roots. In the present study, the meanings of some frequently using derivational affixes will be exposed starting the property of Turkish agglutinating language. The relation between the meaning in the verb root and the new meaning that a derivational affix added on this root will be exposed. In this way, the individuals who learn Turkish as a foreign language has been tried to develop a method to increase their vocabulary.

- by Ferdi Bozkurt
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- Vocabulary, Online Learning, Virtual Classrooms, Language Teaching

Article History In response to the pandemic spread of COVID-19, universities all over the world have shifted to e-teaching. The Department of English, Mustaqbal University, College of Administration and Humanities, Saudi Arabia, used the Microsoft Teams App for teaching all courses in virtual classrooms. However, reading as a receptive skill, was difficult to teach remotely because it was not so interactive for a teacher to know whether the students have performed the assigned tasks or not. Therefore, there was a need to search for a strategy that could be integrated while using technology to help EFL students improve their reading comprehension. This strategy was think-aloud strategy which could potentially make use of participants' mental data while interpreting and responding to a text. During reading, this strategy is capable of making the mental processing covert showing direct evidence of internal reading processes. A quasi-experimental design with an experimental group and a control group was used to determine the effectiveness of this think-aloud strategy in improving the reading comprehension of 72 EFL female students majoring in English, Business, and Law. Moreover, the study also explored the instructors' and the students' perceptions towards this strategy. Results indicated that all participants viewed the think-aloud strategy very positively. The study recommends adopting a highly customized think-aloud strategy to facilitate readers' comprehension. Contribution/Originality: This study is one of very few studies which used the think-aloud strategy to improve reading comprehension of printed texts-non-digital literacy-remotely in an emergency; without advance preparation for many obstacles such as infrastructure problems, lack of training, and weak technical support.

This study has a triple objective: To identify the scenarios of use of the Learning Management System “Aule Virtuali ClasseViva®” in three school contexts; to analyze how students’ perception of technology changes during the experimentation; to verify how the perception of the platform by students changes in the time frame of a school year. For these purposes, the concept of “instrumental orchestration” has been used, a concept until now used only in mathematics teaching, and its field of application has been widened. The participants are three teachers of different subjects and their classes (55 students in total), with different levels of experience in using the LMS. The data collection methodology has included the compilation of specially created observation grids and questionnaires. The analysis method is configured as a qualitative-quantitative analysis of three case studies. The analysis identified four types of orchestration, one yet present in literature, three defined ex novo.

- by Silvia Mazza
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- Technology, Virtual Classrooms, Instrumental orchestration

This paper identifies usage scenarios of a web platform called “Virtual Classrooms” and analyses students’ perception of the technology to understand whether and how this perception changes during platform testing. To do this, we draw on the concept of “Instrumental Orchestration”, which has only been deployed in mathematics education to date, to understand whether the concept is analytically useful when applied to other school subjects.
The participants are three teachers of three different subjects with different levels of expertise with the web platform, and their classes (55 students in total). Data was generated through (i) a self-observation instrument for teachers and (ii) a questionnaire for students, administered at the beginning and the end of the platform testing. Four “Instrumental Orchestration” scenarios, two of which are already identified in literature, are evident from the mix analysis, as well as minor variations in technology perception. Limitations and implications of this study are also discussed.

Research interest in area of learning experience beyond the classroom has increased in recent years (Byram and Feng 2004). This paper looks at the social dimension in which learning can occur. It explores the online social environment of learning beyond the classroom and the freedom it gives to students to take control of their learning. Vygotsky (1978) and Bakhtin (Dentith: 1996) supported the idea of socio-cultural basis as important in learning.
Despite research that have taken place in this area and academic and academic researchers understanding and appreciation of the importance of social networking in the life of students and the effective roles they would play in bringing education and knowledge closer and quicker to this generation than the all traditional based classroom teaching method. Researchers are still faced with the dilemma of knowing which of these social networking sites would support learning and educational activities without exposing the students and schools to danger associated to social networking.
Researchers are also faced with the problem of finding an effective and efficient way of requisition and repurposing of the technologies of social networking sites in ways to support learning.
“The understanding that learning and development occur as people participate in the socio-cultural activities of their chosen community” (Rogoff 1994), is the basis of this research.
This research examines the role and effectiveness of using Ning as the preferred social network for collaboration and learning in secondary education in Dublin Ireland. It also explores the use of Ning to increase understanding, knowledge and increased academic performance of students through knowledge sharing.
This research was necessitated because of the falling grades of secondary school students in Ireland especially in their Leaving Certificate examination. The fall have been attributed to among other things the influence of social networking sites and an increase on time that young people spend each day accessing and browsing through their social networks instead of studying.
This study was carried out in two secondary schools in County Dublin, Ireland using a pretest and posttest in two subjects, English Literature and Geography. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research method was used in answering the research question and meeting the research objective.
The result of quantitative pretest and posttest results shows an improvement on academic performance of students. Qualitative data gathered through an evaluation sheet suggest that there is an overwhelming acceptance for the use of Ning Social Networking Site in secondary education in Ireland.
It is expected that the findings in this research and the use of Ning as a learning and collaboration tool in second level education in Ireland can be replicated and used successfully in improving the learning experience of African youths and students.

Electronic education is a novel method that plays an undeniable role in education and, indeed, in higher education learning. It can be considered a strategy to boost the quality of educational systems. In the context of new educational platforms, higher education institutions and faculties have always contemplated and strived for the best and most advantageous forms of communication. On the other hand, for students as the target audience of educational systems, successful educational contents are ones to which they can best relate. The present study asks what measures can be adopted to promote and upgrade practical virtual classes and workshops in arts to realize the six functions described in Jakobson's theory of communication as one of the most comprehensive communication theories. It seeks to shed light on the strategies to boost and upgrade communications and, thus, higher efficiency in practical online classes and workshops in arts. The article explores each of the six functions of Jakobson's theory of communication. It draws on a descriptive and analytical methodology and gathers data from library documents. It bears mentioning that the study analyzes its data using qualitative analysis. Indeed, the model proposed by Jakobson can be used to interpret the process of communication between higher education institutions and faculties and the students in the academic pedagogy and, in particular, workshop and practical courses in arts. Under each function of this model, strategies can be formulated to enhance the facet at hand to improve the process of communication. The article puts forward several suggestions to boost the quality of virtual education:
1. Getting to know and paying attention to the fundamentals and principles of the new education platforms and promoting the comprehension of the embedded instruments
2. Choosing and organizing educational content, activities, and curricula according to the student needs and current educational atmosphere
3. Presenting educational material as objective and provable information in the communication process with analysis regarding the audience, purpose, and media along with online learning environments strategies and striving to enhance the educational quality of these sources
4. Taking note of interactive ideas, embracing novel forms of thinking and creating arts, actively involving experience, developing new ideas through methods like collective brainstorming
5. Presenting educational content while highlighting textual, artistic, and aesthetic features
6. Attending to the unique social and cultural relations and considering particular local and national exigencies
One can draw on Jakobson's theory to examine the six functions in any communication process. Analyses suggest that concentrating on enhancing the components discussed by Jakobson in communications and virtual education of the students will improve the process of communication and, consequently, the quality of education.

- by Mohammad Zaryabi
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- Semiotics, Communication, E-learning, Arts Education

Avrupa"da yaşayan Türklerin anadillerinde yüksek öğretim ihtiyaçlarının karşılamaları için ülkemizdeki eğitim/öğretim kurumlarının açtıkları programlardan uzaktan eğitim teknolojileri aracılığı ile yararlanmaları mümkün olacaktır. Özellikle 2. 3. ve 4. kuşak Türkler yaşadıkları ülkede anadil sorunlarını maddi ya da siyasi nedenlerden dolayı çözümleyememektedirler. Vatandaşlarımız ülkemizdeki eğitim kurumlarının çevrimiçi sanal sınıflardan açmış oldukları kurslardan anadillerinde eğitim alabilmeleri mümkün olacaktır. Sanal sınıf teknolojileriyle eş zamanlı iletişim kurulmaktadır. Türkiye"den bir eğitim kurumunun programına kayıtlı öğrenen görüntülü, sesli ve yazılı olarak Avrupa"da yaşayan diğer Türkler ya da ülkemizdeki öğrenenler ile aynı eğitim ortamında ana dillerinde eğitim görebilirler.

- by Salih Gümüş
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- Virtual Classrooms

There have been insurmountable obstacles for sharing instructions with disabled students but now they can be easily overcome by using the free programs TeamViewer 5 in combination with Skype, Krut Computer Recorder and Zoomtext because they allow to transmit all instructional material in accessible format in real time from the lecture computer directly to the screen of the disabled student.

- by Thomas Hahn
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- Communication, Teaching and Learning, Education, Educational Technology

E-learning is a very promising way of delivering training and is broadly used in tertiary education.Although e-learning has a great potential, it is still at its starting point in Greece. The present paper describes the experiences we obtained from teaching the Human – Computer Interaction course in the Computer Science Department of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Blackboard has been used as the main platform for e-learning. The presented qualitative and quantitative facts reveal the power of e-learning and assure a greater level of success and efficiency after the enrichment of the current course and the development of new online courses.

This paper examines the concept of 'virtual terrorism'. This idea intersects with lifestyle choice and reactions to the domination of the West's world view through the e-Learning of the internet. There are real terrorists who use the internet as a means of camouflage, concealment and a way to organise virtually. Secondly, there are also those who use the internet as a hacking playground, subverting dominant codes in a different way to the terrorists. Thirdly, there is the negativity, boredom and repetition that endless access to information can induce. This type of virtual terrorism is best described through affect and a new form of western nihilism.

- by David R Cole
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- Social Change, Information Science, Music, Philosophy

The Virtual Classroom Project was an initiative to encourage University education students to consider who their prospective students would be. The project shares a series of video interviews with a class of grade 4 students and their teacher. Knowing learners is crucial to developing relationships and planning effectively. Viewing these videos might afford insights and understanding into a class of young learners. It is the hope that prospective teachers can use the information in the videos to leverage in-class conversations and be a platform for making assignments and activities more authentic.

- by Sharon Pelech and +2
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- Computer Science, Teacher Education, Multimedia, Teachers Practices

For the past decades, many academic institutions avoided, or tried to avoid physical travel in favour of Video Conferencing Systems (VCS). With VCS, the real-time two-way visual and verbal interaction of the traditional classroom could be simulated by technology – creating a virtual classroom whose boundaries are limited only by the extent of the video conferencing network. However, compared with real face-toface conversation, research suggests that communication through conventional video conferencing tools is an artificial experience. VCS filter out and distort many of the often unconscious signals that are used in face-to-face interaction. These signals, such as body expression, posture, gaze, and eye contact are used to regulate, maintain and progress verbal and social interactions among participants. In addition, VCS generally support the communication aspects of the interactions only, neglecting the collaboration aspect. Collaboration in an educational context is determined by...

- by Hobert Sasa
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- Computer Science, Virtual Classrooms, Vcs, Programming Errors

- by Ajala Samuel
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- Satellite Communications, Virtual Classrooms, VSAT communication, E Learning

The overall objective of this paper is to examine the discourse of a virtual classroom from a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform website called Coursera. Crystal’s (2001) Language Features of Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) was used as the main theoretical framework to analyze the discourse. By doing so, we answered the question: What are the typical features of CMC by students in a virtual classroom? The answer gives us a deeper recognition of CMC’s features and its implication in teaching and learning. This paper uses an interpretive methodology by working from qualitative data on the ground observing and focusing on CMC features of discourse among a particular group of students in a Coursera course called “Think Again: How to Reason and Argue” by Walter Sinnott-Armstrong and Ram Neta from Duke University. The discourse analyzed was in one of the forums called “Construct Your Own Argument”. The students created this forum and called it “Ram's Lecture Series Needs a Mental Health Warning” that was a response to an assignment. The findings indicated that the discourse of virtual classrooms could help educators better understand how students think and function. The discourse can be used to see whether teaching and learning is occurring, and whether a concept is understood or not. Nevertheless, we must not neglect educating instructors on how to better use the CMC and how to read what learners are saying or trying to say. In addition, instructors must put some rules and guidelines for students so that they create a safe and secure platform for them to interact. Otherwise, students will be reluctant to participate and talk. Another major teaching and learning aspect in this research paper is mostly directed towards language teachers. They can detect grammar or spelling mistakes and create supplement materials or revise certain concepts or lessons. Finally, the implications for teaching and learning are discussed.

- by Dr. Laila Mohebi
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- Discourse Analysis, Psychology, Virtual Classrooms, SSRN

This paper identifies usage scenarios of a web platform called “Virtual Classrooms” and analyses students’ perception of the technology to understand whether and how this perception changes during platform testing. To do this, we draw on the concept of “Instrumental Orchestration”, which has only been deployed in mathematics education to date, to understand whether the concept is analytically useful when applied to other school subjects. The participants are three teachers of three different subjects with different levels of expertise with the web platform, and their classes (55 students in total). Data was generated through (i) a self-observation instrument for teachers and (ii) a questionnaire for students, administered at the beginning and the end of the platform testing. Four “Instrumental Orchestration” scenarios, two of which are already identified in literature, are evident from the mix analysis, as well as minor variations in technology perception. Limitations and implicatio...

This paper presents the conception and first evaluations of an Online-Writing Lab at the Faculty of Cultural and Social Sciences of the Distance-University in Hagen. Academic Writing includes being able to find resources, to do research on the state of art and to critically reflect on recent discourses. Research tools that make this part of academic work easier exist, but require additional (media) competences. These competencies are more or less taken as granted; enabling students to gain them is not really an integral part of study-modules. At the same time the student’s heterogeneity not only in regard to previous knowledge and prerequisites rises, and collaborative and cooperative learning and the necessity to communicate on it becomes an important factor for success and motivation in learning-processes. The conception of the Writing-Lab is an approach to provide students with tools for collaborative learning processes that enable them to gain those competencies.

- by Sabine Siemsen
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- Academic Writing, Virtual Classrooms, Collaborative Learning, Cooperative Learning

This paper presents the design and application of a major individual assessment task created in part to develop students’ capacity for lifelong assessment, a key element of lifelong learning. Additionally the task contributes to fostering a sense of community in asynchronous online learning environments. The task is a supra disciplinary report, recently trialled and now adopted for two postgraduate environmental studies courses offered online. The task design’s theoretical underpinnings are reviewed with reference to (i) lifelong assessment, (ii) the value of lifelong assessment from the perspective of environmental studies, and (iii) the importance of fostering community to support learning in online contexts. The paper describes the task’s disaggregation into three discrete stages, and the opportunities this provides for fostering community and for supporting students to engage in critical assessment of the quality of their own and their peers’ written work, through a transparent, structured process of giving and receiving peer feedback.

- by Liam Phelan
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- Interdisciplinarity, Community, Virtual Classrooms, Electronic Learning

- by Salih GUMUS and +1
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- Virtual Classrooms

This study investigated the use of virtual classroom instruction on students’ academic performance in Educational Technology in the University of Calabar. Three hypotheses were formulated to guide this study and quasi-experimental research design was employed for the study. A sample of 72 Educational Technology Students was selected for the study using the purposive sampling technique. Thirty six (36) respondents were used for experimental group and remaining thirty six (36) were used as control group. A performance test and questionnaire were used for data collection and independent t-test was used to analyze the data. The result of the analysis indicated that utilization of virtual classroom instruction influenced students’ academic performance in Educational Technology. It was, therefore, recommended that the use of virtual classroom instruction should be encouraged to boost instructional delivery and optimize students’ academic performance in Educational Technology and other cou...

- by Ekpo Ekpo-Eloma
- •
- Engineering, Education, Educational Technology, Higher Education

This paper identifies usage scenarios of a web platform called "Virtual Classrooms" and analyses students' perception of the technology to understand whether and how this perception changes during platform testing. To do this, we draw on the concept of "Instrumental Orchestration", which has only been deployed in mathematics education to date, to understand whether the concept is analytically useful when applied to other school subjects. The participants are three teachers of three different subjects with different levels of expertise with the web platform, and their classes (55 students in total). Data was generated through (i) a self-observation instrument for teachers and (ii) a questionnaire for students, administered at the beginning and the end of the platform testing. Four "Instrumental Orchestration" scenarios, two of which are already identified in literature, are evident from the

- by Beatrice Ligorio
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- Educational Technology, Virtual Classrooms, Instrumental orchestration, Qwerty

- by David Slomp and +2
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- Teacher Education, Teachers Practices, Virtual Classrooms

Virtual Education was born in 2002 from a joint project between the Center for Improvement, Experimentation and Pedagogical Research CPEIP and the Center for Education and Technology Links. CPEIP has developed a line of distance teacher training through the Internet running several courses since 2002, and Links during the last 15 years has dedicated its efforts to provide teachers and students access to educational opportunities associated with new information and communication technologies. Both institutions decided to combine their efforts and develop a joint project that integrates the CPEIP distance teacher training line, so far aimed at the curricular update, different strategies to support the appropriation of ICTs and their curricular integration.

- by The Ijbmt
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- Digital Literacy, Virtual Classrooms, Virtual Education, ICT competencies

Stefanie Fischer, wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin am Lehrstuhl für Jüdisches Denken, hat im zurückliegenden Wintersemester den Einstieg in die digital unterstützte Lehre mit einer Online-Sitzung via Adobe Connect gewagt. Über ihre Erfahrungen bei der Durchführung, ihren Aufwand und die Rückmeldungen der Studierenden haben wir mit der Historikerin gesprochen. UP2date: Frau Dr. Fischer, Sie haben erstmals Ihre Lehre in einen Virtual Classroom verlegt. Was war der Grund dafür? Fischer: Eigentlich hatte ich schon sehr lange vor, mich endlich mal mit dem Thema " Medien in der Lehre " zu beschäftigen. Ich wusste, dass es verschiedene Methoden digitaler Lehre gibt und auch Moodle für die Lehre viel bietet, hatte bis dato aber nie die Zeit, mich damit tiefer zu befassen. Im zurückliegenden Wintersemester im Seminar " Juden im Bereich des Wirtschaftens. Ein globalgeschichtlicher Überblick im 19. und 20. Jahrhundert " hatte ich eine Mid-Term-Sitzung zur Reflexion und Anwendung des bis dahin behandelten und angeeigneten Wissens geplant. Dieser Termin kollidierte jedoch mit einer Konferenz in Washington. Ich fragte mich, ob sich dies auch ohne physische Präsenz im Seminarraum durchführen lässt. Letztlich habe ich mit Marlen Schumann vom ZfQ eine knappe Stunde zusammengesessen und habe erzählt, was ich vorhabe. Gemeinsam haben wir dann eine Lösung gefunden. UP2date: Was hatten Sie vor und wie sah die Lösung aus? Fischer: Die Grundidee war, vor dem Hintergrund der 7 bis 8 zentralen Texte, die die Studierenden im Semester bereits gelesen hatten, ausgewählte Fragestellungen bzw. Themen zu bearbeiten und Thesen zu formulieren. Und dies alles, ohne gemeinsam in einem Raum zu sein. Die Wahl des Werkzeugs für Online-Sitzungen fiel dann schnell auf Adobe Connect. UP2date: Und wie sah der Tag der virtuellen Sitzung aus? Was haben die Studierenden dann konkret gemacht und was war Ihre Rolle? Fischer: Die Themen hatte ich den Studierenden bereits mehrere Tage vorab geschickt, ebenso ein Videotutorial zu Adobe Connect auf Youtube. Mit dieser Vorbereitung konnten alle, die sich das angeschaut hatten, das Programm auch problemlos nutzen. " Studierende sollen sich und ihre Arbeit ernst genommen fühlen. " Pünktlich zu Seminarbeginn haben sich alle Studierenden eingeloggt, die meisten von daheim, einige saßen aber auch an der Uni im Seminarraum. Ich hatte die Gruppenraumfunktion genutzt. Dort haben die Studierenden dann untereinander aufgeteilt, wer welche Themen und Fragestellungen unter welcher Perspektive bearbeitet. Nach einer knapp 45-minütigen Einzelarbeitsphase sind alle in die jeweiligen Gruppenarbeitsräume zurückgekehrt und haben die individuellen Ergebnisse zu einem Gemeinsamen Ergebnis zusammengeführt. Ich war die ganze Zeit anwesend und ansprechbar für inhaltlich-methodische Probleme und bin auch während der Gruppenphase in die einzelnen Räume gegangen und hab geschaut, ob noch zusätzliche Hinweise oder Anregungen nötig sind. Hätte es technische Probleme gegeben, wäre Frau Schumann zur Stelle gewesen. Aber es hat alles super funktioniert. Die Gruppenergebnisse wurden dann allen zur Verfügung gestellt und die beste Gruppe hat ein kleines Geschenk bekommen. Alle Studierenden haben zudem ihr Einzelergebnis in den Moodle-Kursraum über die Aktivität " Aufgabe " hochgeladen, was dann auch von mir bewertet und mit einem individuellen Feedback versehen wurde. Diese Formen von Rückmeldungen waren mir einfach wichtig um zu zeigen, dass es bei dieser Gesamtaktivität nicht nur um ein Experimentieren und Rumklicken im virtuellen Raum ging, sondern die Aufgabe eine Verbindlichkeit hat und die Resultate gesehen werden. Studierende sollen sich und ihre Arbeit respektiert und ernst genommen fühlen. " In der heutigen Arbeitswelt ist verstärkt der professionelle Umgang und die Nutzung solcher Methoden und Werkzeuge gefordert. " Mid Term Adobe Connect-Services-Lehre und Medien-Zentrum für ...

- by Stefanie Fischer
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- E-learning, Learning and Teaching, Global History, Online Learning

The paper presents empirical research investigating the effect on the learning activity when the ordinary classroom setting in a university college master course is substituted with a virtual classroom supporting synchronous e-learning. To obtain good learning results in the virtual classroom, we hypothesised that changes to various aspects of the learning activity would be required. Applying activity theory as a framework, we identified such changes in the learning activity of our case in two virtual classroom test sessions: an ordinary lecture and a formal examination in the form of a student presentation. Our findings include a set of considerations that we suggest should be made if a virtual classroom is to be taken into use by a community of learners normally basing their learning activity on face-to-face interaction in a traditional classroom.

- by chalachew dessie
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- Higher Education, Virtual Communities, Activity Theory, Virtual Classrooms
- by Dr. Nellie Deutsch
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- E-learning, Virtual Classrooms, Webcasting, Web Video Conferencing