1130-100+Class_Team+5


 * Virtual Classrooms **

In today’s technologically-advanced world, many education programs face the challenge of how to not only provide students with an adequate education in their focused study, but also to supply them with the skills and knowledge of technology that is essential in many workplaces today. Consequently, this era of sweeping technology, not surprisingly, has had, and will continue to have, a momentous impact on education, especially higher education. Where a notebook and a pen were the fundamental tools of education in prior generations, today’s students arrive at class with laptops and smart phones. Such technological innovations are changing the very way that educators teach and students learn, transforming the entire education arena. Of these innovations, a trend that many universities, and more recently, high schools, are embracing is the concept of distance education. The customization and convenience that distance education offers has attracted an enthusiastic audience among students and teachers. Amid the diverse varieties of distance education programs, one such advancement that has become popular at many schools around the world is that of the virtual classroom.
 * Introduction: **

Definition:
A virtual classroom, or an e-learning lab, is a learning environment generated in virtual space. It is a type of distance education using the internet that allows educators to teach and students to learn without being physically present in a classroom. Although courses are not taught face-to-face in a real classroom, students enrolled in virtual classrooms still acquire educational content via real-life instruction. Students also continue to have opportunities to receive immediate feedback and communicate with the instructor while logged into class through text, chat, and emoticons. Students can also interact with other students via these same methods of communication. Through means of virtual education, instructors are able to complement the efforts and teachings of educators around the globe as well as students from all parts of the world being connected by internet technology.

Virtual classrooms, also known as a learning management systems (LMS), have been around for quite some time. Virtual classrooms date back as early as 1959 when, at the University of Chicago, a lecture was given via a television broadcast. In the 1980’s computers started to become the means of virtual classrooms in the sense that lectures and programs could be viewed individually on the students own time. However, in the last ten years, virtual classrooms have taken on a whole new meaning. Students and professors can now go through a whole class without any face-to-face interaction.
 * History: **

Although the internet started to take off in the 1960’s, it was not until 1992 that the internet was available to the public. The accessibility to the internet has played a large role in the expansion of virtual classrooms. A very popular style of virtual classrooms is online college courses. According to "The Minnesota Daily," the amount of online classes from the 2008 school year to the 2009 school year went up 14 percent. Not only are virtual courses becoming more trendy at the college level, but at the grade school level as well. The Western NSW Regional Virtual select school (XSEL) is a school in Australia that utilizes virtual classrooms as a way to teach Math, Science, and English without the students physically being in class with the teacher. The students are divided into 3 groups of 10 and are asked to collaborate with each other to solve problems. This all takes place in a base school where other subject matter is covered in a more traditional setting. Experimental steps such as these made by XSEL are beginning to reach schools around the globe.

**﻿** There are several current issues that have people concerned about what direction our education programs may be heading. In a recent article, (2004) the internet was viewed as a perfect tool to be used as a way for citizens to discuss information. However, because western civilization has become so dependent on advertisements and entertainment via the internet and other forms of technology, it is a concern that citizens will not learn the information but rather believe everything they are told. The process of reasoning and questioning facts and information is equally as important as knowing the information all together. Another issue of concern is the ability of a virtual classroom to mock a democratic government. By limiting face-to-face contact and social interaction, students may fail to develop the social skills needed to debate or question other people’s opinions. Finally, but certainly not least important, is the issue of self-worth and identity. There are questions whether the virtual classroom programs will be able to provide a social setting appropriate for grade school.
 * Trends: **

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v Students that are enrolled in online (virtual) courses are able to work at their own pace. This allows for students, especially older ones, to work around their work schedules. This will also help increase both time management and independent study skills. v Students in virtual classes have opportunities to study subjects that are not offered at normal schools. v Because the classes are all online at a computer, students increase their writing abilities.  v There is no face-to-face interaction. Students that don’t interact with people in the classroom may lack the skills needed when working at certain jobs. v Where should the funding come from? Who should teach these classes? These are concerns of professionals as to whether or not teachers are prepared enough to create a virtual classroom as well as where the funding would come from to pay for the programs needed to start a virtual course. v Students may have too much independence. If a student is not motivated enough to get started, they will fall behind very quickly. v For students that have poor writing skills, the online courses may lead to extra struggles for learning. v For students with disabilities, the technology may be very difficult to understand and utilize.
 * Advantages: **
 * Disadvantages: **

**Future Direction:** Can it be funded? How do we prepare to teach the classes? Who will decide the curriculum? These questions will be deciding factors for the future development of virtual classrooms. Virtual classrooms have come a long way since they first began. Online teachers have practically become private tutors and the feedback that students receive is almost instantaneous. These classrooms have been very successful so far but are far from where we might see them in the future. As new, faster technology replaces older, slower technology, there is no limit to how much this type of program will grow. The future of a virtual classroom lies solely in the hands of technology.

Although it could be agreed upon that virtual classrooms are the future, they are definitely not a sure fix to any flaw in an educational system. Blended Learning may be a start though. This would include both online and in-classroom studies and would allow for students to take courses not offered in their actual school. This form of school would give more flexibility for students with already very difficult schedules.

**Conclusion:** Virtual classrooms will be a topic discussed in just about every school board meeting for multiple years to come. It is a very fresh idea and will take much research to provide the best format to implement into the educational system. Although it has both advantages and disadvantages, the concept is ready to be built upon. Creating virtual classrooms is not the quick fix to the educational system, but it is a means that allows for everyone to receive an equal education. As technology becomes faster and faster, so will our ideas, our schools, and our children; it presents a challenge that we must attack by any means necessary.

// Global virtual classroom //. (2003). Retrieved from []
 * References: **

Nordine, Danielle. "Number of online classes increasing | mndaily.com - Serving the University of Minnesota Community Since 1900." //News | mndaily.com - Serving the University of Minnesota Community Since 1900//. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2011. .

The future of higher education: how technology will shape learning. (2008). // The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited ////, Retrieved from [] //

Virtual Classrooms. (2009). //Pbworks//. Retrieved February 10, 2011, from http://ged578.pbworks.com/w/page/7309937/Virtual_Classrooms

Virtual Education. (2011). //Wikipedia//. Retrieved February 9, 2011, from []

Wood, C. (2005, April). The Virtual Classroom Redefines Education. In //edutopia//. Retrieved February 10, 2011, from []

"XSEL Western NSW Region Virtual Selective High School | Our school." //home//. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. <http://www.xsel.schools.nsw.edu