Virtual 
Classrooms
Why use a Blackboard Virtual Classroom?
Many of the activities listed here are possible to provide in other online contexts. School websites, school intranets, and personal websites are all places where staff and students can access online content. So, why use Blackboard?
You do not need web authoring skills. Content such as lesson overviews, assessment tasks, criteria sheets, links to web resources, downloadable files, worksheets, tutorials and mark books can all be easily created through the site control area of Blackboard using templates.
Curriculum resources for students are available during and outside school hours, unlike most school intranets.
Students can only access their own Virtual Classroom via a unique Learning Place username and password.
Teachers absent on sick leave or attending a professional development activity can leave work for their students in their Virtual Classroom and check progress. Students on holidays can also check in with their class.
Assessment items can be tracked through the use of self-marking quizzes and short answer items in the grade book.
Students’ progress during collaborative projects can be tracked. Students can work together conveniently after class hours.
Students can submit drafts, plans and assessment items through the digital drop box.
Promote substantive conversations and deeper understanding through discussion with invited guests
Personal Opinions
“I think this is a great thing to have available because not everyone can attend classes. I know for me I love taking virtual classes it really helps me in the summer time. I take classes during the summer online to stay ahead.” –Samantha Miller
“I think the perks of online classes are huge. It gives so many students more opportunities to succeed in when they may be in an unusual situation. Say if they become very ill, or they have a family tragedy that might cause them to miss substantial amount of class they would be able to keep learning and being part of the class. I know I am benefit greatly from virtual classes because I am on the basketball team and by me taking virtual classes I am able to keep up with my schoolwork even if we are traveling to an away. I love virtual courses.” –Lindsey Newpher
“Virtual classrooms are great for teachers and students because they help accommodate both their lifestyles in a learning environment 24/7. They are less time consuming, and instead of meeting for a class; you just work individually or in-group effort and then you have a deadline in the end. When I am a teacher I don't think that I will be using Virtual classrooms, since I want to teach elementary students. If I was to teach older children, then I would love to teach virtually:) I think we should include those links that were apart of the article-they were very useful.” –Lindsay Boyer
“I love the idea of virtual classrooms. I work over 40 hours a week and I’m also a full-time student, so completing my work whenever I have the time is very nice. It's also very helpful not to actually have to attend an actual classroom at a certain time. It makes for a more flexible schedule. There are also disadvantages to virtual classrooms. I don’t really like the group work aspect of it. When students are required to complete assignments together it makes it very difficult. Trying to find a time to meet with all group members at one time is very hard and is next to impossible. The virtual classroom is also very impersonal and this makes it very hard to work with people over the Internet. Even through all the advantages and disadvantages, I think all teachers and students should try this new phenomenon and see if its for them.” –Ashley Tremblay
“In my opinion I think Virtual Classrooms are a great idea! I have been taking virtual classrooms for the past 2 semesters and even though at times I think it may be harder then a in person classroom, I love the fact that most of the work I can do in my own home where I can do the work on my own time by the deadline. I also think it prepares students for life after an education, where most will be expected to do their work by a deadline, where they won't have their boss by their side the whole time.” –Leah Zaremba
“I think virtual classrooms are a fascinating thing! I love being able to keep up with my work at my own pace and not worry about having to go to a classroom at a specific time each week. One thing I don’t like is the group work aspect. It is tough to get everyone on the same page when you can only type messages to him or her and wait for an answer, sometimes not until days later. I still think they are a great idea and think they are extremely beneficial!” –Khrystine Bosland
Classrooms What is a Virtual Classroom?
A Virtual Classroom is private online space in Blackboard that teachers can use to support student learning. It is accessible via the Internet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Just like your face–to–face classroom, a Virtual Classroom is a busy place.
A Virtual Classroom might contain:
A Virtual Classroom is private online space in Blackboard that teachers can use to support student learning. It is accessible via the Internet, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Just like your face–to–face classroom, a Virtual Classroom is a busy place.
A Virtual Classroom might contain:
Class Activities:
Group and individual learning activities
Discussions and chats with students, parents and guests
Quizzes and surveys
Homework activities and assessment documents
Full online courses with modules of work
Forums and synchronous chat sessions
Web Quests, Hotlists, Scavenger Hunts, etc.
Class Organization:
Important information for students and parents
Calendar and timetables
Unit overviews
Student grade/mark book and criteria sheets
Student homepages
Group and individual learning activities
Discussions and chats with students, parents and guests
Quizzes and surveys
Homework activities and assessment documents
Full online courses with modules of work
Forums and synchronous chat sessions
Web Quests, Hotlists, Scavenger Hunts, etc.
Class Organization:
Important information for students and parents
Calendar and timetables
Unit overviews
Student grade/mark book and criteria sheets
Student homepages
Why use a Blackboard Virtual Classroom?
Many of the activities listed here are possible to provide in other online contexts. School websites, school intranets, and personal websites are all places where staff and students can access online content. So, why use Blackboard?
You do not need web authoring skills. Content such as lesson overviews, assessment tasks, criteria sheets, links to web resources, downloadable files, worksheets, tutorials and mark books can all be easily created through the site control area of Blackboard using templates.
Curriculum resources for students are available during and outside school hours, unlike most school intranets.
Students can only access their own Virtual Classroom via a unique Learning Place username and password.
Teachers absent on sick leave or attending a professional development activity can leave work for their students in their Virtual Classroom and check progress. Students on holidays can also check in with their class.
Assessment items can be tracked through the use of self-marking quizzes and short answer items in the grade book.
Students’ progress during collaborative projects can be tracked. Students can work together conveniently after class hours.
Students can submit drafts, plans and assessment items through the digital drop box.
Promote substantive conversations and deeper understanding through discussion with invited guests
Why Wasn’t This Available Before?
During the first year in operation, The Learning Place Blackboard license was limited.
Education Queensland was committed to ensuring that online learning was developed in a supportive learning environment and our Online Learning Coordinators facilitated hundreds of courses in writing online courses.
The license has increased, as there are now over 21,000 registered users in the Learning Place.
It has become clear that many teachers do not want to develop full online learning courses. They would however, like to use the internet to support student learning and create clear and open forms of communication between the school, students, parents and community members. An Open House Trial was successfully run in Term 3, 2003 with over 120 teachers participating. Many teachers just wanted to explore Blackboard and see how this e-learning environment could support what they do in the classroom.
How to Start Your Own Virtual Classroom:
For steps to see how to set up your own virtual classroom using Blackboard please see the directions from this link:
http://education.qld.gov.au/learningplace/onlinelearning/courses/gettingstarted.htmlDuring the first year in operation, The Learning Place Blackboard license was limited.
Education Queensland was committed to ensuring that online learning was developed in a supportive learning environment and our Online Learning Coordinators facilitated hundreds of courses in writing online courses.
The license has increased, as there are now over 21,000 registered users in the Learning Place.
It has become clear that many teachers do not want to develop full online learning courses. They would however, like to use the internet to support student learning and create clear and open forms of communication between the school, students, parents and community members. An Open House Trial was successfully run in Term 3, 2003 with over 120 teachers participating. Many teachers just wanted to explore Blackboard and see how this e-learning environment could support what they do in the classroom.
How to Start Your Own Virtual Classroom:
For steps to see how to set up your own virtual classroom using Blackboard please see the directions from this link:
Personal Opinions
“I think this is a great thing to have available because not everyone can attend classes. I know for me I love taking virtual classes it really helps me in the summer time. I take classes during the summer online to stay ahead.” –Samantha Miller
“I think the perks of online classes are huge. It gives so many students more opportunities to succeed in when they may be in an unusual situation. Say if they become very ill, or they have a family tragedy that might cause them to miss substantial amount of class they would be able to keep learning and being part of the class. I know I am benefit greatly from virtual classes because I am on the basketball team and by me taking virtual classes I am able to keep up with my schoolwork even if we are traveling to an away. I love virtual courses.” –Lindsey Newpher
“Virtual classrooms are great for teachers and students because they help accommodate both their lifestyles in a learning environment 24/7. They are less time consuming, and instead of meeting for a class; you just work individually or in-group effort and then you have a deadline in the end. When I am a teacher I don't think that I will be using Virtual classrooms, since I want to teach elementary students. If I was to teach older children, then I would love to teach virtually:) I think we should include those links that were apart of the article-they were very useful.” –Lindsay Boyer
“I love the idea of virtual classrooms. I work over 40 hours a week and I’m also a full-time student, so completing my work whenever I have the time is very nice. It's also very helpful not to actually have to attend an actual classroom at a certain time. It makes for a more flexible schedule. There are also disadvantages to virtual classrooms. I don’t really like the group work aspect of it. When students are required to complete assignments together it makes it very difficult. Trying to find a time to meet with all group members at one time is very hard and is next to impossible. The virtual classroom is also very impersonal and this makes it very hard to work with people over the Internet. Even through all the advantages and disadvantages, I think all teachers and students should try this new phenomenon and see if its for them.” –Ashley Tremblay
“In my opinion I think Virtual Classrooms are a great idea! I have been taking virtual classrooms for the past 2 semesters and even though at times I think it may be harder then a in person classroom, I love the fact that most of the work I can do in my own home where I can do the work on my own time by the deadline. I also think it prepares students for life after an education, where most will be expected to do their work by a deadline, where they won't have their boss by their side the whole time.” –Leah Zaremba
“I think virtual classrooms are a fascinating thing! I love being able to keep up with my work at my own pace and not worry about having to go to a classroom at a specific time each week. One thing I don’t like is the group work aspect. It is tough to get everyone on the same page when you can only type messages to him or her and wait for an answer, sometimes not until days later. I still think they are a great idea and think they are extremely beneficial!” –Khrystine Bosland
The Website We Used: http://education.qld.gov.au/learningplace/onlinelearning/virtual-classroom.html
17 comments:
My group read this article as well. I still think that some people are confused by your article being the first thing on your blog. I read your opinions and thought that they pretty much all sounded the same so you didn't really have to include all of them. I was also wondering what the educational benefits you guys saw to virtual classrooms, outside of the scheduling aspect, would be.
I liked that you included programs that include Virtual Classrooms. One virtual classroom you might also consider is Florida Virtual School. It is a place that is just like a classroom except in the internet. It includes everything homeschooled kids need and I believe they learn more, my sister definately learned more from a virtual classroom than a regular classrooms. The teachers were there answering her e-mail and she could talk to them. Most teachers in regular classrooms won't let their students do that.
I really liked how you guys set up your article and separated it into the different sections. I liked how you guys all got your own opinions in also, although some of them may be the same(ish). Great job this week.
You did a great job with this article summary. I like how you outlined what a virtual classroom is, the activities and why to use a virtual classroom. I though it was interesting to read about how to start a virtual classroom.
this is an awesome post group 2! i liked all the different sections that you had about virtual classrooms. i also liked that you included all of your opinions. great job!
I like how you started your post with an explanation of a virtual classroom. I also found the part about what a virtual classroom contains interesting. Good job!
Group Two,
I always find your blog very approachable and easy to read. I enjoy how you seperate your information instead of blobbing it all together. You definately think about appearance and how that is important at capturing an audience. Otherwise, your article was a good choice to use. I think virtual classrooms are an important tool to use in the classroom for all types of learners.
Great Job!
I enjoyed the bulk of your blog. However, it was confusing because the article being first threw me off. I liked that their was a link on how to start your own virtual classroom. Thats really neat. I never would have thought one of us could do it. However, seems like anything is possible these days.
It's good that you said some teachers dont really want or like the online learning idea, not because they are old fashioned, but because they believe that hands on learning is always going to be the best way to learn. Ok, so you didn't really say that, but thats what I got from it. I think you did a pretty good blog post, I especially liked the pictures. The opinions at the end were a good idea, but they all pretty much said the same thing basically.
I liked the way your blog was broken up. It made it very easy to read without getting too overwhelmed. I also like how you all included your opinions at the end. Thought it was great that you added how to make your own virtual classroom.
I like how this article mentioned several different similarities between virtual classrooms and real classrooms.
You did a really great job outlining all of the advantages that students and teachers have when placing classroom context online. There are so many different ways to use the concept of a virtual field trip! Great job!
Beautiful!
I really liked reading your blog, it looks very nice and looks like you guys put time into it! I love that you added pictures and then added your groups opinions. Great JOB!
I thought it was really appropriate how everyone spoke thier views on virtual classrooms. Since we are in one, we can see how it really works and we still learn. It teaches us independence too. I also liked the links you gave to teach us how to set one up. Overall, your blog was really resourseful. I could always come back to this blog and get answers and links to use in my classroom.
I think it was great that you also explianed how to start your own virtual classroom. You really made the article interesting.
I liked all of the information you all included, even though it seemed like a lot.
I appreciate your individual opinions, because I think as future teachers we need to express our opinions on such issues. Maybe you all could combine your "opinion" section into a summary, much like the article summary. That way it isn't so repetitive.
Good job!
This blog was extremely informative. What kept me reading was all the pretty pictures. I liked that you talked a bit about Blackboard and its use.
I also loved that you put a link to how to created your own virtual classroom.
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