Virtual learning vs In class learning
Virtual Learning Taking Over? With the vast amounts of money being provided by governments to train educators and supply students with new technology, it does not take a leap of faith to consider a future where virtual learning environments will have the potential to dominate or perhaps replace the traditional classroom, as we know it. ... Virtual learning environments are hugely different in size, capabilities and services offered, and can provide for individuals ranging in skill levels, ages and special needs. With our own personal experiences of virtual learning environments being little more than a text only Web page, we wished to examine the current uses of these new virtual environments and how they utilize technology to create a more interactive learning curriculum. ... After locating examples of virtual learning environments I considered how technology has been able to copy the role of traditional classroom equipment and teaching techniques and whether they can be successfully transferred. Upon review of these virtual environments raised questions about the extent to which student’s needs were being met and how students adapted to these new and reactive virtual environments has now become an vital part of our learning environment. ... There has been a significant rise in interest towards implementation of Internet based virtual learning in the last number of years, as educational institutions and individuals realize the benefits of these virtual environments. ... (Rankin) Current educational virtual environments are large and extensive and can be difficult to define as they are constantly changing and evolving. ... If we consider virtual schools, we can possibly make a division into three possible broad categories: independent, collaborate and broadcast. (Russell): These different models give an example of the wide range of learning flexibility offered by these virtual environments that serve the individual needs and are regardless of age, gender, religion, nationality or disability. It is therefore not surprising that we have witnessed such a move towards interactive learning in such virtual environments. ... Some critics believe that the traditional classroom will become outdated as the demand for flexibility and distance learning increases, while others believe in its longevity as a communicative learning medium. Such debate is fuelled by surveys, such as the study at the California State University at Northridge, which claimed that students leaning in a virtual classroom tested 20 per cent, better across the board than their fellow students in a traditional classroom. (Schutte) Jerald Schutte at Northridge randomly selected half of his students to be taught through traditional in-class lectures and written assignments while the rest of the class learned through text posted online, email and real time chat with classmates and electronic assignments. ... What is astonishing about the results was how quickly the students adapted to the virtual classroom and formed peer groups online as compensation for not being able to converse in class. Students in the virtual class spent 50 per cent more time working with each other then their counterparts in the traditional classroom. These results were quite confounding at the time as little experimental evidence had been generated to demonstrate the effects on student performance in virtual versus traditional class formats. ... Whereas the virtual environment encourages freedom of expression and students are more open to communicate and express opinion and would often thrive in these environments. While these results are impressive and virtual environments have the obvious benefit of being more accessible than traditional classrooms, and are often a more flexible and convenient approach to education, they do however have several unfortunate consequences. One thing that Schutte pointed out in his report was the fact that ‘the virtual students seemed more frustrated’, not from only the technology but from the inability to, ask the teacher, questions in a face-to-face environment. This lack of human face-to-face interaction is what concerns a lot of those critics against virtual learning environments, as they fear students will not develop a deep understanding of their own emotions and this could have a long-term effect on their relationships as future adults in society. ... Also differences in learning styles and varying aptitude levels will mean that some will learn less effectively in virtual environments and would require more individual personal contact with a teacher. As many traditional educational institutions are coming under pressure to join the virtual realm, Glenn Russell (Russell) highlights the important point that virtual schools may be promoted due the self interest of the economist, bureaucrat, or on-line entrepreneur, rather than on the evidence of educational research or merit. ... But while it is unlikely that the virtual classroom will replace the traditional classroom as an educational medium completely, there is no doubt that interactive learning in virtual environments will become more common as the technology advances.