The document discusses virtual classrooms as teaching and learning environments located within computer-mediated communication systems where all activities and interactions take place through computers instead of face-to-face. Virtual classrooms may involve synchronous online meetings and presentations as well as asynchronous events and consist of a mixture of these. They utilize technologies like course management applications, multimedia resources, the internet and videoconferencing. Advantages for students include accessibility from anywhere with an internet connection and flexibility in schedule. Advantages for teachers include accessibility from anywhere with a computer and more efficient updating of materials. Google Classroom is highlighted as a useful virtual classroom software that is free, accessible anywhere and supports tracking of student progress and scheduling of materials.

1. VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
Dr. Jagannath K. Dange
Associate Professor
Department of Education
Kuvempu University
Shankaraghatta
Dist: Shimoga,Karnataka
jkdange@gmail.com
http://jkdange.blogspot.com

2. Education
TeachingLearning
1. Universalization of
Education
2. Equity In Access
3. High quality
Teaching
4. High Quality
Materials
5. Education without
Boundary
6. Use of possible
approached

3. Introduction
Virtual classroom refers to instruction in a learning
environment where teacher and student are
separated by time or space, or both, and the
teacher provides course content through course
management applications, multimedia resources,
the Internet , videoconferencing , etc.
Students receive the content and communicate
with the teacher via the same technologies.

4. Meaning
• Virtual = something whose existence is
simulated with software.
• A teaching and learning environment located
within a computer-mediated communication
system.
• All activities and interactions are through
computer-mediated communication

5. VIRTUAL CLASSROOM?
• A teaching and learning environment located within
a computer-mediated communication system.
• All activities and interactions take place through the
computer instead of face-to-face.
• Virtual classrooms may involve three overlapping
scopes of interaction technologies: VC courses,
meetings and presentations.
• Among the synchronous events are online meetings,
which may include online presentations.

6. Definitions
• Virtual classrooms are complete programs of learning.
They consist of a mixture of synchronous and
asynchronous events.
• They are special application of computer and network
technologies to the task of education.
• A Virtual Classroom is private online space in
Blackboard that teachers can use to support student
learning. It is accessible via the Internet, 24×7. Just
like your face-to-face classroom, a Virtual Classroom
is a busy place.
• The online learning space where students and
instructors interact.

7. Virtual Classroom vs.
Real-Life Classroom.
• The classroom is the
real, tangible, touchable
place to teach and to
learn....
• In the virtual classroom,
the teacher is usually
able to interact with only
one student at a
time(sometimes in
group) and it is from
behind a computer
screen.

8. 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

9. FEATURES

11. Advantages for students
• Virtual classrooms remove the need to travel to a location
in which to participate in the course or lessons.
• Virtual classrooms can be accessed from any computer
that has the necessary software, hardware, Internet
connection, and Internet browser requirements in order to
participate in the virtual classroom
• virtual classrooms are accessible to students with physical
disabilities, which is an advantage over the real classroom,
as they can access it from home.
• Virtual classrooms have been affirmed as “time
independent” meaning that students can access the
course material and activities in the virtual classroom at a
time that is most convenient to them.

12. Advantages for teacher
• The teacher is not required to work from an office or
classroom to instruct lessons or organise material
and lessons; this can be done from anywhere where
they have access to a computer with an Internet
connection and other necessary software/hardware,
which is an advantage.
• Electronic content can be updated more efficiently
than printed material, and at a lower cost, which
saves the teacher time and money when preparing
and adjusting material to suit their lessons and
courses within their virtual classroom.

13. Limitations for students and Teachers
• Limited offerings: the choice of courses is limited
at present.
• Equipment requirements: students who do not
have a computer will have to travel to use the
necessary equipment.
• Delayed feedback: it may be hours until a
question is answered by the teacher.

14. The best virtual classroom software
for online teaching

15. • Product, developed by Google,
especially for educational
institutions for managing a virtual
classroom.
• It is a structured tool that assists the
teachers in managing their
coursework.
• Using the classroom, the teachers
can easily share their course
material with the students.
• Released publicly in 2014, the web
service can be accessed on both
desktops and through mobile apps,
available for iOS and Android
devices.

16. The salient features of the classroom include:
1.Facility for organization of course content: The course
material is support to add text, videos, presentation etc.
The Classroom combined with other products of Google
like Docs, Sheets and Slides for writing.
2.Free of cost: It is a freely available web tool.
3. Accessible anytime anywhere:
4.Supports assessment through assignments and quizzes:
It provides a platform to create, distribute and grade digital
assignments. They can also upload an external file for
evaluation. Similarly, the quizzes can also be evaluated
automatically or manually

17. 5. Students' progress can be tracked: Through assignments,
quizzes and questions, the teachers can grade the students
and track their progress. A Grade Book is maintained that
records the scores of each student.
6. Discussion forums: The teachers and students can easily
communicate via discussion forum and posting comments.
7. Scheduling: Google Classroom has been integrated with
Google Calendar to provide support for scheduling material. A
due date can also be set for assignments or quizzes to monitor
late submissions.
8. Simple setup procedure: It is easy to create a classroom
account and add students. Students can be invited to join the
class through a private code. A separate folder is created in
each user's Google drive where the user can store his/her
documents.

23. 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