Having made some notes on the paper, I have re-read and picked out some key points (as I see them), which are taken directly from the text for my own note taking purposes – these are not intended to be submitted as my own work.
‘The Virtual Classroom is a system for learning and communicating via connected computers. Students in the Virtual Classroom share their thoughts, questions, and reactions with professors and classmates, using computers equipped with specially designed software. The software enables students to send and receive messages, to interact with professors and classmates, to read and comment on lecture material, to take tests, and to receive feedback without having to attend scheduled classes. Learning can take place at any location and at any time by using a computer on campus, at home or in the workplace’.
Background: The primary goal of the project was to test whether it is possible to use a computer-mediated communication system to improve access to and effectiveness of post-secondary educational delivery. The most important product of the project is knowledge about the advantages and disadvantages of this new technology, as they may be influenced by variations in students’ characteristics and in implementation techniques and settings.
Method: In order to explore our key research questions, we found it necessary to observe various types of courses, students, and implementation environments.
Key questions: The two key questions are as follows: Is the Virtual Classroom a viable option for educational delivery? (On the whole, are outcomes at least as good as those for traditional face-to-face courses?); What variables are associated with especially good and especially poor outcomes in this new teaching and learning environment?
Data collection: Data collection rested primarily on pre- and post-course questionnaires administered to students, but also included more objective behavioural data (including grades, SAT scores, and records of the amount of on-line activity) and qualitative data (participant observation in class conferences, personal interviews with students, and case reports by instructors)
Hypotheses: H1: There will be no significant differences in scores measuring mastery of material taught in the virtual and the traditional classrooms. H2: VC students will perceive a VC to be superior to the TC on a number of dimensions. 2.1 Convenient access to educational experiences 2.2 Improved access to their professor 2.3 Increased participation in a course 2.4 Increased level of interest in the subject matter, which may continue beyond the end of the course 2.5 Improved ability to communicate and cooperate with other students in doing classwork (group collaboration skills) 2.6 Improved overall quality, whereby the student assesses the experience as being better than the TC in some way, involving learning more on the whole or gaining more from the course.
Learning tools: Students who take courses in a Virtual Classroom are expected to learn the course in a variety of ways. Many of the concepts and skills should be learned independently through reading texts or assigned articles, watching videotapes, and/or using other computer tools such as computer assisted learning software on PC.
The Virtual Classroom also offers some special opportunities. 1. Interaction and feedback may occur daily rather than being available only during a few scheduled hours during the week. 2. Pen names may be used in contributing responses to questions or assignments, thus enabling the student to share ideas and experiences without becoming embarrassed or revealing confidences. 3. Students may be forced to think and respond independently rather than listening passively to the instructor or other students. In one variety of the response branch, activity designed for this project, each student must answer a question before being allowed to see the other students’ answers. 4. Putting questions and answers into a written form may aid comprehension and/or retention for some students. It may also improve their writing skills.
Concept: Knowledge is not delivered to students; instead it emerges from active dialogue among those who seek to understand and apply concepts techniques (Bouton and Garth 1983; Whipple 1987).
Interactions: Techniques based on stimulating participation – very difficult in traditional classroom. Materials are written and searchable -communication is asynchronous – students deal actively at their own pace. “The electronic medium opens new educational options for both learners and teachers, not only in expanding educational access, but also in redesigning teaching strategies and learning activities.” The most basic redesign is to ask questions and stimulate student activities to fond and share answers, rather than giving all the answers. Though students may derive some benefit from simply reading materials on line, conferencing as a mode of course delivery can fulfill its potential only if students contribute actively to a group learning experience.
Cognitively immature students – discover – “There are many different and equally good answers, including mine.” Faculty members lead students toward critical involvement. Wide variation in perceptions of characteristics of the Virtual Classroom, both among courses and among students in the same course. Students feel more at ease than in the traditional classroom. All capital letters were common, students whose tying skills were generally poor found it easier to use CAPSLOCK than to operate the shift key to produce mixed upper- and lower-case letters.
The excerpts also demonstrate the students’ tendency to put off assignments and other forms of on-line participation. the first assignment was due by midnight on a Tuesday; several of the entries were made after dinner on that evening.
It was common practice for two or three students in an on-line course to develop a ‘buddy system’; they sat next to each other , talked over the material that was coming across the screen and helped each other with the mechanics of using the system.
Results: Results of this field trial are generally very positive’: they support the conclusion that the Virtual Classroom mode of delivery can increase access to and effectiveness of college-level education. Total study – over 200 variables and over 50 hypotheses.
Objective outcomes: mastery of subject matter: There were no significant differences in midterm or final examination scores in any courses. When we took into account the quality of graded assignments as well as the midterm and final examinations in computing the course average, introductory computer science students did significantly better in the Virtual Classroom than in the traditional classroom. There were no significant differences in grades for other courses.
Subjective Assessments: Hypotheses related to characteristics of the Virtual Classroom as compared to the traditional classroom were explored mainly on the basis of student self-reports. 2.1 Convenient access to educational experiences (supported) 2.2 Improved access to professor (supported) 2.3 Increased participation in a course (supported) 2.4 increased level of interest in the subject matter, which may continue beyond the end of the course.
Teaching Sociology in a virtual classroom: Examples of some of the statistical and interview-based data that support these conclusions. the majority of students (65%) felt that taking on-lone courses was more convenient. Even those who generally preferred traditional courses tended to comment on the advantages of being able to work on the course at times of their own choosing. Those with computers and modems at home were most likely to appreciate the convenience. – Own pace – freedom – flexible. Procrastinating is a problem in this mode of learning. About half the students admitted that when they became busy with other things, they were more likely to stop participating in an on-line course than to cut a traditional class. Many students do not have self discipline.
Some students participated almost every day, but others only when something was due.
Increased Interaction: opinion was mixed about whether the Virtual Classroom led to more communication. Those who were most enthusiastic about the medium tended to value other students’ contributions and comments highly, and enjoyed them.
Discussion and observations: …It was not surprising that despite some favourable outcomes for the totally Virtual Classroom offering Introductory Sociology, we decided not to repeat the experiment with that course. Students lacking teh necessary basic skills and self-discipline tend to do better in a traditionally delivered course.
Conclusion: The Virtual Classroom is a promising and viable option for post-secondary educational delivery, and may be particularly attractive for upper-level sociology courses. Average outcomes at least as good as for traditional face-to-face courses. Convenience of access may be improved. Average student in this experiment reported access and quality of the educational experience was better than those in the traditional classroom. Outcomes, are contingent on adequate access to equipment, faculty effort, skill in teaching with this new tool, students’ characteristics and a good match between course objectives. Students who are motivated and self-disciplined and who have average or better quantitative and verbal skills are likely to experience superior outcomes.
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Reference
Hiltz, S.R. and Meinke, R. (1989) ‘Teaching sociology in a virtual classroom’, Teaching Sociology, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 431-46.
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