What Is A Virtual Classroom and How Does It Work?
The advent of technology and the pandemic has transformed the education system alongside the working style and taken a significant turn towards the popular online medium.
As everything became virtual, teaching became a widespread practice in online classrooms. But what are the major differences between physical and virtual classrooms? And in broader terms, what is a virtual classroom?
What is Virtual Classroom?
To understand the meaning of a virtual classroom, one needs to look at how things typically work in a physical classroom and how they differ from virtual classes. Firstly, let us have a detailed understanding of how both types of classrooms are conducted.
Like a normal physical class, a virtual classroom is a web-based setting where teachers interact, communicate, and educate students about the subject they are specialised in or related topics included in their student's syllabus.
The factor distinguishing a virtual classroom from a regular physical class is that it is conducted live in an audio-video format. Sometimes, pre-recorded videos deliver a specific type of learning or lecture, but it is primarily a live interactive session between students and professors.
What are the Features of a Virtual Classroom?
Virtual schools focus on educating students where things work contemporaneously with students and instructors online, allowing them to communicate and interact in a live stream. Due to constant use, the virtual classroom concept has been hitting new milestones and developing new ways of learning. For instance, virtual classrooms are meant for learning and activities like competitions, conferences, live examinations, and engaging with learning resources while working in groups. These activities are a part of the experimental process as learners and instructors benefit from several innovations.
Another feature is the increased connectivity. More than ever before, students studying in virtual schools are getting connected. They're conversing in discussions, collaborating on teamwork sessions, and contending for top rankings in competitions and other class activities. This competitive environment has helped virtual schools become more innovative and exciting than ever.
How does a virtual classroom work?
The process of conducting a virtual class involves specific steps. First, a virtual class is conducted using a video-calling portal. Moreover, it would help if you had desktops/laptops, sound systems, online file-sharing websites, etc., to participate and study in virtual schools.
Let's get to know all the things you require to get prepared for a virtual classroom:
Credential sharing
The first stage involves the sharing of credentials. Once students enrol in a virtual school, they are given their respective credentials, including a login id and password. They attend their daily classes, download notes, and access study material using this.
Login and access the classroom
Once students login into their respective virtual classrooms (by entering their meeting id and password) and attend the online class using their device's camera and microphone, they can interact and communicate with their classmates and professors simultaneously. So it is because live online classes are usually held.
File sharing
Only some platforms provide this service for sharing files in a virtual classroom. Also, using an email service to share files has limitations since only a certain limited amount of data can be shared.
Conclusion
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, virtual schools and online learning methods have become dynamically popular. In addition, introducing new ways to generate and provide study material over the web has also led to a significant increase in the demand for virtual learning platforms.
