Virtual classrooms offer an additional set of characteristics that are crucial to a learning environment, and this is what makes them different from conventional video conferencing solutions. With the assistance of video conferencing, teachers and students can interact with one another and the course material in a virtual classroom.
Using virtual classroom software like Adobe Connect, teachers can control student engagement and showcase educational content as documents, slide shows, or multimedia files. Features of a virtual setup include:
- Screen-sharing and a virtual whiteboard for a better learning experience.
- Creating breakout rooms for the participants that the teacher can join.
- Include the audience via surveys and tests.
- Recording sessions.
A virtual classroom platform creates a regulated atmosphere while enhancing interaction and engagement in the learning process. Before the lesson, teachers can access the classroom to prepare the lesson plan. Both instructors and students have access to this material and the recording of the session following the class.
Virtual classroom platforms can be accessed by any device that can connect to the Internet. Moreover, participants can access the content regardless of the restriction of geographic locations.
Strategies for an effective virtual classroom program
1. Set up a warm space virtually: There are ways to provide your virtual environments with some spice to make them more reliable and comforting to students:
- Introduce yourself to the class and let the pupils see your face. It provides a more individualized touch that encourages students to attend your lesson.
- Before diving into the day’s material, try asking, “How are you feeling today?”
- So that the trainees understand what to expect from the session and provide them with a learning objective.
2. Reward system: You can employ effective reward systems in your virtual environment to keep your trainees motivated. Create objectives that specifically address your students’ challenges. For instance, persuading your students to attend an optional office hour is a challenge for virtual learning mode. Therefore, a solution to deal with this is to provide a reward like a lottery, only if they attend office hours and finish their tasks. Then at the end of the week, you can choose one name either randomly or by detailed analysis of performance and send them a small gift.
3. Be patient: Employees might not be well-versed with the technology your company uses, so try to be patient. Therefore, try fetching ways to help when you can and provide updates on the trainee’s development. Set up a time each day to make these interactions since some students may initially require more regular check-ins to stay accountable. Give examples of solutions they can use at home, like timers and frequent breaks. Be patient and ready to respond to technical queries about your learning platform because you will probably need to offer tech support to the recruits.
4. Utilize engagement strategies: Investigate the capabilities of your learning platform and think about how you might utilize them to engage your trainees:
- Encourage learners to discuss their thought processes regarding a topic via chat.
- Invite learners to assist each other on the training topics.
- Share your screen to play movies, call out classmates, or highlight excellent responses.
- Permit students to present their thinking on their shared screens.
5. Design a class for all types of trainees: Recognize that some trainees may require additional instruction for each exercise. So, give a framework for each section of your lessons. Record the sessions to guide the class that needs them and provides virtual mock scenarios so that they can use their knowledge and solve it. Give more video examples to assist them further in solving problems.
Conclusion
Make sure your pupils participate in and interact with the material and one another by using the recommendations above. Learning in a virtual classroom doesn’t have to be dull or uninteresting. To get the most out of your pupils right now, make sure to use all the features of your learning management system.
