Virtual+Classroom+Activity

Virtual Classroom Assignment

Description & Purpose This assignment was completed to explain my Virtual Classroom. It is an audio recording done in the Wimba classroom. It was archived and I used a Logitec headset to record it. It explains the purpose of three very important pieces of my virtual classroom: structure & organization, instructional cohesion and collaborative nature. Explained in this activity, my virtual classroom has many organizational factors. The course description area is color coded to exhibit the consistency that occurs through the unit. The virtual classroom is also instructionally fit for students because of the different modes of course introduction. Students learn from readings, videos, sounds and other forms of experiencing the language. One of those forms is through the collaborating that occurs in the third lesson. Students are also given the opportunity to communicate in three different discussion boards as well as a synchronous activity with the instructor in the Wimba classroom. The overall purpose of this activity was to explain the virtual classroom and why it is fit for students. The organization, introduction of material, and collaborative nature of the virtual classroom makes it appropriate for special needs and gifted and talented students alike.

Analysis & Process For this project, I first began in the Wimba classroom. The prompt requested that I only present the best aspects of my virtual classroom highlighting the pieces that were most exemplary and fitted for online learning. I outlined the majority of my virtual classroom as it can be beneficial in many ways. The course description link in the menu bar is one of the first areas I describe. It shows how I used colors in my virtual classroom to better divide and define the nomenclature that is used to keep my lessons organized and structured in the unit. I show the syllabus and the course components chart in it that includes a daily checklist of assignments. I also show the start here tab which constitutes a day’s worth of work for the students as they are required to spend time getting to know Blackboard and each other. Once finished here, I show and talk about the content areas which are the heart of my virtual classroom. Containing many different instructional mediums and various assignments and assessments, the lessons in the content area are a great way to learn. This unit is designed for gifted and talented learners as well as challenged, slower-paced learners because of the support that is given. Students who need more support are offered many ways to learn and those who do not the extra resources can learn at their own pace. At the end of the activity, I discuss how this type of differentiated instruction cannot be found in a real classroom and only online learning can offer such resources all the time.

Reflection One of my assignments in the virtual classroom is blogging about what the students learned over the unit. They must reflect on what they learned. The students had to summarize what they had learned for their parents to read. I think that reflecting is a valuable tool. In this activity, I learned numerous things about my very own virtual classroom. Reflecting on what I had done instructionally made me think about my pedagogy and what naturally occurs to me in planning and facilitating the online course.

As I was reflecting, I realized that students have opportunities learning online that they do not have in the classroom setting: access to materials and help whenever they need it, collaborative discussions where everyone can be contributing at the same time, etc. My virtual classrooms offer these learning opportunities and my current classroom does not. It has me thinking about what I can do for the future and for my current teaching experience. Whereas, I do not think that my classes will become entirely online within the near future, I need to use this experience as insight to what I must do to provide these learning experiences for my students. Without 100% internet access, how can I facilitate this caliber of learning? In my current situation, I think that I could set up some things that could be done at home: social networking and web blogging, just to begin. These applications could provide resources for students and place to go to clear up confusion and keep in touch with classmates. These will be temporary solutions until I can set up a completely online experience like this virtual classroom for my students.

Recording Archive References Blackboard Academic Suite, .(2010, February 25). // EDT //// 6020 virtual classroom. // Retrieved from []

Jason, .(2006, December 11). //Studio time/recording.// Retrieved from []