Virtual Learning Environments

Abstract

With the vast amounts of money being provided by governments to train educators and supply students with new technology, it does not take a leap of faith to consider a future where virtual learning environments will have the potential to dominate or perhaps replace the traditional classroom, as we know it. There are currently thousands of schools and colleges operating on the internet and it is now possible to get a degree without ever having to leave the comfort of your own home. Virtual learning environments are hugely diverse in size, capabilities and services offered, and can cater for individuals ranging in attainment levels, ages and special needs. With our own personal experiences of virtual learning environments being little more than a text only Web page, we wished to examine the current uses of these new virtual environments and how they utilize technology to create a more interactive learning curriculum. To do this we examined the current debate surrounding the longevity and relevance of the traditional classroom in a digital society.

After locating examples of virtual learning environments we considered how technology has been able to emulate the role of traditional classroom equipment and teaching techniques and whether they can be successfully transferred. Upon examination of these virtual environments we raised questions about the extent to which students needs were being met and how students adapted to these new en ractive virtual environments has now become an integral part of our learning environment. More flexible, comprehensive and dynamic communication is now possible through the available technologies of videoconferencing, live broadcasting, and faster connection speeds. There has been a significant rise in interest towards implementation of Internet based virtual learning in the last number of years, as educational institutions and individuals realise the benefits of these virtual environments.

Virtual Classrooms

The Jones International University, the first accredited “cyber-university” to operate completely online, was thought to envision the future of the “mega-university” and set the trend for education institutions online. (Rankin, 1997) Current educational virtual environments are large and extensive and can be difficult to define as they are constantly changing and evolving. They often range in the level of interactivity they offer and the variety of services they provide. If we consider virtual schools, we can possibly make a division into three possible broad categories: independent, collaborate and broadcast.(Russel, 2001):

• Independent models can often be referred to as “asynchronous” because they do not rely upon direct communication between teachers and students, as they do not avail of chat or videoconferencing facilities. Students access and interact with materials at their convenience and so the learning structure is considered unscheduled.
• Synchronous models usually involve more communication and collaboration through videoconferencing and live chats so there are more opportunities for socializing. As online meetings are usually scheduled there is limited flexibility.
• Broadcast models allow students to access lectures or broadcasts on the Internet and so interaction is often limited.

Jerald Schutte at Northridge randomly selected half of his students to be taught through traditional in-class lectures and written assignments while the rest of the class learned through text posted online, email and real time chat with classmates and electronic assignments. Both groups were given identical tests under the same conditions and there were no significant differences between the age, gender and computer experience of the groups involved. What is astonishing about the results was how quickly the students adapted to the virtual classroom and formed peer groups online as compensation for not being able to converse in class. Students in the virtual class spent 50 per cent more time working with each other then their counterparts in the traditional classroom.

Virtual Versus Traditional Classroom

These results were quite confounding at the time as little experimental evidence had been generated to demonstrate the effects on student performance in virtual versus traditional class formats. The results contradict popular hypotheses that face-to-face teacher-student interaction in a more valuable experience and produces better results. Schutte observed that the traditional classroom could be sometimes an inhibiting environment for students, and its structure can be pressurising and intimating. Whereas the virtual environment encourages freedom of expression and students are more open to communicate and express opinion and would often thrive in these environments.

While these results are impressive and virtual environments have the obvious benefit of being more accessible than traditional classrooms, and are often a more flexible and convenient approach to education, they do however have several unfortunate consequences. One thing that Schutte pointed out in his report was the fact that ‘the virtual students seemed more frustrated’, not from only the technology but from the inability to, ask the teacher, questions in a face-to-face environment. This lack of human face-to-face interaction is what concerns a lot of those critics against virtual learning environments, as they fear students will not develop a deep understanding of their own emotions and this could have a long-term effect on their relationships as future adults in society. It is thought that children will miss out on the important friendships that are formed in school and this will lead to poor social skills in adulthood. Also differences in learning styles and varying aptitude levels will mean that some will learn less effectively in virtual environments and would require more individual personal contact with a teacher.

As many traditional educational institutions are coming under pressure to join the virtual realm, Glenn Russell (Russell, 2001) highlights the important point that 'virtual schools may be promoted due the self interest of the economist, bureaucrat, or on-line entrepreneur, rather than on the evidence of educational research or merit'. With the thousands of schools and universities now operating online, it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish and judge their academic virtue and the quality of education may become compromised under commercial pressure. But while it is unlikely that the virtual classroom will replace the traditional classroom as an educational medium completely, there is no doubt that interactive learning in virtual environments will become more common as the technology advances.

Transferring the Traditional Classroom to the Virtual Environment

In a physical classroom there is a standard set of equipment and tools, this usually includes audio-visual equipment such as textbooks, a chalkboard, video player, and tape recorder. Virtual environments need equivalent equipment and tools in the form of network-based software application to allow a group of instructors and students to carry out the learning process. The sophistication of such software structures vary widely, from simple electronic mail systems to systems that have been specially enhanced to support classroom-like experiences, such as virtual auditoriums. Some of them are well established on the Internet and new ones are still emerging.

The Textbook

For centuries textbooks have been the most important teaching and learning tool at all kinds of schools. They provide the teaching plans for the teacher, help the teacher and students to orientate in the curriculum content, provide background materials and direct the student's understanding and learning. In spite of that there are certain restrictions of the traditional textbook, above all the physical format of the textbook does not easily allow student and teachers to depart from the prescribed path, or to link to new concepts and ideas from other disciplines (Liaw, 2000). Virtual textbooks are a new tool. Siegel and Sousa state that:

The Chalkboard

Most teachers make use of a chalkboard for further clarification of a point. The instructor of an electronic course might make use of the shared whiteboard to answer questions from students. Such tools allow ‘images to be displayed, manipulated, annotated, and shared between two people or among a whole group‘ (Turoff, 1995). It is offered by a tool like NCSA College (NCSA,1994) which combines communications software tools with ‘NCSA scientific visualization software‘, allowing researchers to conduct virtual collaborations. In these sessions students can share data visualization and create documents collaboratively - producing and editing text in real time.

The sound system and face-to-face interaction

An important part of the physical class environment is the personal interaction as questions are asked by the students. Allowing all students to 'hear' the questions and answers helps everyone to learn and encourages additional questions.(Turoff, 1995) Listservers can be used to redistribute e-mail messages, usenet newsgroups, computer conferencing and collaborative work spaces may serve for sharing this kind of interaction. A newsgroups example can be found at usenet.org.uk. These are rather simple methods and provide asynchronous interaction. More dynamic question and answer interaction can be created using text-based chat sessions, text-based virtual learning environments or net-based virtual auditorium or lecture room systems. (Alberta,1999) The simplest method is text-based chat, which can run on almost any hardware, providing text only chat. Text-based virtual learning environments also do not have high demands on user hardware and speed and offer their users the opportunity to create their own text-based rooms and learning environments. The net-based virtual auditorium or lecture room systems are more sophisticated, they provide voice communications and more features of traditional classroom such as slides, application sharing and students' feedback. They require higher end user hardware equipment (Pentium class) and special software tools and plug-ins. The example of such an environment is Open University of the UK's Knowledge Media Institute's Stadium or Place Ware's Auditorium system. When using computers to substitute for face-to-face interaction, why to go beyond e-mail and newsgroups? According to Ehrmann and Collins (Ehrmann, 2001) there are two major reasons: interaction among students is a powerful catalyst for improving learning outcomes and second, collaborative skill is‘itself and important yet often vestigial outcome of higher education‘.

Video player

Mpeg movies and audio clips can be used as effective additions to textual information. Movies and cartoons can illustrate to explain a procedure, audio clips might be helpful to describe a particularly difficult point. It can also make rather dry or long material more attractive, just as video can be used in traditional classrooms to keep the students' attention.

Video teleconferencing

The attractive presentation of the teaching material is not the only reason for using video in virtual learning. In traditional learning environment much information is transferred through the body language of the teacher. Hand motions and details such as facial expressions enhance the students' understanding. Also teachers may miss the direct contact with their students. One teacher who had been involved in a telephone-based virtual classroom explained the problem: ‘I like to be able to read their expressions. When you're explaining something to them and they say “Yes, I understand“ but you can see from their faces that they don't, you can go through it again. The body language that guides your teaching is missing.‘ (Russell, 2001) Although still more virtual classrooms are including videoconferencing, the frame rate and quality is often poor with generally small image size and slow refresh rates. The most common systems are Microsoft NetMeeting, CuSeeMe and QuickTime. After the quality improves, ‘the use of video teleconferencing could enhance electronic courses not only by transferring these forms of communication but also by providing visual and audio cues which help the instructor and students to form an informal rapport.‘ (Turoff, 1995) A potential solution to this problem will be discussed in the Future Developments section of this essay.

Creation of software systems for supporting virtual education is still problematic. The same functionality must be available for all popular user platforms (the absolute minimum is the Macintosh and Microsoft Windows systems). Bandwith limitations also must be considered as to limit participation to those users with the best Internet access and hardware equipment is unacceptable. Another problem is lack of standards because ‘just as html has provided a standard which allows participation by users with diverse implementations of both low-end and high-end browsers, audio-visual tools … require similar standardization.‘ (Turoff, 1995). The specific issue is the design of the virtual classroom and above all the integration of the components into a single interface that is easy for students to learn and use.

Future Developments in Virtual Learning Environments

Through research we have tried to identify future trends which may have a beneficial impact on Web based learning. These are haptic interfaces, new networks and PDAs/wireless connections.

Haptic Interfaces

Haptic interfaces are not widely used in current Web based learning environments but are found in some commercial games. They are defined by Bussell (Bussell, 2001):

‘Haptic technology has come to include tactile feedback – for example, smooth and rough textures; and force feedback – kinaesthetic sensation, movement, resistance, and muscle tension.’

So what contribution could this technology make to virtual learning environments? Many learning resources employ the sense of touch to involve learners – for example children’s books with textures illustrations or embossed letters or the wide use of sand, modelling materials in classrooms. ‘We rely on our sense of touch as we interact with the world …but this physical connection is missing from our interaction with computers’ (Bussell, 2001)

Haptic technology is already proving to be successful in offline training situations – for example the training of surgeons. A virtual learning environment which engages a range of senses would immerse learners and surely enhance learning. This technology had been used to describe concepts in physics. Reiner (Reiner, 1999) used a haptic interface to simulate forces and reported a high level of success within the group of learners. This however was a specific project with a small number of students who had access to the specific hardware required.

This technology can however make learning situations more accessible to students with special needs – especially those with a visual impairment. Bussell (Bussell, 2001) describes studies carried out using the Wingman force Feedback Mouse. This study allowed blind physics students to test electrical charges on an object using the concepts of attract/repel. Other studies have allowed visually impaired students to explore tables of data, represented as bar and line graphs.

Although Bussell (Bussell, 2001) describes a range of products which provide haptic feedback it is unlikely that these would be available to a wide range of learners. Some – such as the i-feel Mouse – are almost the same price as a standard mouse but limited in capabilities. Other products such as Phantom Interface Hardware are very expensive but allow greater sensation, replicating substances such as ice, honey etc. The need for specialist hardware seems to be one of the major obstacles to be faced when incorporating haptic technology in a virtual learning environment. Another obstacle is the programming demands placed on Web developers. Immersion’s Touchsense Web Toolkit for Javascript allows programming which can be incorporated into Flash movies, a fast growing format for the Web.

In summary haptic technology can benefit the visually impaired and also be used to successfully teach concepts in physics or maths. It allows for a more interactive learning experience which could be potentially implemented across a wide range of subjects. The main obstacles are requirement of specific hardware and demands placed on programmers.

New Networks

Learning does not happen in isolation and in good practice students are guided through direct, face-to-face contact with teachers, as detailed previously in this essay. This is an issue in current virtual learning environments. The quality of images produced by web cams and internet connection speeds have an effect on the quality of interactions between teacher and student. The Internet2 and Geant may address these problems.

Internet2, led by 180 U.S universities working in partnership with the government, is developing an advanced network applications and technologies, which will change the way we interact with the internet in the future and will have profound implications for the future of education. Universities in research laboratories are developing the new Internet, already operational, and users are receiving connections up to 100 times faster than regular modems used in the home. Both projects have been developed to provide faster and more powerful means of communication. It has been reported (Dodson, 2001) that Internet2 is providing connections up to 1000 times faster than in domestic situations, allowing not only faster access to information but opening up new possibilities for communication.

This new network could offer new opportunities to virtual learning environments. For example, current academic experiments allow astronomy students and researchers to precisely manoeuvre telescopes from controls at their own desk. ‘Tele-immersion is the technology that will allow people in different parts of the world to feel as if they are sharing the same physical space… connecting real places in real time through the development of “tele-cubicles”’. (Dodson, 2001) With projects such as Geant virtual learning environments would be able to employ tele-immersion to enable real-time tutorials and meetings between teacher-pupils. This would also use the aforementioned haptic technology so that objects could be handled even though they were thousands of miles away.

This network has also been able to include curriculum areas that have been, until now, less suited to a virtual learning environment. Dodson (Dodson, 2001) describes experiments involving the transmission of High Definition Television over Internet2. The University of Washington in Seattle, which has been sending High Definition Television over Internet 2, reports that the images are as good as 'the best photographic plates'. This will push the boundaries of video conferencing allowing the transport of TV-quality pictures, which will improve real-time conferencing between student and teacher. Experiments have already been carried out in a violin master class at the University of Oklahoma, where pupils and teacher, separated by several hundred miles. The high quality of connection allowed a violin teacher and pupil to play in harmony despite being geographically separated. This quality of connection will be able to reduce limitations placed on students who would be able to study with any tutor regardless of where they lived. So as technology improves and advances so we will witness the fast acceleration of interactive learning in virtual environments.
The implication this places on virtual learning environments is immense. It requires so much more organisation and imagination than simply placing text on the Web, perhaps the simplest form of virtual learning environment.

PDA/Wireless technology

When accessing a virtual learning environment there may still be a need for students to work together: ‘Web-based learning environments should capitalize on social, communicative, and collaborative dimensions, allowing mediated discourse…they should be portable as far as possible so that they can be used in the proper context’ (Hung, 2001) Future developments in virtual learning environments may embrace wireless and portable devices. The benefit of portable devices would mean that students would be able to collaborate and share solutions, thus fully acting out the learner’s roles of apprentice and peer-tutor as described by Hung (Hung, 2001). Students could also fully utilise a PDA by taking it with them for reference – for example a student on a biology field trip could use their device to identify an unfamiliar organism. Wireless local area networks, as described by Flickenger (Flickenger, 2001) could be used to provide access to these virtual learning environments while allowing the learner to choose their own personal learning location.

The future of virtual learning environments has many possibilities. If issues of cost and programming were resolved we could access curriculum using a range of senses. New networks can allow students new opportunities way beyond those offered by the Web in its current state but careful planning and innovation will be required to ensure that the potential for the scope of delivery is reached. The importance of mobility should also be considered so that learning can take place in the most appropriate context.

Virtual learning environments can provide relevant and rewarding experiences. Although currently underused in some curriculum areas, particularly the arts, new technologies will provide more effective means of delivery. Many emerging technologies and networks can be used to enrich and provide greater interactivity within the virtual learning environment. Advances in technology ensure that almost all traditional classroom equipment can be emulated in the virtual learning environment.

In terms of academic results, virtual learning environments can represent a more successful learning environment and have proven to be motivating contexts for learning. In these virtual environments the learning experience can be flexible, more accessible and inclusive. Not only are these environments often a more economically viable option, but they also allow specialist tuition and knowledge to transcend geographical boundaries.

The future of virtual learning environments has many innovative and exciting possibilities. New networks can allow students more opportunities way beyond those offered by the Web in its current state but careful planning and innovation will be required to ensure that the potential for the scope of delivery is reached. The importance of mobility should also be considered so that learning can take place in the most appropriate context. If issues of cost and programming were resolved students would be given access to the range of additional hardware and software required.

One of the main disadvantages of the virtual learning environment is the lack of face-to-face personal interaction and the student social contact, which traditional educational contexts provide. It is because of these factors, and the lack of evidence of how they will impact on student personal and social development, that virtual learning environments may not entirely replace traditional classrooms and teacher pupil contact.

In summation, only when learning environments, and those involved within them, are fully responsive to the needs of students will optimal levels of progress take place. For most students this will involve a judicious blend of both traditional and virtual learning environments.

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