The Design and Implementation of Virtual Classroom for Distance Essay

The Design and Implementation of Virtual Classroom for Distance Learning - Essay Example Based on the result of the survey questionnaires and personal interviews, the researcher will determine the best design of a virtual classroom for second language distance learning including a proposed implementation strategy. The use of the Internet and other related technologies has made a significant increase over the past ten years. (Lavooy and Palmer, 2003) In line with the progress in the development of Internet-based technology, changes in the educational approach has gone through a lot of major restructuring. Each year, a lot of colleges and universities have been investing a lot of money in developing reliable and real-time web-based classes (Ewing-Taylor, 1999) especially for the purpose of studying second language courses in distance learning. A virtual classroom is a computer based system used to deliver virtual teaching and learning. According to Karasavvidis et al. (2003), the learning and teaching behaviour of students and the teachers is an important factor that contributes to the success of using computer-based technology in education. For this reason, the design of a virtual classroom for distance learning has to be easily accessible, reliable, user-friendly, and interactive. The design of virtual classroom for distance learning should include online forums such as Blackboard Discussion Board, video conference, e-mails and chat rooms to allow the students and mentors to have an open communication link as it makes the course materials available to each learner 24/7. (Nian-Shing, Kinshuk, Yi-Hung, 2005) Ewing-Taylor and Overall (2003) emphasized the importance of constant interaction and collaboration between the teachers and the learners since it enables the students to learn more from its mentor. In relation to the point-of view of Ewing-Taylor and Overall (2003), the study of Kubala (1998) reveals that the use of an anonymous open communication through a