The major theme that seems to be emerging for myself as I progress through the course is the focus on brick-and-mortar classrooms of math and science and how technology can be used to make these spaces technology- enhanced. We saw this in the video cases presented in Module A.
I’m curious however of how virtual classrooms fit into the scope of the course so far. If a technology-enhanced space is a classroom in a school with tools like smartboards or motion sensor equipment connected to a computer, how can a virtual classroom qualify to be a technology-enhanced space?
For example, Elluminte Live is a popular conferencing tool used by virtual schools for live interaction between teacher and students. Is it appropriate to say the Elluminate Live window of one live class is the “classroom”? If so, would tools like powerpoints, simulations, google docs, LMS based discussions, quizzes, chat systems allow for the Elluminate live classroom to be technology-enhanced?
It would be great to get some feedback from peers!
Hi Vibhu,
Interesting question— I have not given much thinking time to virtual classrooms as the actual classroom is where the magic happens for me. For what it is worth, I think your descriptors of what a Virtual TELE would look like are legitimate. For those students who are unable to attend a actual classroom, why wouldn’t we want to integrate more engaging approaches to their virtual environment? I have yet to hear of a student speak favorably of any online courses in my neck of the woods, that’s for sure. It seems to me that there is work to be done in all classroom environments, virtual or otherwise. ~Dana