Virtual Learning
Hey folks, I'd like your advice here.
As I mentioned before, I'm leading a seminar presentation on the Virtual Classroom feature of Blackboard in about two weeks. I've presented and made handouts on this before, but I wanted to get some more perspectives from people who have used the tool.
I have no problem getting people to participate in the virtual class sessions. But I am particularly interested in strategies to get people to stay focused and on topic, and to keep people from slacking off during the class session.
If anyone has used Blackboard or WebCT to hold live online classes, I'd be interested in your feedback of what works and what doesn't. I'm also interested in suggestions for when to use the virtual classroom, other than exam review or bad weather. And finally, what do you do to deal with technical difficulties? Some people genuinely have problems that keep them from entering the virtual classroom, so I hate to penalize when it's not their fault.
Any feedback that anyone may have (from your experience as a student or faculty member) would be much appreciated. Leave a comment here, or drop me a line if you'd rather comment in private.
Many thanks! :)
3 comments:
Hey Kait,
My art history prof used the virtual classroom in blackboard when she couldn't make it to class because she had to take care of her kid or something like that. Perhaps if you had a test run one day, you might be able to work out some of the difficulties that you might run into on the day you actually need to use it. Then people who might need to go to the library to use it will know that that's where they need to go. Sorry this is long winded, hope it helps!
-Liz
I only just noticed the Dissertation-o-meter - how cute!
i took an english composition hybrid class, and my prof would use the virtual classroom for brainstorming once we knew what the next essay was going to be about. she also used it for us to ask her questions and clarifications. i had no problem at all with it, it was fun, and more practical than a 60 minute bus ride to college [i was at the annandale campus back then, and my bus connections sucked big time]. but some people didn't like it because they had problems logging in, or they found it confusing -- they didn't know who was saying what, but probably they weren't familiar with regular chatrooms either.
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