Some thoughts on the virtual classroom

I've just recently started teaching on-line using the WizIQ website. Some of my chemistry students expressed an interest in spending some time outside of class preparing for the SAT II Chemistry subject test that is coming up in May. I thought it would be a great opportunity to try on-line teaching.

I've only taught a couple classes so far, but I've spent considerable hours researching and attending others' online classes at WizIQ.com. I've read several articles where people claim that students feel more inclined to participate in class discussions in the virtual, on-line environment. However, I personally felt just as nervous when attending a live class discussion on-line as I have when attending traditional classes in graduate school. Perhaps in an asynchronous on-line class students feel less stressed and are able to be more reflective, but in the live, synchronous environment students are likely to experience the familiar stress of learning in a fast-paced, group learning situation.

In the classes that I have attended on-line I have seen many teachers using the whiteboard and their uploaded powerpoint files to present information in a very traditional, teacher-centered way. WizIQ and other websites make it very practical to make powerpoint presentations supported with flash animations. Further, the chat function allows the teacher to take questions and also check for understanding. And so while the technology allows teachers to teach the way they do in the classroom, I have also noticed some key differences and advantages of the technology as well.

The chat function or instant messager really changes the way students and teachers interact. Normally in classes when students have a question or idea to share they have to wait until the teacher calls on them. In the virtual class, students are free to follow a more "stream of consciousness" approach to sharing information. If this type of chatter occured in the traditional class it would be disruptive, but in the virtual classroom it is recorded and can sit there waiting to be responded to.

Another aspect that is unique to the virtual classroom is the high level of interactivity. In traditional classes of 25-30 students, the students are far from the board. High school students are especially reluctant to approach the board to work through problems or share information. In the virtual classroom all students, no matter how big the class, are right at the board. Everyone in the class can rapidly interact with materials or information on the board. Students can annotate flash animations or write questions directly on a diagram. Smartboards are an amazing technology, but they still can't reach this level of interactivity where every student in the class is literally inches from it able to write on it simultaneously.

At first it is a bit strange and difficult teaching in the on-line environment because you can't see your students' faces. You wonder if their paying attention. You wonder if their understanding. Initially, I saw this as a major weakness in on-line teaching, but I am excited to try some new techniques. Actually, they are old techniques but applied in this new, virtual context. Many teachers use various dip-sticking techniques as a means of formative assessment in their classes every day. Some use number systems or nonverbal gestures (thumbs up/down) or even remote devices that tally kids responses to multiple choice questions. I believe it might be possible to adapt these systems in the virtual class. On the whiteboard or the presentation slides a small table can be set aside for each student. Students can be given numbers so that they remain anonymous. After teaching the teacher can check for learning by asking a few questions and students can write immediately in their box. Within minutes the teacher can clearly see how many students got the question right and how many got it wrong. The familiar activity where teachers ask students to stand in parts of the room to indicate whether they agree or disagree with a statement can also be done in the virtual environment by creating a slide or setting up a whiteboard for students to mark their position.

Again, not being able to see students is difficult as a teacher because we often rely on nonverbal information to check for understanding. However, using tables for students to enter their information into, students can use emoticons to show their current level of understanding or comfort with what has been taught.

I'm anxious to try some of these techniques in my upcoming classes to see if I can get more of my students engaged in class discussions and actively thinking about the concepts and problems we are working on. WizIQ classes are automatically recorded which makes it nice for any teacher who wants to review a class session or go back and collect data on any aspect of a lesson.