VIRTUAL EDUCATION: THE FUTURE

History of Virtual Education

Virtual Education in Today’s World

Virtual Education & The Future

Virtual Education:

Virtual having the essence or effect but not the appearance or form of: a virtual revolution physics being, relating to, or involving a virtual image: a virtual focus computing of or relating to virtual storage: virtual memory of or relating to a computer technique by which a person, wearing a headset or mask, has

the experience of being in an environment created by the computer, and of interacting with and causing changes in it

rare capable of producing an effect through inherent power or virtue Physics designating or relating to a particle exchanged between other particles that are

interacting by a field of force: a virtual photon

Virtual Education – Definitions

Virtual Education distance learning that takes place via the Internet (INACOL) a form of distance education whose central defining characteristic is the separation of

teacher and learner (Keegan, 1996) teacher-led education that takes place over the Internet, with the teacher and student

separated geographically (Keeping the Pace)

Online learning is instruction via a web-based educational delivery system enhances educational opportunities synchronous or asynchronous accessed from multiple settings

Blended learning combines online learning with other modes of instructional delivery.

Modes of Learning:

Traditional Classroom learning Not needed to explain as the term describes itself

Online learning is instruction via a web-based educational delivery system enhances educational opportunities synchronous or asynchronous accessed from multiple settings

Blended learning combines online learning with other modes of instructional delivery.

iNACOL

I want to introduce you to iNACOL, the international council on online learning. It is the leading organization on research and expanding online education in the K-12

arena for all grades.

History of Online learning

As technology improved and advanced, distance learning was able to occur through print materials, CD-ROMs, and video and video conferencing. Now it has expanded to online learning via the internet.

In 1960, the University of Illinois initiated a classroom system based in linked computer terminals where students could access informational resources on a particular course while listening to the lectures that were recorded via some form of remotely-linked device like television or audio device.

In the early 1960s, Stanford University psychology professors Patrick Suppes and Richard C. Atkinson experimented with using computers to teach math and reading to young children inelementary schools in East Palo Alto, California.

Educational institutions began to take advantage of the new medium by offering distance learning courses using computer networking for information.

PRESENT ERA & VIRTUAL EDUCATION

Present Era & Virtual Education

Early forms of online courses included Advanced Placement courses and college prep courses that weren’t available for students in rural areas of USA.

The growth of online education in post-secondary and professional development contributed to the legitimacy and growth of online learning in K-12.

Online learning has become common place in higher education, but is growing in the K-12 arena as well. In the K-12 arena we see online learning in the form of blended or hybrid, and fully online programs.

Top 4 E-learning Sites

Now I will tell you briefly about top 4 e-learning sites today. Coursera (www.coursera.org) Codecademy (http://www.codecademy.com/) Edx (www.edx.org) Udacity (www.udacity.com)

Coursera

The top of the list is Coursera. It was launched in April 2012, and it has now 5.2 Million active users. I have personally used Coursera. It is the best out there. Coursera provides online courses

of university and college level by partnering with the top Universities of the world. Each course includes lecture videos, quizzes, assignments and projects on weekly basis. At

the end of the course if you pass the final exam you get a statement of achievement or a verified certificate.

• This website just teaches programming as the name tells “Codecademy”.

• Wonderful site to learn many popular programming languages.

Codecademy

Next on the list is Codecademy. It was launched in 2011, and it has now 5 Million active users. Codecademy is an online interactive platform that offers free coding classes

in programming languages like Python, PHP, JavaScript, and Ruby, as well as markup languages including HTML and CSS.

edX

Next on the list is edX. It was launched in May 2012, and it has now 1.2 Million active users. edX provides university level online courses. You get a certificate of successful completion at the end of the course if you pass.

Udacity

Udacity was launched in June 2011, and it has now 7 lac active users. Udacity provides university level computer science courses. Each course includes lecture videos, quizzes, assignments and projects, unlike coursera

you can do the coursework whenever you want to, there are no deadlines or time slots. At the end of the course if you pass the final exam you get a certificate of completion

indicating your achievement.

Pakistan & Virtual Education

• The Virtual Education Project Pakistan (VEPP) is a concept built on the premise that a global network of scholars could contribute through video conferencing technology to the content delivered in classrooms across the country.

Pakistan & Virtual Education

Virtual Education for All Pakistan

• To help bring about qualitative improvement in the education sector through the provision of virtual educational resources for Pakistani primary school students.

A small advice

If you want your country to prosper, educate yourselves about Virtual Education, and teach online so that children or adults who have special needs and can not learn in a traditional class room can learn online. Almost all the developed countries are taking Virtual Education very seriously and if we don’t want to be left behind we have to do the same. Now Usman will tell you about the Future of Virtual Education.

VIRTUAL EDUCATION: THE FUTURE

Advantages of Virtual Education

• Automatic retention- You do not have to take notes

• Fosters more interaction among students and instructors

• The knowledge you want first

• Learn at your own pace

• Anytime, anywhere, accessibility

Disadvantages of Virtual Education

• Learners with low motivation or bad habits can easily fall behind

• Lack of routine structure

• Students feel isolated from classmates or instructor

• Instructor may not always be available

• Slow internet connections and slow computers are a problem

Future of Virtual Education

Future Research A better understanding of online student characteristics Predictive instruments, diagnosis, and prescription of

services and supports Research that will inform instructors about the most

effective interaction types, tools, and frequency for learners and tasks in a course

More research on gaming and social software. Research on at-risk and struggling student performance and

improvement by involvement in virtual learning

Conclusion

“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It can not be changed without changing our thinking.”

— Albert Einstein

“As long as your going to be thinking anyway, think big.”

— Donald Trump

The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.

— Albert Einstein

My education was interrupted only by my schooling

— Winston Churchill

Credits

• Syed Farjad Zia Zaidi