What is Virtual Classroom? Advantages of Virtual Classrooms

The advancement of smart devices, the internet, social media, cloud computing, etc., has transformed the educational perspective of modern society. Virtual classrooms are another innovation that delivers a futuristic learning experience like never before. 

Online learning tools play a critical role in the modern education system and allow you to conduct classes remotely. This software also allows school management to derive maximum benefits in terms of accessibility, cost, speed of operation, efficiency, etc. 

Let's understand what a virtual classroom is, the technologies behind it, and the benefits of virtual classes. Then you will be able to choose the right school management software to employ virtual learning. 

What is a Virtual Classroom? 

In simple words, a virtual classroom is an online classroom environment. With the help of the latest technology and innovative applications, students can attend their classes from the safety of their homes. Teachers can easily take classes from anywhere without compromising the quality of education. Students can also share their homework and assignments with teachers like in a traditional classroom. It is one of the crucial advantages of virtual learning. 

The dedicated applications allow teachers to use whiteboards to give instructions to students. Teachers and students can even exchange educational media such as photos, videos, and voice messages using the software. 

Virtual classrooms connect teachers and students across the globe, making the educational process easily accessible. Thus anyone can access high-quality education from top-rated universities and institutions with just a smart device and internet connection. 

What are the Benefits of Virtual Learning?

Coming to the main section, the benefits of virtual classes heavily outweigh the drawbacks. It is because virtual classrooms have almost all the features and benefits of traditional learning. It also has some benefits that put virtual classrooms over and above traditional systems. 

Let's take a look at some of the best advantages of virtual classrooms. 

• Better Accessibility

Virtual classrooms give students the freedom to study and complete their assignments at any time that suits their schedule. Students can access all study materials at any time with a smartphone and internet connection. It eliminates the hurdles of rushing to school early and attending classes on time. 

• Better Time Management

Virtual learning is the best way for students and teachers to manage their time effectively. Both students and teachers need not travel to schools and can save a few hours daily. As all the lectures are recorded and saved in the cloud, students can easily access them whenever they are free. 

• Save Money

Staying at home and learning online saves a lot of money. You can save the high cost of traveling back and forth from school or staying at a hostel. The expenses of purchasing uniforms, food, and study materials can also be saved using a virtual learning process. 

• Instant Feedback

It will take a week for students to get their results in traditional systems as teachers manually evaluate each paper. Instant feedback is one of the top advantages of virtual classrooms. Virtual classroom software compiles and generates accurate mark sheets of students automatically. It also gives opportunities for students to correct themselves and improve quickly rather than waiting for their results.  

• Improved Digital Skills

Technical skills are mandatory requirements to stay updated in this digital world. By participating in virtual classrooms, students obtain these skills and become proficient to use the latest technologies. They can use these skills in the future since most companies are switching to remote working these days. The evolution of technology has also reshaped the minds of kids. Since children love to use smartphones these days, parents don't have to force them towards learning. 

• Global Perspectives

Virtual classrooms attract students worldwide. It brings students with different cultures and backgrounds together under one roof. Students get opportunities to interact with people from several countries and cultures. Students also gain insights about new lifestyles, problem-solving skills, learning methods, etc., from different parts of the world. 

Features of Virtual Classrooms 

Let us go through some of the key features of virtual classrooms that everyone should be aware of.  

• Live Video Streaming

Undoubtedly, one of the most important benefits of virtual classes is live streaming. Teachers will be able to stream their classes live in high definition so that every student can follow them easily. Students will also feel like a traditional classroom since they can see teachers in real-time and vice versa. Students can utilize a webcam and microphone to interact with teachers with ease. 

• Whiteboard

A digital whiteboard will be provided to teachers in virtual classrooms to simplify teaching. The interactive whiteboard also allows students to draw and write to share their views, helping teachers keep all the students focused and engaged. Interaction and participation using a Whiteboard is one of the critical benefits of virtual classes. A Whiteboard is an indispensable and vital object for instructors when teaching subjects like physics, chemistry, and mathematics. 

• Recording

A recording is a crucial feature that puts virtual learning ahead of traditional classrooms. Virtual classrooms allow participants to record classes and revisit them whenever necessary. It is one of the key advantages of virtual classrooms. Even if a student was absent on a particular day, he has the source to stored-classes, unlike traditional classrooms. Students can access the classes at any time without losing the quality of the video or teaching process. 

• Cloud storage

Cloud storage is one of the best advantages of virtual learning. It allows teachers to save their classroom data on the cloud and access them from anywhere. This feature also allows teachers to share critical study materials with students with just a few clicks. Students can also access cloud storage data using their smartphones. 

• Analytics

Analytics help you determine how successful your lecture was. It provides insights into student behavior, performance, and engagement in your virtual classroom. You can also manage students' login time, logout time, and attendance. Reports based on attendance, student participation, attentiveness, etc., are automatically generated for you to make the analysis easier. Undoubtedly, analytics into the teaching and learning process is one of the critical advantages of virtual learning. 

• Compatibility

Teachers and students use a different array of devices from their homes. Students can use smartphones, laptops, tablets, or old computers to run the software. The virtual classroom software is responsive and compatible with all devices that operate on Android, IOS, Windows, Macintosh, etc. It even runs on web browsers without hassles. Multi-device compatibility is one of the finest advantages of virtual classrooms.  Students and teachers can participate in the virtual classroom seamlessly with no interruptions. 

• Security

Security is one of the most significant advantages of virtual classrooms. A virtual learning software will not allow unauthorized persons to gain access to the classrooms. It is highly secure and uses student-IDs and two-factor authentications to grant access. The software also allows teachers to share the lecture links internally. Also, only authorized people, say students and teachers, can access educational materials such as textbooks, assignments, mark sheets, etc. 

How Does Virtual Classroom Affect a Student’s Education?

As mentioned above, virtual learning has obtained immense popularity these days. It is mainly because virtual classrooms are efficient, flexible, convenient, and accessible to everyone. Since everyone has access to smartphones, attending virtual classes is just a piece of cake. Students can attend class from anywhere on time or revisit them whenever they feel convenient.

Virtual classes always have only positive impacts on a student's education. It offers round-the-clock access to all learning materials at their fingertips. They learn time management skills and save a lot of time since they don't have to travel to school or move between classes for different lectures. Parallelly, students also increase their digital skills and experience with virtual classrooms. 

The most critical impact of virtual classrooms is improved student-teacher communication. In the traditional classroom method, everything happens in haste, and most students may feel shy and hesitant to approach the teacher. They also tend not to share their problems or doubts with the teachers. Virtual classrooms allow students to reach their teachers through text, and there is no rush. Students can share their doubts, problems, and learning difficulties with teachers in private and boost their confidence. 

Conclusion

The excellent features and advantages of virtual learning have helped it stay on top of the educational strategies and are now one of the modern educational system mandates.

If you have understood the value of virtual classrooms, it is crucial to identify the best virtual learning software. You must ensure that all the above-mentioned features are available before choosing the right tool. 

If you're unsatisfied with your current software, why not try upgrading to Edisapp. It is a comprehensive, cloud-based school management software developed by Eloit technologies. The software comes with all features you need to conduct efficient virtual classes without losing the quality of education. 

It is a flexible, powerful school management software with 80+ modules and the latest features and functions. You can seamlessly manage all your core functions like teaching, classroom scheduling, transportation, fees, exams, staff management, and more with Edisapp.