VIRTUAL CLASSROOM, VIRTUAL LAB & SIMULATION IN WEB BASED TRAINING

Virtual Classroom, Virtual Lab. & Simulation in WBT| INVENTOR08

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Virtual Classroom....................................................................................3

1.1 Definition:...........................................................................................................3 1.2 Conce t:..............................................................................................................3 1.3 Nee!"#e$uirement.............................................................................................3 1.% C&aracteristics...................................................................................................% 1.' Alternati(es to Virtual Classroom....................................................................% 1.) Acti(ities:............................................................................................................% 1.* A!(anta+es.........................................................................................................% 1., Limitations.........................................................................................................% 1.- Consi!eration ....................................................................................................%

2.. V/#T0AL LABO#ATO#1..................................................................'

2.1 Definition:...........................................................................................................' 2.2 Nee!2 ..................................................................................................................' 2.3 Or+ani3ation of t&e La42 ..................................................................................' 2.% 5e6 Com onents of t&e La4.............................................................................) 2.' A!(anta+es.........................................................................................................) 2.) Limitations.........................................................................................................* 2.* Conclusion..........................................................................................................*

3. S/70LAT/ON.........................................................................................*
3.1 Definition............................................................................................................* 3.2 Nee!....................................................................................................................* 3.3 A!(anta+es .......................................................................................................* 3.% Disa!(anta+es ...................................................................................................* 3.' Consi!erations...................................................................................................,

3.) Conclusion..........................................................................................................,

%. #EFE#ENCES:.......................................................................................,

ASS/8N7ENT
TO9/C: Virtual Classroom: Virtual La4 an! Simulation

1. VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
1.1 Definition:
Virtual classrooms are complete programs of learning .They consist of a mixture of synchronous and asynchronous events. They are special application of computer and network technologies to the task of education. [1] A Virtual Classroom is private online space in lack!oard that teachers can use to support student learning. "t is accessi!le via the "nternet# $% hours a day# & days a week. 'ust like your face(to(face classroom# a Virtual Classroom is a !usy place.[$] Virtual classrooms use )e!*!ased colla!oration tools to mimic the structure and activity of a physical classroom course. They feature an instructor who leads a class of learners thourgh an explicit sylla!us of material on a predetermined schedule. [+]

1.2 Conce t:
Virtual is something whose existence is simulated with software. Virtual education [%] refers to instruction in a learning environment where teacher and student are separated !y time or space# or !oth# and the teacher provides course content through course management applications# multimedia resources# the "nternet# videoconferencing# etc. ,tudents receive the content and communicate with the teacher via the same technologies. Virtual classrooms may involve three overlapping scopes of interaction technologies- VC courses# meetings and presentations. Among the synchronous events are online meetings# which may include online presentations.

1.3 Nee!"#e$uirement
"n the age of "nformation technology revolution# the shelf life of technology is decreasing very fast# everyone wants to update and upgrade knowledge# skills and attitude in order to lead successful life in world of work. .or this# time# distance# cost and expertise is !arrier for growth. Virtual classroom can overcome all of a!ove !arriers.

1.% C&aracteristics
1. $. +. Technology serves to facilitate teacher/student and student/student interaction at a distance. Virtual classroom enrich interactive communication through integrated voice# video# and data. "n addition# the )e! plays a supporting role in this environment. Actually# they are considered as teaching and learning environment located within a computer* mediated communication system. All activities and interactions take place through the computer instead of face*to*face.

1.' Alternati(es to Virtual Classroom

1. $. +. %. 3. Traditional Classroom*face to face !asis with teachers and other students. Continuing 0ducation Courses* intensive two or three days workshops. Correspondence courses Computer*Assisted "nstruction 1CA"2 Audio/Video conferencing 4. ,atellite Television programmes

1.) Acti(ities:
A Virtual Classroom might contain

Class acti(ities 5roup and individual learning activities 6iscussions and chats with students# parents and guests 7ui88es and surveys 9omework activities and assessment documents .ull online courses with modules of work .orums and synchronous chat sessions )e! 7uests# 9otlists# ,cavenger 9unts# etc.

Class or+ani3ation "mportant information for students and parents Calendar and timeta!les :nit overviews ,tudent grade/mark !ook and criteria sheets ,tudent homepages

1.* A!(anta+es
1. $. +. %. 3. 4. &. Virtual classrooms provide the community and control some learners need. Classroom learning is familiar and proven. .lexi!le time- students may participate at any time of the day. 0conomical 0fficient learning ;vercome <ocation- students are not limited to courses offered in their geographic locality =ore active learning- the computer forces response and attention.

1., Limitations
1. <imited offerings- the choice of courses is limited at present. $. 0>uipment re>uirements- students who do not have a computer will have to travel to use the necessary e>uipment. +. 6elayed feed!ack- it may !e hours until a >uestion is answered !y the teacher.

1.- Consi!eration

1. $. +. %. 3. 4. &.

,elect a >ualified instructor. ?rovide complete instruction. ,implify tasks for learners. =anage teams and deal with pro!lem learners. 0na!le interpersonal communication. ?ick tools to suit learners- <anguage fluency# Accents# Typing skills and Technical expertise. Consider the speed of learners@ network connections.

2.0 VIRTUAL LABORATORY

2.1 Definition:
The Virtual <a!oratory 1V<A 2 is a software environment designed to support model development !y facilitating the manipulation of models and providing mechanisms for retrieving and storing large num!ers 1e.g.# thousands2 of them.1.edrel#1AA&2 The Virtual <a!oratory is an interactive environment for creating and conducting simulated experiments- a playground for experimentation. "t consists of domain*dependent simulation programs# experimental units called o!Bects that encompass data files# tools that operate on these o!Bects. Current release is focused on graphical applications of <*systems# with an emphasis on the generation of fractals and the modelling of plants. The o!Bects are organi8ed# accessed and manipulated using domain*independent vla! system programs. The user can expand the la!oratory !y adding new o!Bects# creating new experiments and creating hypero!Bect copies of o!Bects.

2.2 Nee!2
The idea !ehind V<A emerged from the need for an environment for organi8ing and simplifying work related to computer !ased simulation of !iological phenomena. The first implementation of vlab was created in 1AAC.,ince then# the original programs have !een redesigned and reimplemented# and new components and features have !een introduced.

2.3 Or+ani3ation of t&e La42

The domain*independent framework for Virtual <a!oratory consists of

an o4;ect2oriente! file s6stem 1oofs2 for representing experimental units 1o!Bects2 and alternative representations of experiments 1hypero!Bects2D (la4 s6stem ro+rams for organi8ing# accessing and manipulating these o!Bects

VLAB O4;ect2 A la!oratory o!Bect is a directory containing files that define the o!Bect and a su!directory extension. The following ta4le 1 shows the file types included for an o!Bect. Filename
*.txt,*.map, *.mat,*.dat, *.s,*.l,*.v, *.a, etc.

Function 6ata files contain our knowledge of a particular model. 0ach o!Bect will vary in the type and num!er of data files that descri!e it. 6efines the data files which make up the o!Bect and the tools which apply to them. A graphical representation 11%Cx1%C pixel screenshot2 of the experiment. Contains a uni>ue identification num!er for the o!Bect in the data!ase. A su!directory of extensions 1lists o!Bects which inherit some features of the current o!Bect2.

s ecifications icon .i! e<t

VLAB =6 ero4;ect* 9ypero!Bects are links to o!Bects in the data!ase. The following information is stored with eachFilename Function no!e Contains a hyperlink to an o!Bect in an oofs data!ase. Eot all hypero!Bects need to point to an o!Bect in an oofs data!ase. Those that do not contain a hyper*link are used as place*holders for other hypero!Bects. Also contains the name of the hypero!Bect. This description is usually related to the o!Bect the hyperlink points to under the given context. Also contains the order of children. The order of children in a parent can !e changed# which affects the traversal of hypero!Bect data!ases. te<t Contains a textual description of the hypero!Bect. E<t A su!directory of children 1other hypero!Bects inheriting from this one2

2.% 5e6 Com onents of t&e La4

1. The Object B !"#e - us!r ma" bro#s! t$rou%$ t$! ob&!'ts an( $")!rob&!'ts in t$! lab b" *ollo#in% t$! $i!rar'$" in(u'!( b" t$! $ !t!t%$e&e'te(#)!( r!lation. T$! b !"#e )ro+i(!s a +isual int!r*a'! *or na+i%atin% t$rou%$ t$! $i!rar'$". T$! bro#s!r also ma,!s it )ossibl! to mo+!, 'o)", (!l!t! an( r!nam! ob&!'ts. T$! bro#s!r also *a'ilitat!s t$! )r!s!ntation o* a VL B ob&!'t in s!+!ral (i**!r!nt 'ont!-ts, as $")!rob&!'ts, #$il! ,!!)in% t$! main (atabas! inta't. $. T&e La4 Ta4le* :pon invocation of the o!Bect manager# all files that make up the selected o!Bect are copied to a temporary location called the la! ta!le. Conse>uently# manipulation of o!Bect parameters does not affect the stored version. )hen the experiment is completed# the user may save the results !y overwriting the original o!Bect or !y creating an extension. "n the latter case# the files on the la! ta!le are compared with those in the prototype o!BectD those files that differ from the prototype are saved# and links to the remaining files are esta!lished automatically. +. T&e O4;ect 7ana+er* ;!Bects are manipulated using a vla! system program called the o!Bect manager. The menu lists the tools and utilities availa!le for experimenting with the o!Bect# and allows the user to select them dynamically. The user may manipulate the o!Bect as a whole# without detailed knowledge of the programs involved or the component files. %. T&e 9anel 7ana+er* The a!ility to easily manipulate the parameters of an experiment is an important feature of the Virtual <a!oratory. All parameters of an experiment are represented in the o!BectFs data files. ?arameter modification can !e performed using virtual control panels. A general* purpose panel manager creates panels according to definition files also included in the o!Bect. A panel definition file itemi8es the appearance of each control !utton or slider in the panel# and the format of the message to !e sent as a result of control manipulation. These messages are used to edit the data files. As a control on the panel is manipulated# the corresponding parameter in the data file will !e updated. 3. T&e Virtual La4orator6 Daemon* The vla! daemon is invoked automatically !y other processes# and thus remains invisi!le to the end*user. 9owever# the information on its operation and the format of messages is essential to implementing extensions of the Virtual <a!oratory framework. =ain functions are- support of communication !etween components and launching of o!Bects 1i.e.invocation of the o!Bect manager2.

2.' A!(anta+es
1. it is now possi!le to simulate engineering and science la!oratory proBects on a computer. 2. 0xperiment*oriented pro!lems can !e offered without the overhead incurred when maintaining a full la!oratory. 3. "t makes it easy to experiment with the models# retrieve and resume work initiated in the past# and organi8e the results for pu!lications and presentations. %. The flexi!le association of o!Bects into structures accessed using the hyper!rowser makes it possi!le to use vlab as an attractive vehicle for interactive presentations.

2.) Limitations
1. The lack of support for hierarchical model construction. $. vlab does not currently provide a mechanism for constructing o!Bects thatinclude other o!Bects as components# or inherit files from several prototypes. +. Vlab also does not produce visual cues indicating which application program has !een spawned !y which o!Bect manager. %. vlab does not allow for a selective transfer of parts of o!Bects.

2.* Conclusion
The long experience with the consecutive incarnations of vlab shows that it provides an effective and pleasant environment for organi8ing and conducting interactive experiments with visual simulation models. 5entner and Eielson [$] envisioned that future computer users will focus on manipulating huge num!ers of complex information o!Bects while !eing connected to a network shared !y other users and computers. This is exactly what vlab makes it possi!le to do.

*. SIMULATION
3.1 Definition
.simulation. is an arti*i'iall" ("nami' an( 'los!( s"st!mi' !n+ironm!nt in #$i'$ a )arti'ular s!t o* 'on(itions is 'r!at!( a''or(in% to a priori rul!s in or(!r to stu(" or !-)!ri!n'! som!t$in% t$at !-ists or 'oul( !-ist in r!alit". In 'om)ut!r simulations /an( in(!!( simulation t")! %am!s0 t$! a priori rul!s ar! )r!(!*in!( al%orit$ms t$at (!t!rmin! t$! out)ut or out'om!s o* t$! s"st!m./Lins!r,10020

3.2 Nee!
,imulation can increase a learner@s retention up to AC*A3G as well as a learner@s motivation# creativity# curiosity# and eagerness to learn. These are among the main reasons that active utili8ation of )e!*!ased modeling and simulation 1) =,2 tools in )e!*!ased education 1) 02 systems are in demand for the next generation of virtual learning environments 1V<021:skov#$CC32. Gartner Research predicts that !y $CC4# &C G of all off*the*shelf and custom e*learning content will include some application of simulations 1C.H pro!a!ility2.

3.3 A!(anta+es
1. ,tudy the !ehaviour of a system without !uilding it. $. Iesults are accurate in general# compared to analytical model. +. 9elp to find un*expected phenomenon# !ehaviour of the system. %. 0asy to perform JJ)hat*"fFF analysis.

3.% Disa!(anta+es
1. 0xpensive to !uild a simulation model. $. 0xpensive to conduct simulation. +. ,ometimes it is difficult to interpret the simulation results. %. <ack of sophisticated technology and tools# and standards for their development.

3. Very often existing )e!*!ased simulators are resistant to assimilate into conventional ) 0 systems due in part to the old*fashioned design and development models# and technical solutions of existing ) 0 systems.

3.' Consi!erations
,everal key issues that include !ut are not limited to* )hat are the trends in design and development of )e!* ased modeling and simulationsK * )hat are the most perspective technologies for a massive production of top >uality )e! !ased ,imulatosK )hat are the standards for )e!*!ased simulatorsK * 9ow will ) =, tools and technologies evolve in +# 3# and 1C yearsK 9ow will they affect the design and development of ) 0 systemsK * )hat are relations !etween )e!*!ased simulations and ) 0K )hat are !est practices# experience# findings# and outcomes of research and development proBect on this topicK * 9ow can 1should2 colleges and universities use )e!*!ased modeling and simulation to improve student@s knowledge# retention# and motivationK * )hat kind and what level of complexity of )e!*!ased simulations should !e used in academic curriculaK 9ow to incorporate )e!*!ased simulations into different online learning technologies and learning scenariosK

3.) Conclusion
"nternet asynchronous we! learning reduces the workload of classroom teaching. To help the novice learn !etter simulation pro!lem solving# this research addresses designing the usa!ility into computer*!ased training 1C T2 environment !y focusing on the simulation experience and the interaction design.

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