Principles and Techniques of Veterinary and AH Extension

ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS

Advantages

Following are some of the advantages of virtual classroom over traditional classroom model

• Removal of geographical barriers (Anywhere learning)
• A virtual classroom allows learners and teachers to attend a single live training session from any place in the world, provided they have a computer and Internet connection.
• Sessions can be recorded
• If learners miss a traditional classroom-based training session, they have very little opportunity to engage in the learning experience that took place. A virtual classroom has a facility to record the session so learners or teachers can replay it afterwards. Teachers too get an opportunity to review their own or their colleagues’ performance.
• Quicker to organize
• Training can be organized more quickly than traditional classroom-based training. Classrooms and projectors do not need to be reserved, materials do not need to be distributed. The sessions are easier to schedule or reschedule since attendees will not be traveling to the venue of the session.
• One to one communication
• In a virtual classroom environment, learners can talk to the teacher and to each other, and although this communication is not as rich in a traditional classroom, it still can help learners, since it is one to one.

Limitations

Following are some of the limitations of virtual classroom over traditional classroom

• Teachers and students need to become familiar with the tools
• Teachers and students are familiar with the workings of a traditional classroom, that is, they understand the concepts of hand raising, the whiteboard, assignments, and so forth. With a virtual classroom, all attendees must become familiar with the way the virtual classroom works before virtual classroom based training starts.
• Time dependency for live sessions
• Attending virtual classroom training is restricted to a certain scheduled time.
• Infrastructure for the participants PC needs to be prepared
• Virtual classroom sessions need to be scheduled, teachers need to beinvited, and participants’ PCs need to be prepared.
• Technical limitations
• Technical issues such as bandwidth, speed of the connection or powerfailure may create problem while presentation is going on.