Abstract:

The aim of the present study is to develop a Virtual Classroom (VC) training program for higher studies lecturers. Considering a blended learning perspective, the VC and its functions are introduced as the bases for a multi-learning approach in order to introduce new technologies in the teaching dynamics, in an attempt to connect lecturers with the new generations of students in the environments they feel more familiar with (including laptops, tablets and smartphones) and move beyond the mere storing of learning materials. This study is proposed under the umbrella of the European project Teaching 2030, conformed by eight different partner universities of the Erasmus + Program.

Up to now, this type of Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) has proved significant benefits on academic performance and also on the solvency and the satisfaction with the learning climate displayed by students, and provided other advantages such as the customization of the learning pace for each student, the cost advantage with respect to the in-person classes or the possibility to carry out an asynchronous methodology thanks to the flexibility it provides.

The goal of the study is twofold. First this virtual classroom training will focus on the required skills of the instructors to deal with the new generations of students (i.e. Millennials) in a learning environment in which independence, responsibility over their contributions and time management are the key points to improve academic results. Second, it will also prepare the instructors for specific situations in the virtual setting where the establishment of trust and the motivations towards effective teamwork can be difficult to achieve. Likewise, other complementary activities such as the command on social media interaction and writing skills on the web are considered as fundamental to achieve these objectives.

The proposed training does not only consider technical or computer skills as the fundamental ones to be fostered on new and existing instructors. Taking into account the personal features that characterize Millennials, it is very important to use an intuitive and user-friendly interface and to provide constant feedback on the students’ performance. In other words, it is not a matter of procedural but substantive ideas, that are eventually considered as engaging and facilitate the understanding and assimilation of all the proposed contents. The key driver of our approach is based on the interactions with VC functions including chat, forum, wiki, questionnaires, assessments, calendar, virtual whiteboard and workshops, and how they may result useful to cope with all these different situations.

From a conceptual viewpoint, this research is based on both, objectivist and constructivist learning models in the training so that instructors can learn how to use VC functions in order to put the two of them into practice for the design of the different stages in a specific course.

In order to test the validity of our proposal, we have reviewed the literature on this topic for the last five years and pretested the key components of the VLE.

Keywords:

Virtual Classroom, Virtual Learning Environment, Multi-learning Model, Blended Learning.