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Virtual Learning Classrooms (VLC)

IKC provides consultancy services for establishment of Virtual learning Classrooms. Though the satellite services are offered by Government of India to promote literacy amongst the people, we provide the resource persons to transmit various programmes and extend this facility further.
VLC are a beautiful union of conventional and advanced learning techniques. VLC are a mixture between the tried and tested methods of learning, and innovative approach to learning with an extensive reach. It works very well with educational institutions that have a long reach.
VLC supports a varied range of requirements right from one to one learning to global training. It can safely be termed as one of the ultramodern learning tools, which has something for students as well as instructors. While students reap the benefits of enhanced learning, instructors are attracted and retained by the lure of professional development on their part. Not to mention the efficacy and savings provided by VLC in achieving the overall goal of 'To reach the unreached'.
Schools and universities benefit from VLC because it transcends all physical boundaries. Simultaneously, teaching copious number of classrooms, programmes can be developed and held across them, enrolling students into varied programmes, all without any extra efforts and cost of building classrooms on the part of institutions and commuting all the way to them on the part of the students.

The trend in application of virtual learning classroom takes the form of electronic classrooms. An electronic classroom is a classroom equipped with advanced information technologies, which are used by instructors and/or students to store, retrieve, process, and communicate information in support of learning activities. Electronic classrooms have been used in various disciplines including science, engineering, business and management, and languages. Application of information technologies in the electronic classroom takes two primary forms: a means of information presentation and display, and interactive use information technology by students and instructor as a basis for active learning and communication during class. The information presentation and display feature of the electronic classroom aims at enhancing efficiency of learning and teaching processes. Examples include computer display of lecture notes, electronic note-taking by students, and access to and display of on-line databases

VLC Methodology
The components of teaching methods include: Live satellite based Teleconferencing lecturers, Recorded video lectures; Internet Learning Resources by Internet Browsing; Online Interactive chat: with peer group, with faculty, with external experts and web site (for course materials and assignments).

The teacher takes online counseling of a course by hosting on the web, materials for about a week’s study and informing the learners about what materials would be hosted during which week. This schedule is also made available on the website. The learners would then pursue the materials, do self-check exercises, and interact with the peer group as well as the mentor/ instructor through e-mail. The course coordinator then again puts up a summary session at the end of the week and move on to the next week’s activity. Sometime before the Term End Examination, the entire material with all the interactions that took place is made available to aid preparation for the examination; the learning materials are divided into smaller, intensive, interactive session. This is somewhat similar to an episode of a serial TV programme. Each study session has some content being available, self-check exercises, links to other part of the course and so on. There are advisory mechanism, which refers to the status of what the learner has achieved during the time spent so far. During the first trimester, the learners would rely mainly on an instructor delivered video lecture format, supplemented with self-learning through Internet based resources. Gradually, this would change towards a greater selflearning and mentoring approach.

This programme is delivered through the Tele Learning Centers (TLCs) which have the state of the art infrastructure to facilitate effective delivery of these programmes. Teleconferencing based lectures are accessible to the learners at these TLCs. Being interactive in nature (two way audio and one way video) distance learners can interact with experts and faculty members in the studio. A learners can access the course material through CD-ROMS and e- learning website. The Website has the complete courseware. The learner can also access through the internet, Frequently Asked Questions and their Answers, which have been organized and structured for each course. If learners need to ask a question on a portion of the course which is not covered in the database of Frequently Asked Questions and their Answers, the learner could ask such a question by submitting a form through e-mail. This could in some sense be the equivalent of an electronic post card. These questions will again be handled by the academic team in-charge of the course and the learner would receive the answer over a period of time. If the question seems to be of general interest, the question and the answer would be added to the database of Frequently Asked Questions and their Answers. Thus e-mail is being used as a very effective but asynchronous mode of counseling. The learners are being assessed periodically through both traditional and innovative methods, which include case studies, assignments, time-constrained assessments and workbased projects and final examinations.

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