The Virtual Course-Room as a Complement to Face-to-Face Tuition

Frank-Voutsas, Gabriele (2012) The Virtual Course-Room as a Complement to Face-to-Face Tuition. In: 1st Moodle Research Conference (MRC2012), 13-15 September, 2012, Heraklion, Crete.

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Abstract

In this presentation the term Virtual Course-Room (VCR) is used to describe a structured Moodle-room offered as an additional service for students attending Goethe-Institut language classes. It consists of 3 levels: Level 1 is mainly course documentation, level 2 offers students a choice of online resources for independent language learning, and level 3 makes full use of the interactive tools of the VCR, integrating online activities into face-to-face tuition. Together with interactive whiteboards becoming standard equipment of the classrooms, the aim of this concept is the hybridization of classroom learning. Students benefit from the possibility to keep up with their course in case they miss a lesson as well as from additional training opportunities and detailed information on the Goethe-Institut’s examinations. The electronic course book makes course targets and progress transparent. Students can, and many do, subscribe to the course-book, thus getting new entries as soon as they are posted. Moreover the virtual course-room can help to achieve a genuine pedagogical objective, which is a more learner-centred approach and personalized learning, often difficult to be realized in face-to-face classes. An important advantage of working with the VCR is the improvement of the teachers’ ICT knowledge and abilities. Being familiar with some major developments in the field of learning and teaching allows them to keep a high degree of professionalism and they more readily accept that their role as teachers is changing. New ways of learning and communicating are not envisaged as threats but as a chance to make the lesson more attractive and to feel part of the modern teachers’ community.

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