The Virtual, Socially-Networked Classroom

Students are just as likely to be completing degrees by distance as they are to be completing diplomas in the classroom in 2011.  This is certainly true at my own place of employment.  Two of our degree programs are completed entirely online, with no classroom visits at all.  I have had the privilege of teaching courses entirely online for most of my tenure, and believe me, online classrooms, virtual class units, and teaching "rooms" available through software such as Elluminate Live are becoming a significantly larger part of what a 21st century educator must know about, and in many cases build lessons for.

The virtual classroom is a very different type of environment for the educator.  Asynchronous teaching, familiarity with discussion-based websites, and attentiveness to daily maintenance are key knowledge areas for building an online environment for education.  Educators used to using a computer to prepare lessons can, with the addition of the new endpoint "software appliance" released by Cisco Systems, Inc., turn that computer into a much more powerful device for creating a virtual classroom.  Students are able to communicate device-to-device, facilitating electronic interaction on a very different scale than sites such as Facebook and Google+ are able to manage. 

Cisco's product, with information here, is meant to virtualize the classroom environment by turning a "traditional PC into a media-capable virtual desktop client" (Meyer, para. 3, 2011).  My own experience with virtualizing the classroom is still limited to text-based educational software, called Desire 2 Learn, an application with limited, though powerful, functionality.  I have recently begun to investigate Presenter, a multimedia integration platform that can create videos and record live, real-time teaching for students in virtual classrooms, but have not yet integrated it into my classes. With the increasing intake of international students in Canadian universities and other post-secondary institutions, the capability to interlink a class over vast distances of earth, sea, and sky in a real-time, virtual environment is becoming a key factor in education.

The ability of an educator teaching online courses to communicate with students in a real time, virtual environment, along with the capability to share data and examples with Virtual Private Network (VPN) or Virtualization Experience (Cisco terminology) capabilities cannot be underestimated.  Products providing endpoint services, like Cisco's, are key components of creating a virtual classroom that shares the dynamics of a traditional classroom while operating in a digital, high-speed environment.  Educational experiences that integrate technology and networking are becoming the model for the new classroom; staying on top of these trends is crucial.

Meyer, L. "Cisco to Ship Virtual Desktop Clients With Enhanced Voice and Video". THE Journal. (October 13, 2011). Retrieved October 13, 2011, from http://thejournal.com/articles/2011/10/13/cisco-to-ship-virtual-desktop-clients-with-enhanced-voice-and-video.aspx