A virtual campus refers to the online offerings of a college or university where college work is completed either partially or wholly online, often with the assistance of the teacher, professor, or teaching assistant.
Many established and mainstream colleges and universities now offer many courses (or entire degree programs) either partially or wholly online. Other schools notable for their primary online presence include DeVry University and Strayer University. In the near future, virtual campuses will become simulated campuses rather than a physical campus that you attend. Texas Tech University has already begun the process of creating a simulated campus. Primary and secondary college students from several different countries will soon create avatars and log on to a completely digital Tech campus. There are an estimated 4,500 such institutions with total enrollments approaching perhaps 2,000,000. [1]
The majority of students using virtual campuses to obtain online degrees are adults students for three main reasons:[2]
Schools use a variety of tools for conducting classes - typically called Learning Management Systems (LMS) or Course Management Systems (CMS). CMS may also refer to CONTENT Management Systems. Some notable LMS' include Moodle, Sakai, Serco, Blackboard, Sharepoint, WebCT, Angel, Alphastudy, it's learning, Desire2Learn, EdMastery, Elluminate and eCollege. EdMastery delivers customizable assessments through a simple software interface to aid teachers in assessing students on the mastery of skills required by state or local test objectives. Blackboard and webCT command the lion's share of the commercial market, and Blackboard recently (as of Spring 2006) acquired WebCT.
Some of the aspects that go under virtual campus includes various types of learing activities such as lectures, homework, discussions, readings, assignments. Classes are usually self paced using online documents and databases that might be available to them. Tests and other assignments are available online in specific programs used for online classes such as Elluminate, Blackboard, etc. Other methods used in virtual campus are live sessions, videoconferencing, discussing and sharing various applications to name a few. Individuals are able to access the materials any time they want under the teacher’s control and are able to access anywhere online where they’re able to access internet usage. Email is a big part of the virtual campuses and is often used before, during and after sessions. This aids individuals in exchanging information and or point them to the right direction that would be useful in increasing and understanding various methods available to them via documents and online sources.
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