This year has seen a massive boost in the usage of online applications to do their work. People have used the group video calling application the most to organize meetings and work on group projects.

Apart from working professionals, it was the students who used these group video calling applications the most. During this time, many schools had reverted to online video calling to conduct their regular classes virtually.

However, there were many shortcomings to these video calling applications. After all, these were never made for education they were only updated to give a little help. In one of our previous blogs, we had discussed how and why students were averted to online learning on these applications.

Online learning itself is a very revolutionary concept and it has its own benefits. Nonetheless, you would agree that it needs something more than just high-quality video calling to let students enjoy online learning.

In this blog, we will see the features that can tailor a video calling application to an online learning application. Of course, the base of it will be on a group video calling however, the other features are what really make it an efficient virtual classroom application.

Features necessary for a virtual classroom

Virtual classrooms need to be packed with features tending to every need of the students. While learning online, many times students have doubts but they cannot ask it during the lecture and have to wait till the end. Such instances should not happen in a virtual classroom for these are made for student’s convenience in learning online.

And so below, we have listed some of the features that a virtual classroom must-have.

Real-time chat

Real-time chat allows the students to chat with the teacher for doubt-solving or answering a question. Students can also use this feature to chat among themselves to discuss a project or an assignment.

This feature helps to reduce the feeling of isolation among students. Unlike normal online classes, students will get an experience of learning with their peers just like they did in a physical classroom, only virtually.

Doubt-asking

Many times when the teacher is teaching and if a student has a doubt, he/she raises a hand to let the teacher know that they have a question. In online learning through video calling apps, students were asked to raise questions after the lecture through in-app text message or from a separate messaging app.

However, the virtual classroom within the school management system provides a special “hand raise” button which allows the teacher to notice the student who has a query. Similar to the situation in a physical classroom, the teacher can pause, answer the query, and continue with his/her lecture.

Whiteboard & screen sharing

You must agree that students understand better when they see the problem being solved on the teacher’s whiteboard, especially for mathematics. The step-by-step solution on the whiteboard is much easier to understand than an image of the solved problem.

This is why whiteboard and screen sharing is a feature extremely necessary for conducting a virtual class. With this feature, teachers can share their screen or whiteboards with the students to let them understand every concept with clarity.

Good quality video support

When the teacher is sharing his/her whiteboard or screen with the students, the students must be able to see every small detail clearly.

Full high-definition video support is important to let the students connect with other students and the teacher. This will help students to see everything written on the whiteboard with incredible clarity.

Of course, the quality of your internet connection will play a part in giving you a glitch-free experience.

Video lessons directory

This feature is equally important for online as well as offline classes. Many times, students miss a lecture because of several reasons. It could be due to bad weather, bad health, or an occasion or event. Whatever the reason may be, the student will want to catch up on that missed topic.

Video tutorials allow students to access pre-recorded lectures from their teachers. This will let them understand the topic that they have missed in all its detail.

These video tutorial directories will also be useful for students who want to revisit the topic and lecture for better understanding. The feature will be more useful during exam times when the students have to self-study. It will help them to go through the entire lecture whenever they want it.

Since the school management software provides virtual classrooms, the education quality is equal to the physical classroom of the school it is affiliated with. So, students will not have to compromise on their education.

Moreover, these virtual classes will have a weightage similar to that of a physical class in your school exams so it will hold the students accountable to finish the assignments and other tasks given by the teachers during the class. This factor will work as motivation for students to attend and focus on their virtual class.

EndNote

Virtual classrooms are not only about group video calls. They need to have certain features that serve the teachers and students to conduct a more efficient lecture.
These features are:

• Real-time chat
• Doubt-asking
• Whiteboard & screen sharing
• Good quality video support
• Video lessons directory

All these must-have features provide students and teachers a richer, more effective virtual classroom experience. Students and teachers both are benefitted from these powerful functions as they make their work easier while conducting a virtual class.

The school management system that offers a feature-packed virtual classroom also helps the admin by automating several clerical tasks required to run the school. In that way, it decreases the time and effort used to do tasks like managing student & teacher’s database, online admissions, hostel management, fees & accounts management, and many more.

If your school is yet to adopt a robust school management system, then now is the best time. Get a one-year trial version of the software to experience the ease with which it ingrates with your school and all its processes. You can later buy a monthly or yearly subscription at a very affordable price.

What feature do you think will increase the efficiency of virtual classrooms? Tell us in the comments section below.