Virtual Learning Environments

While perusing the Internet the other day I came across a very interesting article from The Baltimore Sun. It talks about how Chesapeake High School is going to expand its virtual learning curriculum to include Social Studies and Language Arts.

Now before I get too far ahead of myself, let’s talk about exactly what a Virtual Learning Environment is. At its core, it’s just a classroom. Students enter, sit down in seats and a teacher guides them through lessons just like they would anywhere else. But it’s a classroom that is designed to be interactive. Massive screens are all around, and computers cover every desk. Along with getting instructions from the teacher, students actually participate in virtual simulations.

When the Chesapeake High School classroom was completed for the 2009 school year, its first uses were in creating virtual environments students wouldn’t be able to reach normally. They first started with a geographically accurate model of Mount St. Helens and its surrounding area. Students were then able to sit at the computers and explore that environment using joysticks and other controls.

What excited me the most about this article is the universal application of the Virtual Learning Environment technology. I recently put up a post about STEM learning, and the focus that the US government has put on Science, Technology, Engineering and Math in our schools. When you consider the implementation of technology into schools, these disciplines seem like the easiest and most logical places to do it. At PlanetBravo, however, we like to include technology into all aspects of education, and it’s great to see this Baltimore County school doing the same thing. Technology isn’t just for those “scientific” areas. It can be used in amazing ways to help students learn about History, Literature, Geography, and so much more.

Hopefully we can see this same sort of thing happening all over the place in the near future!

Until next time,
Keep on Thumpin’.

References:
Virtual learning environment launched at Chesapeake High School
Balto. Co. high school to expand virtual learning technology
The learning environment at Chesapeake High School