The ECO201 Virtual Classroom was designed to give students in Miami University's Economics 201 class (Principles of Microeconomics) online, cross-platform access to all major resources used in the course through a consistent, centralized graphical user interface. Resources available in the Virtual Classroom include
and a wealth of other resources.
These sections of ECO201 are particularly focused on responding to diverse learning styles. Some students learn best from textbooks. Some prefer lectures. Others find discussions or hands-on activities the most effective way to learn.
The Virtual Classroom adds another learning option to the mix. At the same time, it attempts to combine elements of all of the traditional learning and information-delivery methods. Ultimately, it’s up to the student to sample the available options and decide which channel (or channels) best meets his or her individual learning style. Please contact us if you would like us to send you a copy of a working paper examining the effectiveness of the virtual classroom.
The Virtual Classroom focuses on students’ performance-related needs rather than relying exclusively on content organization (for example, course modules, textbook chapters, key concepts, etc). Based on promising new performance-support theories, the site design groups content around seven categories of performance-related needs collectively known as the FACTIRS model.
But once again, students always have a choice. Those who prefer to view the class in terms of the traditional syllabus, weekly course schedule, course modules, or textbook chapters can do just that.
These sections of ECO201 are based on pedagogical principles of experiential learning. This philosophy is implemented though student groups working on worksheets, in-class questions and answer sessions, and hands-on labs that demonstrate economics principles. The Virtual Classroom was designed to give students another truly interactive learning and doing experience. They don’t simply sit in a huge lecture hall listening to an instruction. Rather, they
These are but a few of the interactive learning opportunities available to students. And as the technology advances--and as we have more time and ideas--we'll keep adding more and more interactive goodies.
You can read instructions for using the Virtual Classroom by clicking the Help icon on the button bar at the bottom of the screen. Plus, you can view context-sensitive help for individual content areas (like The Classroom, My Desk, The Library, or The Coffee Shop) by clicking the question mark icons that appear in content outlines throughout the site. And if you’re not already there, visit the Orientation section of the web site to get acquainted with what the Virtual Classroom has to offer.