A virtual classroom should feel like a real one. Too often, though, a student sits through an online lesson with the camera off and the mic muted, and the teacher never knows whether anything landed. A virtual classroom is an online learning space where teachers and students meet in real time. They work through problems on a shared digital whiteboard, ask questions mid-lesson, and collaborate in small groups, much like they would in a physical room. Schools now use virtual classrooms well beyond emergency closures. They support blended learning, hybrid courses, and students who can’t attend in person. This guide explains how virtual classrooms work, the five most common models, and the key features to look for in a platform. Key Takeaways A virtual classroom lets teachers and students learn together online in real time. Live interaction sets it apart from self-paced online courses. Schools use five models: enriched virtual, rotation, fully online, flex, and à la carte. Core features: video, chat, file sharing, breakout groups, and a digital whiteboard. Connectivity and screen fatigue are manageable with the right tools and routines. What Is a Virtual Classroom? A virtual classroom is an online learning environment where teachers and students meet in real time through video, audio, chat, and a shared digital whiteboard. It recreates the interaction of a physical classroom, so students can ask questions, work in groups, and get feedback during the lesson rather than studying recorded content alone. Want to learn more about synchronous education? Check out the pros and cons of synchronous distance learning. A virtual classroom often includes the following features: Videoconferencing that facilitates communication with both the teacher and with peers. A digital whiteboard to offer real-time explanations and/or collaboration. Instant messaging for low-bandwidth communication. Participation controls so that students can still “raise their hands” or otherwise participate in lessons. Sub-chats or group chats for students to collaborate in small groups online (sometimes also called breakout rooms.) 5 Ways Schools Use Virtual Classrooms As a flexible remote learning tool, virtual classrooms have a lot of variety in both form and function. A virtual classroom’s function in a curriculum can range from an optional supplementary resource to the whole education program. And given the vastly different needs of different groups, even virtual classrooms built on the same platform tend to be customized to the instructor’s needs. It’s all up to the educator, and the way a virtual class works starts with the model for integrating e-learning into the course as a whole. Enriched Virtual An enriched virtual program is one that is mostly taught online with occasional offline components to augment the lessons. In many cases, the in-person component takes the form of one-on-one meetings with teachers or instructors for face-to-face assistance and personal connection. Rotation The rotation model of virtual classroom combines virtual learning with live, in-person lessons in a fixed schedule. Rotation models show up at every grade level, from station rotation in elementary classrooms to flipped courses in high school and university. This often works as part of a flipped classroom where students do their primary learning at home, usually online, and time in the classroom is reserved for review and reinforcement. Fully Online Classroom It’s all in the name. A fully online classroom is a virtual classroom that only exists on the Internet and does not include a real-life version. In this type of online learning, the virtual classroom represents the only time students and teachers will interact with each other directly. Many fully online programs pair these live sessions with asynchronous coursework that students complete between classes. Flex A flex model applied to distance learning usually involves a virtual classroom that remains open and available for students to visit on their own time. Students are encouraged to work digitally on their own or in small groups. The teacher will be available periodically, either online or in-person depending on the needs of a particular course. The flex model is especially popular in trying to reach non-traditional learners that may not respond well to rigid structures but are still interested in learning. As the name suggests, the flex model provides a great deal of flexibility to how students opt to learn. À La Carte Model An à la carte model is one that combines a variety of digital teaching models and makes multiple channels available to students. This mix-and-match nature of these virtual classrooms can be up to the person or institution running the course, or it could be student-driven. This is by far the most flexible model, but it sacrifices structure and ease of setup for its flexibility. Why Are Virtual Classrooms Important? Virtual classrooms fill a number of needs in education that have gone unaddressed for too long. Though technology in the classroom continues to evolve, we need to develop other learning channels. Here are just a few reasons why we need to develop and implement virtual learning online now and in the future: Educators can supplement existing classes with virtual lessons, especially as part of a flipped classroom or blended learning. Virtual classrooms also support inclusive learning by improving digital accessibility for students with disabilities and those who can’t attend in person. Extend the reach of educational materials without sacrificing the interactivity or collaboration of synchronous lessons. Implementing a virtual learning infrastructure maintains educational continuity in the face of school closures, especially long-term closures. “If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don’t bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking.” Buckminster Fuller, author, inventor, architect, futurist Advantages of a Virtual Classroom Given the ever-growing need for innovation in education, educators and institutions need to be ready with solutions. This will inevitably mean increasing the availability of digital learning tools, including both distance learning and virtual classrooms. And as they assess the needs of their students, schools will have to take a good look at the best system for their desired learning outcomes. So while virtual learning environments aren’t perfect for every situation, they have distinct advantages as an online synchronous learning system and overcome many challenges of remote education. High Interactivity As previously mentioned, an effective virtual classroom will have multiple communication channels. This would include instant messaging, voice chat, and videoconferencing. Ideally, there would also be the ability for students and teachers to use shared workspaces to maintain engagement with the course materials. For example, there’s the option of video-assisted learning. Collaborative Learning Related to interactivity is a virtual classroom’s ability to collaborate, and often in real-time. Through shared chats, files, and digital whiteboards, students can work together on solving problems and reinforcing course materials. And to simulate group work, breakout rooms allow students to work in pairs or small groups similar to group work in a physical classroom. Student-Centered Teaching Recorded lessons are efficient, but they can’t respond to the student who’s stuck on step three. A live virtual classroom can. Teachers can check for understanding, adjust pacing, and give individual feedback during the lesson, just as they would in person. A virtual classroom—especially a live one—has much of the agility and responsiveness of in-person education. Content Variety Just like an interactive whiteboard in the classroom, a virtual classroom can easily make use of a wide range of media to present, review, and reinforce educational materials. Through links, files, and embedded media, the teacher can tap into a wider range of educational content to more fully engage with students across a wider spectrum of interests and abilities. A Safe and Comfortable Learning Space A classroom filled with warm and welcoming people is much better than an empty or automated space. This much is true whether it’s a brick-and-mortar room or a virtual space. Having both mentors and peers to interact with goes a long way to helping students open up and engage with virtual learning, especially in a format that closely emulates the real-world equivalent. Overcoming Common Virtual Classroom Challenges Like any classroom, a virtual one runs best with a little planning. Most of the hurdles schools run into are well understood by now, and each has practical, proven solutions. Making Sure Every Student Can Join Not every student has a fast connection or a device of their own. The good news is that a well-designed virtual classroom has room for everyone. Recording live sessions lets students catch up on their own time. Text chat and audio-only options keep students with slower connections in the conversation. And many schools now lend devices or hotspots to close the gap entirely. Keeping Energy High Long stretches on camera can tire anyone out. Shorter live sessions, with offline activities in between, keep lessons fresh and give students time to apply what they’ve learned. Flexible camera policies help too. Students stay connected and involved without feeling like they’re always on display. Protecting Student Privacy Families want to know their children’s information is in good hands. Clear guidelines on when sessions are recorded, who can view them, and how long they’re kept go a long way toward building that trust. Choosing a platform that follows local student data privacy laws, such as FERPA in the US or GDPR in Europe, gives schools a strong foundation from day one. Turning Participation into a Habit Engagement thrives on frequent, low-stakes interaction. Quick polls, short quizzes, breakout tasks, and turns at the shared whiteboard keep students actively learning rather than passively watching. Tools like ClassSwift make it simple to run fast checks for understanding, so teachers know right away who’s on track and who needs a little extra help. Setting Teachers Up for Success Teachers do their best work online when they feel confident with the tools. A bit of practice time before going live makes a real difference, and so does learning from peers who’ve already been there. The ViewSonic Educator Community is a great place to swap ideas and lesson strategies. Behind the scenes, ViewSonic Manager lets IT teams update and support classroom displays remotely, so teachers can focus on teaching. With the right features and a few good routines in place, virtual classrooms can be as engaging as their brick-and-mortar counterparts. So what should schools look for in a platform? What to Look for in a Virtual Classroom Certain functions are just necessary to make a virtual classroom work. Others are nice to have and may improve the user experience, but you can still run an effective lesson without these frills. Here’s a look at some of what you should look for in a virtual teaching environment. Messaging This is the bare minimum for communication. Students should be able to write directly to their instructors and each other to ask questions, participate, and collaborate. And in some environments, text-based communications give quieter students a low-pressure way to contribute. Being able to read the text at one’s own pace—or re-read as necessary—can go a long way to improving understanding and retention. But it is also limited in how much can be shared how quickly with easy misunderstandings based on tone or writing style. Voice Chat Voice chat is faster than text and offers a more natural learning experience. It can also help connect participants to a real person on the other end of the line. For weaker connections, it isn’t as demanding as video. However, in a lot of ways voice chat is a compromise between messaging and videoconferencing. It provides more natural communication than messaging but lacks the visual cues of video or in-person communication. Video Streaming Most videoconferencing platforms now handle a full class with cameras on, which suits discussion-heavy lessons. For very large groups, such as a lecture with hundreds of students, one-way video streaming is often the better fit. Only the instructor broadcasts, so the stream stays smoother for everyone, and students participate through chat, polls, or raised hands. Video streaming to a virtual classroom is about as close as an educator is going to get to teaching in person. Most students will not be able to broadcast themselves under this system, but that results in the whole group getting a smoother online experience. File Sharing Though nearly every communication platform has some degree of file sharing, it’s extremely important for a virtual classroom to have an integrated, two-way sharing system. This could be through an integrated cloud storage system or baked into the virtual environment, but teachers need to have a way to share assignments and resources with students. And students need a way to submit their work to teachers directly within the learning environment. Participation Management Participation management refers to students’ ability to “raise their hands” or otherwise signal they would like to participate in a lesson. The system is an effective way to allow students to offer input, answer questions, and otherwise contribute to the class as a whole. Teachers can also manage audio channels, which keeps background noise and side conversations from derailing the lesson. The only downside to this system is that it does require the teacher (or a moderator’s) constant input to allow students to speak up. This can stifle some of the impromptu give-and-take discussions that pop up in lessons, but these can be brought up on other channels for later. Digital Whiteboarding A digital whiteboard is software that emulates a whiteboard. It allows for writing, drawing, and annotating just like the physical fixture, and it also allows teachers to import pre-made content, rich media, and custom software. Many virtual classrooms also make whiteboards available to students – either as a full class or in smaller collaborative groups. To get the most out of digital whiteboarding, it’s best to have a touchscreen device. The teacher should also seriously consider having a touch monitor available to facilitate lessons. Having the larger touchscreen more closely mimics the real thing (only with the addition of a wider range of available media). Student Groups For a complete virtual classroom, it is necessary for students to be able to work together in separate groups. Group work is an important part of exploring and reinforcing taught materials, so the online experience needs to include the necessary channels for collaboration. However, setting up how students interact with each other will depend very much on the capabilities of your virtual classroom solution. In some situations, it may be enough for them to simply share a digital whiteboard. In other cases, however, they may need to communicate more directly as part of a breakout room or virtual huddle with messaging, voice, or even video. Collaborating online can be challenging for students, so be sure to check out these tips. Integrations In a digital learning environment, no system exists in a vacuum and no software performs every necessary function. A good virtual classroom will overcome its own limitations by supplementing its functionality with other services like Google Drive, Google Classroom, or Zoom. While adding integrations to a system increase complexity and require users to learn more systems, it does help keep the purpose-built software focused on what it does well. myViewBoard easily integrates with third-party applications to provide students and teachers a seamless learning experience. Final Thoughts Virtual classrooms started as a limited offering or an emergency fix for many schools, but they’ve settled into a lasting role. Schools use them to run blended courses, offer electives a single campus couldn’t staff, reach students who can’t attend in person, and keep lessons going through snow days and other closures. The specific platform matters less than how well it supports live interaction: clear audio and video, a shared whiteboard, easy file exchange, and room for students to work together. Just getting started with online learning? Click here to learn more about distance education. Or see ViewSonic’s complete list of education solutions. What is the difference between a virtual classroom and an online course? A virtual classroom is live, with teachers and students meeting at the same time, while an online course is usually self-paced. In a virtual classroom, students can ask questions mid-lesson, work through problems together, and get feedback on the spot. Online courses tend to rely on recorded videos and assignments completed on each student’s own schedule. Many schools blend the two. Whiteboarding software like myViewBoard supports both approaches, since teachers can run a lesson live and then save the same whiteboard for students to revisit later. What equipment does a teacher need to run a virtual classroom? At minimum, a teacher needs a computer, a stable internet connection, a webcam, and a microphone or headset. The tool that most improves the experience is a way to write by hand. Solving a math problem or marking up a diagram with a mouse is slow and awkward. A ViewSonic pen display lets teachers write and annotate naturally from a desk. In hybrid classrooms, a ViewBoard interactive display gives in-room students and remote students the same view of the lesson. How do teachers keep students engaged in a virtual classroom? Engagement comes from frequent, low-stakes interaction rather than long stretches of lecturing. Short polls, quick quizzes, breakout groups, and inviting students to write on a shared board all keep learners active and give teachers a read on who is following along. Tools like ClassSwift help teachers run quick checks for understanding during a lesson, so they can adjust their pacing before students fall behind. Can a virtual classroom work in a hybrid setting? Yes, as long as the in-room and remote students can see and contribute to the same content. Hybrid lessons usually break down when the remote students end up as spectators. Running a shared whiteboard on the classroom display, and letting in-room students cast their screens to it, puts both groups on the same canvas. AirSync handles wireless casting from student devices to the front of the room. How do schools manage virtual classroom technology across a campus? Most schools centralize device management so IT teams don’t have to visit every room. Remote management lets IT update software, adjust settings, and troubleshoot displays from one dashboard, which matters when dozens of classrooms depend on working equipment every morning. ViewSonic Manager gives IT teams cloud-based control over ViewSonic displays across a school or district. TAGS accessible educationdistance learningvirtual classroomremote learningdistance educationflipped classroomblended learningassistive technology in education SHARE