HARNESSING VIRTUAL CLASSROOM SYSTEM AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR PART-TIME STUDIES IN NIGERIA

The clamour for higher education is on the increase globally, precisely, there is great need for higher education in Nigeria. For this mere fact, there was great need for part-time studies in the Nigerian universities. This need was short lived when the governing body of the Nigerian Universities; Nigerian University Commission (NUC) put a stop to this viable means of acquiring knowledge. The hope of Nigerians was salvaged with the advancement in technology, especially in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). With these inventions, we have what is known as the virtual classroom (VC), a medium that works like the traditional classroom system. The virtual class room is a teaching and learning environment located within a computer-mediated communication system which supports collaborative learning. The virtual classroom has three prominent components: A Virtual Instructor, a Server and Virtual Students. These three components interact together to form the Virtual Classroom System (VCS). This paper shows how virtual classroom can be harnessed as a replacement for part-time studies in Nigeria with the aid of synchronous and asynchronous tools. The virtual instructor sends lecture notes and materials through the server (internet) and the virtual student receives the note and sends feed back through the server. The server here serves as the point of contact between the virtual lecturer and the virtual student just like what is obtainable in a traditional classroom.