E-Learning: Virtual classrooms as an added learning platform

Virtual classrooms will soon form part of students learning experiences. While many applications that allow for virtual collaborative classrooms to be held are emerging, issues such as security, privacy and jitter still remain to be fully addressed. Solutions that are suitable to Africa´s current state of ICT infrastructure are also necessary to better address the current academic need in Africa. A recent trend in education has seen a move from the traditional way in which students and people in general learn. No longer do people want to be limited to a given time and space for learning to occur. The way that people learn is constantly changing and as a result how, where and when people can learn needs to adapt to the new change. With the introduction of ICT into education, new avenues have been opened such as online learning, online tutors, interactive whiteboards and many others. Virtual classrooms have become more common with the introduction of Web 2.0 providing another platform on which students can engage academically. This paper presents and evaluates a whiteboard application over and IMS test-bed. The application will serve to provide an alternative platform for learning while fostering innovation in the ways that students learn with increased collaboration.