Virtual Instruction

The present research was carried out with the aim of evaluating the quality and the extent of desirability of provided educational courses in TMU e-learning center. The method of this research is quantitative and in the nature is descriptive and analytical. Statistical population are divided into different parts: they are all students of e-learning center that are studying in the year 2015-2016 in free training center TMU, all teachers and PHD students of educational science department. Sampling was done in various stages by random sampling and purposive sampling. In order to gather the data, three questionnaires were conducted that their validity and reliability was confirmed. For analyzing the gathered data, one sample T-test was chosen. The results showed that the students were dissatisfied with the quality of the courses and evaluated the quality level of these courses as undesirable. Besides, the instructional specialists also evaluated the quality of the educational system, as well as the quality of the courses undesirable. So it can be resulted that the quality of the provided education does not have a desirable condition in this center and rejuvenation and development of the center needs a complete support from authorities in the university.  

Recent developments in technology have affected various aspects of human life, including education. These technological advancements have resulted in the introduction of new trends in teaching methodology. These trends include pure online instruction, mixed online and face-to-face instruction (blended), etc. In order to identify the efficacy of such kinds of instruction in comparison with traditional methods, this quasi-experimental study was conducted to explore the effects of virtual vs. blended-language instruction on the development of listening and reading skills by Iranian intermediate EFL learners. To achieve this goal, 60 intermediate EFL learners were selected to participate in two experimental (virtual and blended) and one control (traditional face-to-face) groups. After the provision of the treatments in experimental (reading and listening through virtual and blended methods of instruction) and control (reading and listening through traditional method) groups, a post-test was conducted to measure the attainment of the participants in each language skill.  The results revealed that both virtual and blended methods of instruction could lead to better reading and listening performances. However, the difference between the effect of each treatment was more tangible in one skill scores (reading in the virtual group and listening in the blended group). The point worth noting is that the blended group could significantly outperform the other two groups. Comparing the results of all post-tests in reading and listening, it was revealed that blended instruction could result in better reading and listening; however, reading skill was more affected due to the higher mean difference between pre-test and post-test scores. This study has some implications for language teachers in taking advantage of technology in education in a balance with their traditional styles of teaching.