However, technological proficiency is a must for following online courses, as it enables students to manage their assignments and courseware in an organized manner without struggling. Basic courses in computer literacy enhance students’ knowledge in the field having a fundamental knowledge of computer hardware would help them participate in online classes without interruptions and hindrances. Furthermore, many students find fixing basic computer problems troublesome, as they have no knowledge in this area. Many of them cannot operate basic programs such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint and therefore are not able to handle their files. Some of them don’t even own computers and seek help in Learning Resource Centers for technical assistance. The only solution to this problem is knowing exactly what kind of technological support they will need for a certain course before enrolling in it, as well as properly equipping themselves for the course’s successful completion.Īlthough students are generally tech savvy, and thus able to manage computers well, lack of computer literacy is a major issue among students today. Moreover, most of them live off campus and find it difficult to keep in tune with the technical requirements of the chosen course. Many students are not provided with the high bandwidth or the strong internet connection that online courses require, and thus fail to catch up with their virtual classmates: Their weak monitors make it hard to follow the Course Management System and their learning experience becomes problematic. Understanding the benefits of eLearning and even discussing them with their peers may change this mindset and better prepare students for online classes. While passive listening and notes taking are expected in a traditional classroom, online discussions or creating a web page demand springing into action. Students with a “traditional” mindset find it difficult to adapt however, they need to accept the new learning circumstances with an open mind and heart. Their resistance to change doesn’t allow them to adapt to the online learning environment, whereas it takes time for them to get accustomed to Course Management Systems (CMS) and the methods of computer-based education. Furthermore, results demonstrate that there is a relationship between the internal statuses of an e- Learner with the rate of eye blinking.Switching from traditional classroom and face to face instructor training to computer-based training in a virtual classroom makes the learning experience entirely different for students. The analysis of the non-verbal behavior during the virtual learning activity specified that the eye blinking rate has decreased by 35% during the problem based learning session than the relaxing time in virtual learning due to low stress level, attractive environment and visual fixation. In addition to that, the successful establishment of the real user's non-verbal behavior in the virtual environment enhances the effectiveness of the communication since avatar is able to facilitate the fair representation to the real user with visualizing the real user non-verbal behavior in the virtual environment. The result of the experiment depicts that the avatar appearance which can detect the real user non-verbal behavior has got a notable impact on the viewers' impression. When the e-Learner blinks eyes or/and moves his/her head, the movements are appeared in the virtual environment through an identical avatar. Then the detected non-verbal cues are transferred to the virtual environment. The eye blink and the head pose, which can be considered as important non-verbal cues are detected by using a web-camera utilizing mainly the geometric method. The objective of this research is to introduce the behavior of non-verbal features of e-Learners in the virtual learning environment to establish a fair representation of the real user by an avatar who represents the e-Learner in the virtual environment and to distinguish the deportment of the non-verbal features during the virtual learning session.
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