The Future of Virtual Classroom: Using Existing Features to Move Beyond Traditional Classroom Limitations

This paper argues that the true potential of virtual classrooms in education is not fully exploited yet. The features available in most environments that have been incorporated as virtual classrooms are classified into two groups. The first group includes common features, related only to the emulation of a traditional classroom. In this group, the practical differences between traditional and virtual classroom are discussed. In addition, best practices that could aid the professors to make students feel like participating in a typical classroom are presented. The second group comprises of advanced features and practices, which extend the traditional classroom. In this group, examples of successful practices which could not be performed in a traditional classroom are introduced. Finally, a qualitative study with interviews of 21 experts from 15 countries is presented, showing that even these experts are not fully exploiting the advanced features that contemporary virtual classroom environments are offering.Comment: 8 pages, IMCL2017 Conference, Thessaloniki, Greec

Efficiency Analysis of Lloyd's Syndicates: A Comparison of DEA and SFA Approaches

This paper evaluates the efficiency of the twenty-one largest Syndicates of Lloyd's of London. Members of Lloyd's of London are grouped into Syndicates in order to undertake insurance liabilities. In this study, the Syndicate is regarded as the counterpart of an insurance company in a regular insurance market. The analysis covers a period of eight years between 2004 and 2011. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) are used to estimate the efficiency of the Syndicates, and comparisons are made for the consistency of the two methods. The main findings indicate, firstly, that the average annual efficiency estimates for all Syndicates are plausible and they follow three-year cycles. Secondly, the less efficient syndicates may reduce inputs by almost one-third and still produce the same output, provided that they adopt the "best practices" of the most efficient Syndicates