Virtual Learning Environment

Throughout the last weeks, we’ve been looking at how various technological tools can help us engage and communicate with learners.  While external tools such as social networking sites, blog, independent websites are effective and mostly free-of-charge, your organisation might wish to use something with can sit within the institutional infrastructure.  If that’s the case, what can you do?  The answer is Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)!

Virtual Learning Environment?

JISC defines a VLE as “a collection of integrated tools enabling the management of online learning, providing a delivery mechanism, student tracking, assessment and access to resources” (Quoted from JISC infoNet – Effective Use of Virtual Learning Environments).  Majority of colleges, and many learning providers, now have a VLE in place to support learning and teaching.  VLE can be a single platform (such as Blackboard and Moodle) or an integrated set of tools.  Many institutions are now looking at, if not already, connecting the VLE together with intranet and library catalogue, so staff members and students can use all the facilities with a single-login, anytime and anywhere.

When using effectively, VLE is a powerful tool to make learning more flexible, interactive and personalised.  There’re a lot of discussion on the role VLE can play in learning, and we’re not going to repeat it here.  Have a look around in the internet if you’re interested, sure you’d be able to acquire lots of insight.

Why VLE?

One of the reasons for VLE’s popularity is its security.  Your institution has control on who can access to the platform, which means your staff members and students can conduct activities and exchange ideas in a safe environment.  This is particular useful when safeguarding issues are taken into consideration.  Most VLEs support a wide range of functions, which is also a strength.  You don’t need to use site A for blog, download software B for instant messaging, and register page C for an online forum – You can have all the functions together in one place.  VLEs allow you to upload and store files, so you can have podcasts and videos, without using external host such as YouTube.  As you can probably imagine, if enough traffic can be driven into the VLE, it can serve as an information hub, as well as a starting point to establish a strong online community.

How to use VLE to strengthen learner voice?

Using Moodle as an example, the basic functions you need to create dynamic and interactions are all in place.  For example instant messaging, survey, forum, blog and wiki (Wiki is very useful if you wish to have collaborative writing with a group):

To use VLE effectively in engaging your students, it’s important to:

• Be interactive: a lot of students find their VLE systems “boring”, like a “warehouse” which stores materials only. To attract students to actively log-on and use the system, it’s essential to make it interactive, so they can participate and feel being part of it.  Online forum and “user-generated” content are always good points to start.
• Have a presence: most institutions use their VLEs with a discipline-based approach (it’s natural, as VLE primarily supports learning). While as sudents’ union or student support unit you can’t control how others use the system, but it’s definitely helpful to establish a presence in the system.  Having a quick link or a pop-up box right after students login the system can definitely catch their eyes!
• Link up: Even if you’ve an independent website, a Facebook group, etc. it’s still worth to link them up with the VLE, so as to maximise your chances to reach out to your students.

Remember to work closely with your colleagues at the IT department, they’ll be able to give you advice and support that you need!

Blog – Online presence with a voice

In the last few blog entries, we have discussed how an online presence can be established through social networking sites and independent websites; while these tools are powerful and can effectively disseminate information and maintain a searchable platform, there is one single tool I’d highly recommend on top of them – Blog.

Why blogging?

Unlike other formal communications, blogging enables a mixture of formal and informal communication approaches: Company CEOs talking about their ambition, travellers sharing their experience, students’ union presidents expressing their ideas and thoughts… the unqiue “voice” in between the lines is more engaging and reflective, just like our old friends telling their stories.  At the same time, blog is also a very good tool to provide information and collect feedbacks.  It’s therefore a very popular tool in this social media era.

If you don’t want to spend a lot of time maintain an independent website, and you don’t want to use social networking tools such as Facebook and MySpace, blogging tools can also help you establish an online presence quickly.  For more information on how blog can be used as an alternative to a website, check out information 1 and 2.

What to blog?

The essence of a blog is its update – so you can keep your audience informed anything that you think they’d be be interested in.  For example:

• Event information
• Call for campaign support
• Policy updates
• Meeing highlight
• Discussion of learning issues

Want some ideas on the content and the tone of communication?  Why not checking out some excellent examples from various government and political organisations?

 

 

 

How to blog?

Exisiting blogging tools are pretty user-friendly, so you won’t need a long time to pick the skills up.  However, there’re other issues you need to consider.  Resource planning is very important:

• How often do you plan to blog? (If it’s left in the cold for too long, your audience might lose interest!)
• How many people are involving? (Bringing in different voices is brilliant, but that needs a bit of coordination.)
• Who is responsible for what?
• What kind of tone of language would you adopt?
• Do you have other tools to help you create content? (E.g. Camcorders, audio recorders, etc.)
• Should your blog be hosted externally (E.g. with WordPress or Blogger)? Within your organisation’s website? Or within VLE (Most VLE supports blogging function)?
• How would you integrate your blog to your wider communication strategy?

Need more ideas?  Check them out:
Imperial College Union Blog
Your Lewisham College (This blog is establised by college members, but open for individual students to submit entries for publication. This idea is quite interesting and has made good use of the “collaborative power” in the social media era.)