Virtual Learning Environments
ICT in your subject
VLEs
• The concept of VLEs is that the classroom
becomes extended so that instead of filling 3
hours per week and having a physical classroom
with a white board and display boards; the time
continuum is extended to a realtime 24/7 and
the displays become Web 2.0 based or, as it is
frequently referred to in research, VLE 2.0
• The 2.0 refers to moving from mode 1 – a
repository – to mode 2: interactive elements
24/7 online
discussion forum
managed by
students and
updated hourly
Collaborative
online wiki
managed by
students updated
daily
Virtual Classroom
Bridging the divide
Physical Classroom
Class discussion – 50 minutes
total a week, on fixed topics
managed by the teacher
2 dimensional display
board – updated
every few weeks
Mode 1
• Mode 1 practitioners see the VLE like a filing
cabinet or a display board where they can pin
work
• They put homework on the board, some resource
sheets and other files
• They use email to communicate with students
and send work back and forth
This resource is unavailable
on the internet – no matter
how much they Google!
Mode 2
• Mode 2 practitioners don’t try to create
resources that already exist on the internet –
they provide links to such provision
• If they upload a resource, it is a specialist
resource only accessible from the VLE – this can
be from the subject teacher’s specialist
knowledge or simply a copyright protected
source (the VLE comes within copyright rules for
a school’s physical space as there is a formal log
in)
Mode 2
• Mode 2 practitioners do not try to be solely
responsible for the content of the VLE
• Using Web 2.0 components such as discussion
forums, wikis, online peer assessment and
revision they try to generate as much student led
content and learning as possible
• This replicates the push in physical classrooms
from teacher led to student led learning
Mode 2
• Within the VLE, mode 2 teachers embrace the
collaborative nature of social networking and create
‘spaces’ or ‘projects’ which require a team of people to
collaborate together to produce an end product
• The teacher sets up the process and supports the
students in differentiating the tasks so that each student
works to their strength
• The teacher often allows physical class time on such
online projects allowing students to write drafts, discuss
physically plan and research so that they can function
efficiently once away from the physical classroom
Mode 2 – discussion forums
• Many models exist for the efficient management of
discussion forums, but a summary of best practice is
as follows:
• Introduce the students to the forum and the technology for
the forum in a physical room and encourage them to post en
mass within a physical lesson at the start of their course
• The teacher should be highly involved at the start, but
withdraw exponentially to facilitate independent discussion
• Students should be allocated as ‘moderators’ – they initiate
discussions and ‘protect’ the forum from offensive posts - this
role should be rotated so that there is a ‘weekly’ role
• Discussions in the classroom – clearly waymarked on SOWs –
should be replicated in the VLE – as different students give
more measured and interactive answers in contrast to how
they sometimes perform in the physical classroom
Mode 2 - wikis
• Wikis are spaces where students can collaborate to create,
upload and modify
• You can see it rather like a 3d display board that can contain files,
pictures, texts and videos
• Or you can see it as a webpage that is created and reshaped by the
collaboration of the class or group
• Like all blank spaces, it needs structure and a strong teacher will
plan the wiki in the classroom with the students (often a small
group (3 or 4)) before the students collaborate to create their wikis
around key subject knowledge themes
• AfL should always be built in – peer review and assessment is a vital
part of VLE work
• Wikis need not be part of the internal VLE – they can be built, as
secure communities, using sites such as www.wikispaces.com
Mode 2 - Blogs
• Students who are stronger at maintaining an online
presence can be a great source of knowledge to the rest
of the class
• A blog is like a daily/weekly webpage that is frequently
updated by the student – it can contain text, images,
video and other moving graphics
• Students can collate these sources alongside a narrative
to show their personal journey of knowledge and
understanding
• It can be an excellent way to stretch a G&T and enable
them to drive peer learning
• The blog does not necessarily need to exist within the
VLE – it can be outsourced to an free online provider
Embedding the VLE
• Teachers should be embedding the VLE into their
teaching. Thus, for each unit of work there should be a
‘space’ on the VLE which is ready to be populated by the
class
• The teacher should ‘train’ the class in the technology
behind their particular VLE and encourage them
through actual group/pair/individual work in the
classroom to create content within the class that can be
viewed on the VLE
• Homework, for example, instead of being ‘collected’ or
‘submitted’ (even online), could be to add content to the
area so that the work can be seen by the teacher virtually
Capturing class output
• There should be a steady production line of ‘captured’
class output. At a basic level this is as simple as
photographing a class brainstorm and uploading it to the
VLE so that absentees can see it and others can add to it
ideas they had at a later date – remember, those who
contribute online are often different to those who
contribute in the physical classroom: they are often more
empowered and confident in a virtual space
• At a complex level this means capturing class output
using Flipcams, MP3 recorders, still digicams and the
IWB empowering students to upload and manage
content collaboratively to show learning across a theme
or area of subject knowledge
The class community
• Creating a healthy online community has been proven to
have a lot of positive outcomes:
• Retention is improved (A level/BTECH/Post 16)
• Absenteeism is reduced – linked to self esteem
• Peer assessment and support is of a higher standard
• End quality of learning is improved
• Revision of materials is easier
• Students are happier being part of an effective learning
community
• Having said all that, some students simply do NOT like
to learn online and ‘forcing’ them is not the right
approach – it can be seen rather like a learning style
Transferable Skills
• Students and student teachers maintain online spaces all
the time – Facebook, blogs, etc – and participate in
online communities on a regular basis
• Those transferable skills can be harnessed to maintain a
learning community within the VLE
• Assume students and student teachers are confident in
uploading and revising material online
• Assume that each VLE – Moodle, It’s Learning, Frog,
Blackboard, etc, uses different methods and thus
students will need to learn how to do this for their VLE
in the physical classroom rather than through osmosis
and playing online
Whole School Approach
• As each VLE requires a different set of operating skills even though
the method is the same, so schools are better off approaching VLEs
from a whole school perspective
• Subject staff need training in the technical skills of maintaining a
virtual space
• Students need to be trained by subject staff in how to access the
online space and collaborate
• If all subjects have virtual areas then students will have multiple
spaces that they log into and work on
• If they only use the skills for one teacher in one subject, they will not
reinforce and develop those skills effectively
• It’s like only writing in English lessons and no other subject – the
students need more opportunities than that to practice their literacy
in other subjects
Change Management
• Schools have to progress from no usage, to mode 1 to
mode 2
• This requires change management strategies for both
students and staff
• Basic change management strategies involve heavy use
of student/teacher voice and consultations with clear
outcomes
• Classes should be consulted on how they are going to
embed the VLE into their lessons – not told they ‘have’
to start populating a VLE that has been created
First Steps
• Teachers need log-ins to learn the skills needed to
maintain a virtual space
• Teachers need to teach their students how to collaborate
online using the school’s VLE platform
• Teachers need to consult students ahead of a SOW or
lesson to discuss what aspects of the VLE are going to be
used (change management)
• Teachers need to build physical opportunities within the
regular classroom to work on resources and
opportunities to capture student output to be uploaded
and reshaped and reviewed on the VLE
Moodle videos and ideas
• http://nstoneit.com/?p=160
• http://www.blip.tv/file/4016217
• http://opensourceschools.org.uk/teachmeetmoodle.html-0
• http://www.blip.tv/file/4019368
• http://www.blip.tv/file/4082137
• http://www.ict-register.net/lp-video.php?v=102
• http://nstoneit.com/?p=102
Useful sites to get practical examples
from
• Glowing OfSTED Report http://www.schoolportal.co.uk/GroupRenderWiki.asp?GroupID=859283&ResourceId
=3271207
• Resources and Examples
• http://www.vital.ac.uk/community/course/category.php?id=89
• http://portal2.lgfl.org.uk/lmle/GoodPractice/Pages/Home.aspx
• http://www.lgfl.info/information/news/Lists/News%20Articles/Di
spForm.aspx?ID=120
• http://schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=pb&catcode=ss_pb
_all_02&rid=17692
• http://research.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=rh&catcode=_re_r
p_be_03&rid=17900
• http://schools.becta.org.uk/index.php?section=oe&catcode=ss_es_
lp_02
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