Category Archives: vle

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100 ways to use a VLE – #4 Having an online chat

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Discussion is a really useful way of enhancing learning, whether it be a formalised classroom discussion or seminar, or an informal discussion arising from a presentation or a video.

How many though consider the needs of different learners and learning styles when facilitating discussion? Some learners are reflective and they need to time to think and reflect on the discussion. Some learners may be working or on online courses won’t be able to join a face to face discussion.

Live discussion using a chat facility on the VLE is one option that facilitates discussion in a way which allows quieter learners to contribute.

It is not an either or situation, it’s not about having just online chats in the same way as it is not just about having all face to face chats, it’s much more about allowing a range of discussion using different mediums to reflect the different needs and learning styles of different learners.

You could also have an online chat in order to provide evidence for Communication Key Skills, as chats can often be recorded or saved.

Online chats are not difficult, but do require (in the same way that a face to face conversation does) some planning and facilitation. It also helps if you try out a chat as a user first.

Another way to use chat is to provide online support

So how do you go about that?

Post a notice to the VLE that you will be hosting a live chat and state the time and date.

I will be hosting a live chat from 7pm to 8pm on the 20th April.

This will provide an opportunity for your learners to ask you questions and discuss issues. This is useful for any group of learners, but specifically useful for those undertaking blended or online courses.

A live online chat facility is a useful tool, and as the VLE itself handles the authentication process, learners needn’t worry about creating new user accounts or remembering passwords for when chat is used.

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A five stage model for using the VLE

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VLEs have a huge range of functionality, a lot of criticism often laid against the VLE is that some users are not aware of those functions.

There is often too much information about the VLE for new users who may not understand many of the concepts or have the skills to fully utilise the functionality of the VLE.

Stage One

Upload to the VLE the course resources, handouts, assignments, scheme of work and links.

Now this is something that is often laid against VLEs as why they don’t work as they are merely used as respositories of materials. However practitioners who are unfamiliar with the VLE often need a starting point. To throw the full functionality of the VLE at a practitioner who may be apprehensive about using the VLE and unsure of the benefits, is similar to throwing a learner driver onto a Formula One racetrack!

Stage Two

Add more content try and put up new content at least weekly.

So then you’ll get asked what content should you put up. Well a lot depends on how the practitioner delivers learning, but could include:

  • All the pages from IWB sessions from the classroom;
  • Videos, either embedded, or uploaded, very easy to embed videos from services such as YouTube or Vimeo;
  • Links to e-Books in the virtual library or online libraries;
  • Audio recordings, these could be by learners or by practitioners, an overview of the lesson, topic or subject;
  • Learning objects from Jorum or the NLN.
  • Images and photographs.
  • RSS feeds that learners could subscribe to.
  • Photographs of paper based exercises, if you for example use flip charts for brainstorming sessions, taking photographs of them with digital cameras and uploading those images can make it easier for learners to remember what they did.
  • Don’t forget text!

Stage Three

Add interactivity to the course through the use of quizzes and feedback. Quizzes are often part of the core VLE system, sometimes external quizzes can be uploaded.

Stage Four

Add engagement by learners through the use of discussion forums. Online discussions can engage learners in a variety of learning activities.

Stage Five

Embedding.

By stage five usage of the VLE will be pretty much embedded into the delivery of the course. It will be much easier for the practitioner to offer the course through a blended approach and be more able to deliver learning in times of closure (say through snow).

100 ways, vle

100 ways to use a VLE – #51 Course News

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We often have to tell learners many different things at different times.

What time the lessons are? What assignments are due and when? When there are special events, guest speakers, additional support? How to get an extension on that essay? Room changes, teacher changes… you know the kind of thing.

We may send them letters, give them notes, tell them verbally in the classroom, mention it to them in the corridor, e-mail them, post it to Facebook or Twitter, etc….

We may think we’ve told them but they may have been away that day, not listening or plain just forgot!

In order to ensure that not only they know what you’ve told them, but also ensure you know what you’ve told them, it makes a lot of sense to create a virtual noticeboard on the VLE for all the news about the course. And of course in following years you have a record of what news you posted in the previous year.

100 ways, vle

100 ways to use a VLE – #23 Rewarding Learners

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Too often in education we focus on the poor behaviour of learners and absence. Forgetting sometimes to reward those students who do attend every session and do follow the rules.

We probably do similar things with the VLE, admonishing learners who haven’t done online activities or joined in discussions.

By rewarding those learners who do make use of the VLE, for using the VLE to support their learning, etc… then you are sending a message to the group; that learners who work hard, obey the rules will be rewarded.

So how can you reward learners?

  • Sometimes it can be randomly from all those learners who filled in the feedback survey.
  • Sometimes it can be fun, see how many times a student has accessed content on the VLE over a week – there will always be one who spends all week clicking links…
  • Hide and seek, see who can find a particular link or reference in all the resources on the VLE.
  • Most useful learner in a discussion.

So what should be the rewards?

Well, it would be nice if it was an iPod touch! Of course we don’t all have the money or budget to do that. However what about the following:

Assignment extension voucher – one extra week for submitting an assignment.

  • Coffee voucher for college cafe
  • Lunch voucher for college dining room
  • Chocolate bar
  • Fruit (if you have a healthy eating strategy)
  • Vouchers for local stores (see if they will donate them)
  • Certificates

Of course rewards for learners needn’t be exclusively for those that use the VLE, they could be any learning activity.

Case study from the Excellence Gateway that inspired this post.

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100 ways to use a VLE – #20 Providing library information

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One of the more traditional ways of providing information about the library is in the course handbook, via a poster or on the college website.

The VLE is one more way of providing learners with information on the library. Though with the extra tools and functionality that the VLE brings, the learners won’t only be able to access information on the library, but also engage with the library and library staff.

It’s not just about having information about when the library opens, services available, computer bookings, rules and regulations…

It’s not just about having lists of e-resources and links available…

Nor an electronic guide to the books, journals and newspapers that learners can borrow and read.

It’s not just about embedding library systems such as Heritage (or similar) so that learners can check their loans or reserve books.

A VLE has a lot more functionality, and library teams should really make use of that to ensure that the

Remember with a VLE that information can be video, or audio, or a virtual tour!

A VLE can have a discussion forum, a place for learners to seek help and ask questions.

A VLE can have quizzes; an induction quiz for example, or a questionnaire to solicit feedback from learners on how they are (or are not) using the library.

A VLE can be used for virtual inductions, reader development progammes, study skills, information skills, reading skills and other short courses or workshop sessions.

Curriculum teams will also be able to embed or links from the library into their courses, ensuring that the library and its wealth of resources are easily available to the learners on the course. Generally if learners use resources from the library (guided by their teacher) in addition to teacher provided resources they are not only more like to achieve on their course of study, but will gain higher grades or marks.

The VLE is not an obvious place for many library staff, but it makes sense to use it to support the core library function. In the same way that the VLE is often used as a supplement to the physical learning environment, the librar,y which is often a key area in the physical learning environment, to not have a similar area on the VLE would be depriving learners of an effective resource to enhance their learning.

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100 ways to use a VLE – #14 Writing a blog

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I is writing a blog!

Though you may be reading this on my blog, for some practitioners and learners using a blog is an alien idea and they may not even know what a blog is, or what blogging means.

A VLE can be a quick and easy way for practitioners and learners to start blogging and learn the value of blogging.

A blog is an abbreviation of web log (weblog) and to put it simply is a log of commentaries, observations or reflections that is placed on the web.

Maintaining a reflective journal, thoughts about assignments, or writing notes about lessons; these activities can all be done on a blog.

However…

Not everyone has the confidence or the technical ability to start a blog.

Now I know that starting a blog is a piece of cake, however that may be easy, it is not necessarily such an effective practice for a complete class, curriculum area or a whole college.

Some institutions may consider putting a WordPress MU Server for blogging purposes. However this may not be an option for all colleges. If a WordPress MU Server is put in, then you can link to college systems to ensure that every learner can create their own blog.

Though one issue is not just technical confidence, but also confidence in what is being written. It’s one thing to write a reflective journal and be very open, it is a fundamentally different thing to post those reflections on an open blog for all to read. A learner is likely to be less open if they know everyone, their mum and their employer is going to be reading it. So you might want to close it off to just the learner (or learner group) and the tutor. This requires a modicum of technical confidence; can we assume that every learner can do this?

So though blogging systems such as WordPress or Blogger are great tools for individuals, they don’t really scale with groups or whole colleges.

This is where the VLE can come in.

It’s already configured with logins for learners, so that’s one job done, learners and staff who already use it have a familiarity with it as a tool.

You can use included blogging tools, but for some learners even a discussion forum might be a useful starting point. Advantage of built-in blogging functionality will be (hopefully) that it generates an RSS feed.

Blogging has real potential to enhance and enrich the learning experience of many learners; the VLE can be the right tool for some practitioners in introducing the concept to their learners.

Regardless of the above, if learners want to use other tools such as WordPress, Typepad, Blogger, instead of using a provided blogging tool on the VLE, then practitioners need to consider how they are going to incorporate these blogs into the learning activity. An obvious route is to use RSS feeds from these blogs.

The VLE is not an ideal blogging tool, but for many practitioners and learners it can be a useful and scalable blogging tool.

Photo source.

100 ways, vle

100 ways to use a VLE – #2 Noticeboard

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A noticeboard is… what, a board with notices on it!

Okay…

Well it’s a little more than just a board with notices on it. It’s a way of giving learners information about their course, their learning, their assessments and other college related information.

The problem with a physical noticeboard is that it takes a fair amount of time to keep it updated, valid and accurate. Another key problem with a noticeboard is that it is constrained by its physical location, you can’t access the noticeboard when the college is closed for example, or when you are busy elsewhere in the college (eg in a class).

A virtual noticeboard on the VLE can remove many of the issues with a physical noticeboard.

Learners will be able to see which is the newest notice (it probably is the one at the top of the list of notices).

Some VLE noticeboards allow you to configure when a notice will appear. This will allow practitioners to post notices in advance and they will “magically” appear on the right date and time. These same noticeboards also will “magically” remove the notice once it is out of date. This makes it so much easier for practitioners to administer the noticeboard, it makes it easier to keep in the information current; it also ensures that learners only see the right material and not stuff that is out of date!

Logging tools or stats on the VLE allow the practitioner to check who has actually accessed the noticeboard – obviously it can’t tell who has read it (but then you can’t do that with a real noticeboard). The other aspect though of a virtual noticeboard on the VLE is that learners can post comments (or replies); handy if they need clarification or don’t have a clue what you mean!

Due to the virtual nature, it is possible to edit and add to existing notices, useful if deadlines of assignments change, say due to snow.

The most obvious advantage is that learners can choose when to read the noticeboard; they can choose at a time and place that suits them. With a physical noticeboard, they must make an effort to be in the same physical location as the noticeboard and take the time to read the notices.

They will forget…

With a noticeboard on the VLE they can go back and check the notice.

With a noticeboard on the VLE, and if configured correctly, they might be able to grab an RSS feed of the noticeboard notices; this can then be embedded into their iGoogle, into their Facebook stream, on their phone as SMS, through their PS3 on their TV.

Of course you can enhance your notices with audio and video; try doing that on a physical noticeboard! As you can embed video into notices or attach audio recordings; suddenly your notices can be come more engaging.

Another feature of many VLEs is interactivity; now add that to your notices and you will be able to get immediate responses from your learners about your notices. These could be text responses or polls.

Having said all that it would also make sense for the learners to be aware of the virtual noticeboard and as a result you may want to put a notice on the physical noticeboard to check the virtual noticeboard on the VLE!

Photo source.

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100 ways to use a VLE – #71 Embedding video

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So you may be old enough to remember the launch of Channel 4 (or even BBC 2 and ITV) however in this day of Freeview, Sky and cable; our learners have access to 24 hour television and hundreds of channels.

However many people are deserting the traditional home of video, moving away from watching video on television and watching video on YouTube.

The statistics of YouTube are amazing.

In September 2008 I reported on my blog that 13 hours of video were been uploaded to YouTube every minute!

Now 20 hours of video are being uploaded every minute!

Now one of the nice features of services such as YouTube is that you can embed the video into a webpage.

This means that you needn’t worry about configuring a streaming server, encoding video, etc…

As a result it is very easy now to upload video to the web, and insert (well embed) that video into any webpage of your choice, which means pages on a VLE.

Now one of the issues you may find with your VLE is that the security settings restrict you using embedding code on pages or discussions forums on your VLE; this is certainly the case with Moodle.

So you’ve embedded the video, what next?

It’s not just about the video, you can’t just place a video on the VLE and expect it to do everything. As with video in the classroom, you need to consider the video in the context of the learning activity. You may example ask your learners to watch a short video clip and comment on the video in a VLE discussion forum. Another example would be to use a video to reinforce a resource on the VLE.

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100 ways to use a VLE – #94 Setting a Quiz

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Assessment is an important check on learning, have the learners understood what they have learnt and can they apply what they have learnt.

Assessment can take many forms, most require not just time from the learner to complete, but also from the assessor in marking the work. It also takes time for all the “paperwork” related to submitting assessments.

Quizzes are a quick and easy way for learners to check their learning and for assessors to see if the learners have learnt.

Though a VLE can not be used to set and mark all types of quiz it can be used to make life easier for the assessor in maintaining the “paperwork” of certain types of quizzes. Have all the learners done the quiz? What mark did they get?

Quizzes can be configured in many different ways, one attempt, one timed attempt, multiple attempts, unlimited time, etc…

Various types of questions can be undertaken on the VLE, as well as simple multiple choice, you can use matching questions, true false, etc…

The nice thing about the VLE is that for many quizzes it will mark it for you. Excellent saving time and improving learning.