I have had quite a few people comment and say that learning doesn’t happen on a VLE and that it is merely a glorified content repository. Now I am sure in many institutions that this is certainly the case.

However in the same way that learning sometimes does and sometimes doesn’t happen in a physical environment. I should note that the classroom is not the only physical learning environment that learning can take place in. Physical learning environments can be classrooms, the home, workshops, salons, kitchens, work places or in the field (you know literally in a field). Before you make the blanket comment learning doesn’t happen on a VLE, how do we know that learning takes place in a physical learning environment? The environment is either conducive to learning or not conducive. We carry out checks on learning and assess that learning has happened. These happen in physical learning environments and can happen in VLEs too. You can check by using the same checks and assessments you would use to check for learning in other environments. You can also use new and innovative checks and assessment methods using technology too.

There is no way that we can categorically say that learning can not happen on a VLE. If we do then we must also say that learning can not happen on the internet period.

So then have I seen learning happen on a VLE?

Well yes. In the same way I have seen learning take place with Web 2.0 tools and services.

I have seen some fantastic work with the use of audio and video on the VLE combined with a VLE discussion forum.

I have seen learning happen with wikis on the VLE. Just because the functionality of the wiki or discussion forum in a VLE may not match those found elsewhere on the web, doesn’t mean they should be dismissed. Simple tools do not mean simple learning; though it should be said that complex tools doesn’t mean complex learning either. These are tools and regardless of their simplicity or complexity, they can be used for learning.

We mustn’t forget that the VLE is generally rarely used in isolation, it is used to enhance and enrich all kinds of learning. When a VLE is dismissed because it is just used as a repository I wonder what these people think of libraries and books. Libraries are repositories of knowledge and information, do we dismiss them? No we do not. But in the same way that Libraries work best when learner are guided by information professionals, their peers and their teachers; VLEs also work better when learner are guided by information professionals, their peers and their teachers.

So does learning happen on the VLE?

Of course it does.

Join the debate in Wolverhampton on the 16th December 2009.

Don’t kill off the VLE, for many staff it’s their only option. For some if they didn’t have the VLE they wouldn’t use anything else.

Yes wouldn’t it be wonderful if every practitioner, teacher and lecturer was well informed about the wealth of online tools and resources out on the web. The reality is that they’re not. Just ask yourself what percentage of staff in your college are using Twitter?

The problem with saying that the VLE is dead it assumes that both practitioners and learners will move over to free web tools and services. Now some will, some will thrive on that. This is the reason why others may say that the VLE is dead or should be dead. However I disagree as if you kill off the institutional VLE then a substantial proportion of learners and practitioners will not move onto free tools and services.

For many practitioners the VLE is still an alien beast which they are not familiar with and more importantly not making the best use of. Yes you could argue that this is because the VLE is not fit for purpose and that it is a slow clunking tool that no one wants to use. Lets stop though and ask if this is the case. Isn’t it more likely that the reason some staff don’t use the VLE for enhancing and enriching learning is that they don’t know how to? If they think it is tired and clunky, that assumes that they are comparing it to “snazzy” or “clever” Web 2.0 tools which they are using widely. This is a very small number of practitioners and they are probably using those tools already.

I can’t see practitioners who are not using the VLE, or simply skimming the surface of the functionality of the VLE, making an educated, informed and rational decision about using the VLE. How would they know? How can the decide based on what is probably a cursory glance at at a few features of the VLE without having an understanding of the full and potential benefits of the VLE for their learners.

I have had quite a few people comment and say that learning doesn’t happen on a VLE and that it is merely a glorified content repository. Now I am sure in many institutions that this is certainly the case. However to blame the VLE would be like blaming a classroom for being boring. As anyone who is ever in a classroom soon realises, it is not the environment which matters but what and how you use that environment. A VLE or virtual learning environment is merely replacing or supplementing a physical learning environment. I should note that the classroom is not the only physical learning environment that learning can take place in. Physical learning environments can be classrooms, the home, workshops, salons, kitchens, work places or in the field (you know literally in a field).

If we ensure that practitioners have the right skills, experience and understanding then we can start to ensure that learners have a guided, enhanced and enriched learning experience.

Join the debate in Wolverhampton on the 16th December 2009.

A lot of people out there are talking about how dead the VLE is that you would actually think it was dead. However take a step back, there are lots of people using their VLE, learners are using them to learn, practitioners are using them to enhance and enrich the learning experience.

The VLE is not dead, you could say that the VLE is undead. Now not undead as in zombies or vampires, but undead as in not dead, very much alive and kicking.

Now don’t get me wrong, the wealth of Web 2.0 tools or services out there are fantastic and can be utilised by learners to enhance and enrich their experience. But this needn’t be in exclusion to the institutional VLE, the institutional VLE can be the glue which holds this altogether.

When people often talk about how the VLE is dead, should be dead, or is undead and should be  sorted; they expect learners to utilise the tools of their choice to create their own personal learning environment (PLE). We need to stop confusing the debate over the VLE by implying it is a PLE versus a VLE debate. It isn’t and hasn’t ever been that.

A PLE in my opinion is allowing a learner to choose their own learning environment by utilising tools that are available to the learner. Now where does it say that this specifically excludes institutional tools and services? Why can’t learners decide to use an institutional VLE, an institutional e-mail address, institutional storage?

The key is choice.

We do need to give learners choice about which tools they want to use. We also need to help them make an informed choice.

If all you let learners use is the institutional VLE then you are restricting choice and stopping learners from creating their own personalised learning environment. Services such as XML and RSS allow learners, practitioners and institutions to feed content and communication into whichever environment they choose.

The problem I have with removing the institutional VLE from the equation is that it removes choice and for some learners adds barriers learning.

We know that the so called Google generation and digital natives don’t exist. Some learners are very familiar with Web 2.0 and technology, but many others are not. How do we provide an enhanced and enriched online learning environment to learners that are not confident about entering that environment. The VLE can be that first step, the first port of call for these learners.

The VLE is not dead, that’s what we mean by undead, the VLE can be a tool to enhance and enrich learning and be a portal to a world of Web 2.0 tools and services.

Join the debate in Wolverhampton on the 16th December 2009.