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To judge whether VLEs have a role within the new education landscape to enhance teaching and learning it is necessary to examine the available research evidence.  Research literature is only beginning to emerge relating to the benefits of VLEs on teaching and learning in schools in the UK, as the market for VLEs is still developing.  But by drawing on the more extensive evidence from further and higher education, where the use of VLEs is more advanced, it is possible to identify potential benefits for schools.The aim of this section is to summarise both my own observations and research of others (providing references for further reading) in order to highlight potential applicability in the school sector.

General Benefits

• Users could find it easier to use the ICT found within the various components of a VLE as it offers an integrated environment rather than discrete offerings (Dorner et al, 2000).
• The different options to communicate are increased allowing users to choose those appropriate methods for different tasks (e.g. through email, discussion groups and chat rooms).
• The VLE provides a consistent look and feel across the whole school.

Benefits for students

• Access to learning wherever and whenever required (Jacobsen and Kremer, 2000).  This will improve flexibility in learning and allow students to develop independent learning skills which will prove invaluable in the new knowledge economy.
• There can be learning gains in ICT, writing, understanding and presentation skills (Watts and Lloyd, 2000).
• Improved motivation and engagement (Watts and Lloyd 2000; Wilson and Whitelock 1997), especially for boys, where there are issues of underachievement.  Scrimshaw (1997) also identifies findings relating to the motivation of more able students.
• Development of higher level learning skills (Gibbs, 1999).
• New approaches t0o learning through online discussion forums (Gibbs, 1999).
• Facilitate transition between Year 6 and 7 by improving communications and allowing some form of transitional project to take place as part of the process.
• Collaboration projects (Levy, 2002).
• Students work can be stored in the same place whether at home or in class, avoiding potential problems that may be caused by forgetfulness, loss or damage.

Benefits for teachers

• Allow teachers to share personal views and experiences with ease (Russell, 2000) and naturally passive teachers can be encouraged to contribute more effectively (Tanner and Jones, 2000).
• In the longer term, time can be saved in creating content by sharing resources.
• Students’ results can be tracked and feedback rapidly distributed.  Although feedback is required to be comprehensive and not just indicate whether a question is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.
• Offers teachers tools to encourage collaboration and communication.
• Improve opportunities for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) leading to improved confidence, enhanced practice and collaboration (Selinger, 2004).
• Absent or excluded students can continue learning from home, with less effort from the class teacher to coordinate materials and send them home.  Specific tasks (if required) can be set on the VLE, and marked and returned within the VLE.
• More opportunities to incorporate out of school contexts in a classroom where ‘physical and time restraints’ no longer present the same issues (e.g. guest speakers through video conferencing or online discussion).

Benefits for other stakeholder groups

• Parents are more likely to be engaged in the school community.
• Parents can monitor their child’s progress and have another channel to stay in touch with school news.
• Access to online content supports parents in facilitating homework studies out of school hours.
• Governors can be engaged more easily and take part in ‘flexible anytime, anywhere’ discussions. They could even vote on issues that require quick resolutions.

As you have read a VLE could offer potential applicability in a number of areas across the whole school community and stakeholder groupings.  More importantly a VLE as we move forward could be seen as a required tool just for survival to teach and learn as part of an integrated Managed Learning Environment (MLE) as more pressure will be put onto schools to provide more choices with less resources and for more learners.

(If you want further informations on the references used in this article please let us know)  

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 20th, 2008 at 9:02 pm and is filed under Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs), Future of Technology, Changing World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.