Personalised learning using a VLE

So how can a VLE impact upon each and every student who engages with it? Surely every student while accessing the same resources will take different things away from the experience. The whole idea of higher education is that the student experience while similar to that of others should be very subjective.

So while the VLE is a one size fits all platform, it is possible to for the student to tailor the resources for their own needs.

VLEs first developed from a need by users to bring together a range of tools in one product to support learning. At first, this idea of a ‘one stop shop’ was fine but as technology developed, the new approach to a VLE has seen some changes such as a "personalised learning environment (PLE)".
Chalk (2010) discussed in their recent paper how the 'one size' of approach to the use of the VLE will not fit the needs of all the students. This then become another consideration for me during my designing stage.  It became evident that I needed to provide a good range of varied curriculum choices and varied tasks so each student was able to tailor the program in a way which suited their own learning styles. This was achieved using presentations, ted talks, links to online journals, reflexives exercises, quizzes and crosswords, and as previously mentioned the social networking tools such as face book and twitter.

Britain & Liber (2004) argued that there is a strong link between the way a VLE is designed and the way it is typically used. Therefore it is  important to make sure the VLE I create is fit for purpose. This is when I feel it is important to have strong objectives for the course and the resources that will be placed within the VLE. In the case of the stress management course I feel the resources (while creative) fit the students who maybe more academic rather than those who are practical. Even though practical exercises are provided, I have no real evidence that the students are engaging with them. The implementation of social media should help with this issue, and using resources such as todays meet and Google hangouts will enable the students to be reactive to the exercise provided.

It then could be said that the VLE provides an opportunity for students to have a personalised learning experience from using the VLE and be empowered throughout their own learning experiences.  I feel while it is important for the educator to be reflective in their practise in using such technology I also feel it would be wise to encourage the learners to also be reflective regarding their own learning, and having tools such as comments boxes enables the student to think and reflect upon anything they wish to add.

 

 


References

Chalke, J., 2010. Consideration of the uses of e-learning: Does one size fit all?. Int. J. of Information and Operations Management Education, 3(4), pp. 368-381.

 

 

Britain, S. &. l. O., 2004. A Framework for the Pedagogical Evaluation of Elearning, london: Bolton University. Accessed 23/02/2015, Available from http://www.pgce.soton.ac.uk/IT/Schools&Comp/VLEusage/VLEpedagogy.pdf