Designing for Sustainability
A version of the core material comprising this section is available for download as a printable version in pdf format. (The Adobe Acrobat Reader to allow viewing of pdf files is available for download here).
As tutors, we are faced with an educational paradox. We are expected to offer high quality learning to a larger, more diverse and dispersed student population than ever before. Class sizes are increasing while, at the same time, we must make provision for the needs of individual students. Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) can help us deal with large numbers of students. They allow us, not only to distribute course materials to large numbers of students, but to interact with these students. Effectively, there are three levels of use of a VLE:
e-Administration: providing individualised information for students (e.g. class F);
e-Content Management/ e-Content Delivery: allowing tutors to disseminate learning materials and students to store their materials (e.g. articles, images, essays, work-in-progress documents) within a personal, online space;
e-Learning: supporting communication with tutors and other students (through e-mail, bulletin board discussions as well as use of e-Portfolios and shared workspaces).
Until recently, the widespread use of Virtual Learning Environments has been limited to e-administration and e-content delivery. This has mainly been due to the levels of time-investment and skill required to use a VLE for e-Learning. However, effective use of technology to support learning with large numbers of students will become increasingly important. One reason for this is due to student retention. A major factor affecting retention is poor socialisation in class. This issue is becoming increasingly worrying as classes grow in size. Ever-increasing use of technology-supported learning could aggravate the problem. When we use technology, we have to be sure that learners do not feel isolated. Fortunately, technologies such as Virtual Learning Environments are extremely effective in supporting a variety of interactive methods of learning, such as collaborative and peer assisted learning (Caplan, 2004). However, to ensure online courses are sustainable and scalable with large numbers, they have to be carefully planned.
This section suggests ways in which you can optimise the potential of VLE technology: to extend your ability to communicate with your students. VLEs can also support communication amongst your students themselves, giving them more opportunities to discuss concepts and share ideas. Effective management of peer interaction will help your students to learn more effectively. This is discussed more fully in the section 'Computer Mediated Conferencing'. You will spend your time most efficiently if you design your courses such that they can be easily updated, and easily tailored to meet different students' needs. You can also speed up your course development by reusing digital educational resources; reuse is perhaps a strategy that you already adopt when using paper-based resources. This section will also guide you through important issues you may need to consider while developing and implementing sustainable and scalable courses.
The topics covered in this section are:
Issues in course design within VLEs
The design of sustainable and scalable courses
Resource authoring and sharing
