Advantages of Virtual Learning Environments for Tutors

The advantages for tutors using a VLE centre on improving the learning experience and using the tools within a VLE to help with the management and administration of the course.

Administrative Tools

Tutors can benefit from the 'administrative tools' within a VLE. Many VLEs provide information to staff about how often and when students have accessed a VLE through the tracking tool. They may also provide information about when and what they have read in the online discussion area.

For distance learning students, tutors can track if students are engaging with the online communication and associated materials. The assessment dropbox allows students to submit assessments virtually. These are collated and time-stamped by the VLE ready for collection in one area by the tutor. After marking, feedback can rapidly be distributed to the students individually, through the VLE. However, a drawback is that many VLEs do not allow submission which supports anonymous marking.

Collaboration and Communication

A VLE also offers tutors tools to encourage collaboration and communication. For instance, a VLE can provide a virtual space where students, staff and other learning support specialists can discuss, interact, share learning, ideas and materials. For example, Continuing Professional Development students may work together on a specific case study before loading their summary into an online discussion. This summary can be compared with other summaries posted. The feedback will draw upon a wide range of working experiences which can then be related to the specific area of discussion. This draws on the experience of the whole group which is particularly useful in multi-disciplinary courses.

Active Engagement

It is often difficult to find time or a way to ensure students actively participate in face-to-face sessions. Through online discussions it is possible to help students engage more actively with a course and with the learning process at a time and place that is convenient for both tutor and student - see LEAP Case Study 12 which shows that discussion can motivate students to learn in new ways and encourage students to join in. Part-time students often find difficulty in working in groups with full-time students studying on the same course especially when this requires face-to-face meetings at the institution. A VLE provides an area to work together without the necessity of physically meeting.

Community of learners

The result of this collaboration and communication may be to develop a unique space which the student cohort builds into its own identity and community: a community of learners. Case studies have shown that VLEs are particularly good at bringing people together and creating what Wenger (1998) would refer to as a community of practice. Regardless of physical location and time zones, VLEs will allow you, the tutor/s, to create an area where your students can develop an area to listen and debate key areas for their studies at a place and time convenient for them as indicated in LEAP Case Study 9 (which shows that distance learning students can greatly benefit from using asynchronous online discussions to deepen their knowledge and create a community of practice) and LEAP Case Study 11 (which showed that a community of practice can develop between distance and campus-based students).

Signposting

Through careful course design, tutors can support the communication and collaboration in a VLE with specific signposting and access to a vast array of up-to-date, multimedia, interactive online materials for students. This can be material that is developed by the tutor, for example, lecture notes, diagrams and images. It could include links to web resources, the institution's online library resources, web resources developed by publishers for core texts, online articles, graphics or searchable online databases. These resources will need to be linked to the online activities in the VLE, may offer a focus for students who need additional support, provide a gateway for those who will be studying at an intensive level or encourage those who wish to study at a higher level. It is also extremely helpful for students to have all their course information including timetable, regulations, past exam papers and administrative information in one place and from one authoritative source.

Saving Time

There is much debate as to whether VLEs save time for students and tutors. In the case of lectures, a VLE can help you to change the focus of your time since much time is lost through students copying complicated diagrams and references and general administration; these can be transferred to the VLE. It will also reduce time required for photocopying.

However, as you will see from the course design section, designing a course to use a VLE requires planning time. Nevertheless, once you have created your materials online, you can easily update them with a few mouse clicks. Adding a new online resource, a clearer colour image, a new relevant case study can take a few minutes. It does not require you typing up the material, photocopying and then distributing to students. If you are careful in your planning, you can use and re-use the materials in your VLE in many and different ways as indicated in the section 'Designing for Sustainability'.

Advantages from the student perspective are discussed further on in this section.