Support Available to the Tutor
When starting to design a course using a VLE, the tutor or teaching team will find there is a range of support available, both within and outwith their institution. This support will be vital in helping you, especially in the design and deployment of the course using a VLE.
Support at your institution
Your primary source of support will usually be within your institution. It is worthwhile spending time finding out who can provide you with that just in time, day-to-day support at your institution, for example, a Centre for Learning and Teaching, an Information Services Department or maybe a colleague who is already proficient with your institution's VLE.
It is very easy in your planning to forget that one of the advantages of using a VLE is that you can use it to signpost resources for your students that are already available at your institution. For example, a course in a VLE can link to:
Your library's online catalogue;
Your institution's online electronic resources through an icon or a tab;
Resources developed by your Library for subject areas and to improve general information literacy;
Online articles with the negotiation of your Library.
The librarian or learning centre staff at your institution can provide you with a wealth of information and help about supporting your course in a VLE. For example, Gary Sparham of Tameside College, one of the FERL case studies, discusses his development of a module in Blackboard to help study skills.
Jacqueline Chelin has written two articles outlining how librarians can help tutors developing courses in a VLE. In her article for ALT-N she provides an overview of how librarians can help academic tutors developing courses in a VLE. This is further expanded on the Sconul website. Moore & Aspden, 2004, also show the importance of improving students' information handling skills when using a VLE.
Your institution may have developed some staff development materials, possibly using the VLE for delivery. This example has been produced by John Beaumont-Kerridge of The University of Luton Business School. Some are also produced by the vendors, for example BlackBoard Quick Tutorials.
Support outside of your institution
There are many organisations that can provide you with help about using a VLE environment. The Higher Education Academy has a number of guides about using VLEs especially in its e-learning section. In addition, the FERL website provides a guide to using a VLE with case studies.
The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and its Regional Support Centres
The Association for Learning Technology
The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA)
Online Centre of Excellence for Scottish Further Education
The National Grid for Learning
The National Information and Learning Technologies Association (NILTA)
