Planning
What steps should you take in planning a Virtual Learning Environment? What costs and staff issues should be considered and how should you plan for implementation and deployment?Although there are many tasks and functions which a Virtual Learning Environment can help with, ranging through course and learner administration to social networking, that central word “learning” should be at the heart of initial planning. If learning is not enhanced and supported, then a VLE is probably not the tool you need – a Management/Student Information System or a straightforward website or portal tool might be better. Your decisions may also depend on which UK educational sector you serve.
If you decide on a VLE, which is best for you? Will it be a commercial VLE such as Blackboard or Fronter or perhaps an open-source, non-commercial or free VLE such as Moodle, Sakai, Dokeos or Bodington? Or you might decide on a combination of portal tools such as SharePoint and standard website functionality, possibly embracing popular social tools like Facebook or Elgg.
We offer initial consultancy sessions to help you consider your decisions and to get things right, followed by project assistance if necessary. We will make sure you know all the options so that you can plan from a position of understanding and knowledge, not of guesswork, and we will tailor our guidance to match the particular sector in which you work.
Once your VLE or other tools are in place, you will need to train the users, and - just as important - engage both teachers and learners. We can help with this process too, both by helping you plan well and by working with your staff to make sure that your investment on the technology to support and enhance learning is effective.