{"id":4864,"date":"2011-11-20T20:12:16","date_gmt":"2011-11-20T20:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eltchat.org\/wordpress\/?p=4864"},"modified":"2011-11-20T20:12:16","modified_gmt":"2011-11-20T20:12:16","slug":"virtual-learning-environments-eltchat-summary-02112011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eltchat.org\/index.php\/2011\/11\/20\/virtual-learning-environments-eltchat-summary-02112011\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual Learning Environments #ELTchat Summary 02\/11\/2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

This summary was contributed by Phil Longwell @teacherphil on Twitter and is reproduced here with his kind permission from his blog<\/a><\/p>\n

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This is a rough summary of an old\u00a0#ELTChat<\/a>, dated 2 November 2011, which I volunteered to write as I\u00a0(am)\u00a0currently researching the topic for an upcoming job interview.\u00a0 It also connects with my MA dissertation topic, which I completed in September 2012, about the kinds of educational technology teachers currently use in their job.\u00a0\u00a0 I did not find it easy to make sense of a transcript or to put together a summary of a chat which I was not part of and at a time which pre-dates my knowledge of the existence of\u00a0#ELTChat<\/a>. Nonetheless, I present some of the ideas and shared links below, hoping that I haven’t mispresented anyone who took part.\u00a0 I feature those who lead the chat more than those who simply followed and retweeted if in agreement.<\/em><\/p>\n

Virtual Learning Environments<\/h1>\n

The Summary<\/h2>\n
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According to a\u00a0Wikipedia<\/a>, a A virtual learning environment (VLE) is an education system based on the\u00a0Web\u00a0that models conventional real-world education by providing equivalent\u00a0virtual\u00a0access to classes, class content, tests, homework, grades, assessments, other class tools and perhaps even museums and other external academic resources. It is also a social space where students and teacher can interact through threaded discussions or chat. It typically uses\u00a0Web 2.0tools for 2-way interaction, and includes a\u00a0content management system.<\/p>\n

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Virtual learning environments are the basic component of contemporary\u00a0distance learning, but can also be integrated with a physical learning environment; this is sometimes referred to as\u00a0Blended Learning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

As acknowledged during the chat,\u00a0a\u00a0virtual learning environment can also include students and teacher ‘meeting’ online through a synchronous web-based application. The students are able to talk with other students and the teacher, as well as collaborate with each other, answer questions, or pose questions. They can use the tools available through the application to virtually raise their hand, send messages, or answer questions on the screen given by the teacher.\u00a0\u00a0Virtual learning can take place synchronously where participants meet in ‘real time’. Teachers conduct live classes in virtual classrooms, for which examples were given during the chat. Students are expected to complete lessons and assignments independently through the system, with the teacher always present. Learning can also be ‘asynchronous’ where each student is effectively learning at his own pace, away from the obvious presence of a teacher, but who still exists in terms of setting up and assessing work.<\/p>\n

Using Virtual Learning Environments for ELT<\/h1>\n

The chat opened, as they often do, with a search for a definition.\u00a0 What is meant by a Virtual Learning Environment? “Social spaces where educational interactions occur” offered\u00a0@BrunoELT<\/a>.\u00a0 “Any space that has been set up to foster learning but without the need of the physical presence of the teacher” offered\u00a0@hoprea<\/a>. “VLEs aren’t massively social though,” countered\u00a0@harrisonmike<\/a>, as they are not open to all, unlike the medium of this chat, Twitter, which potentially has a limitless reach.\u00a0@SueAnnan<\/a>\u00a0wondered if Wikis could be considered VLEs to which\u00a0@hoprea<\/a>\u00a0opined that it depended on the way they are set up.\u00a0\u00a0@Harrisonmike<\/a>\u00a0believed educational wikis must be included.\u00a0\u00a0@SueAnnan<\/a>and\u00a0@barbaska<\/a>\u00a0wanted to know how people were using them to teach in the classroom.\u00a0 It was suggested, by@ShaunWilden<\/a>\u00a0and others, that VLEs were an extension of, or possibly instead of, the classrom.\u00a0 They can vary from very simple to complex ones, “as long as learning is taking place then it’s a VLE,” said\u00a0@hoprea<\/a>.\u00a0@Mollybob<\/a>\u00a0commented that they are “not so much for teaching as learning, evidence of learning and places for interaction”.\u00a0 Meanwhile,@fceblog<\/a>\u00a0guessed “VLEs are places where a teacher’s presence (could) be felt.”\u00a0\u00a0@ShaunWilden<\/a>\u00a0found this interesting and later agreed that ‘teacher presence’ is important.\u00a0 A couple of participants also later queried whether the teacher ‘has to’ be ‘seen’, which was taken to mean their ‘presence’ was noticeable.\u00a0@PatrickAndrews<\/a>\u00a0commented that a teacher\/tutor has an important role in moderating (what goes on), while\u00a0@ShaunWilden<\/a>\u00a0replied that it was not just moderating, but also “coaxing, motivating and even assessing.”\u00a0@Barbsaka<\/a>\u00a0later summarised the approach as “not so much what you use, but how you use it,” which many retweeted.\u00a0\u00a0@Mollybob<\/a>\u00a0later added that “a VLE is evidence of interaction that has taken place, while the learning focus is on the interaction\/behaviour it affords.”<\/p>\n

A number were at pains to point out that some things we might think of as being VLEs, such as Elluminate, WizIQ and Adobe Connect were better described as synchronous virtual classrooms. Some wanted to distinguish between VLEs and Learning Management Systems.\u00a0@teflgeek<\/a>\u00a0wondered if the latter is administrative, whereas a VLE has pedagogic value.\u00a0 Examples of LMS included Blackboard and Moodle, which\u00a0@seburnt<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0@harrisonmike<\/a>\u00a0were ‘forced to use’ respectively.<\/p>\n

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Examples given at the top included Moodle, Edmodo and Blackboard. \u00a0 Fronter was also put forward by\u00a0@ShaunWilden<\/a>, who later commented that “simple shared space(s) for speaking courses were some of the best examples he had seen, giving students excellent task practice and recording all through the VLE”.\u00a0 First Class was also mentioned, although it appeared to be on the wane for some reason.\u00a0 Second Life and Open Sim were referred to as being VLEs as well. Blackboard, thought,\u00a0@seburt<\/a>, had weak functionality.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0@hoprea<\/a>\u00a0suggested Skype could “become a VLE” and@marcego03<\/a>\u00a0said she had already used it as one, while\u00a0@jobethsteel<\/a>\u00a0claimed it was as easy to use Skype to deliver courses as other methods.\u00a0\u00a0@harrisonmike<\/a>\u00a0wondered if Google Docs counted and, by definition of being virtual and allowing for learning, was included, by\u00a0@hoprea<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Ning was mentioned by\u00a0@PatrickAndrews<\/a>\u00a0and also by\u00a0@teflgeek<\/a>, who had been put off by charges.\u00a0@Yitzha_sarwono<\/a>had used Ning previously but in Indonesia found “Facebook the first choice”.\u00a0 Facebook groups were mentioned by others but there was a general agreement it wasn’t the best method or example, with security being one issue (@teflgeek<\/a>) and a difficulty organising learning being another (@harrisonmike<\/a>) referring to FB’s algorithms.\u00a0\u00a0@fceblog<\/a>later ruled out FB because “a teacher’s presence is a key difference between a VLE and a PLE (personal learning environment)”.\u00a0 “Students were treating (FB) as an extension of their social lives and not a VLE,” commented\u00a0@teflgeek<\/a>, to which\u00a0@ShaunWilden<\/a>\u00a0countered that it was “a good way to get them in .. build learning on to the social (aspect),” to which\u00a0@teflgeek<\/a>\u00a0replied that he was trying to do this.\u00a0\u00a0@hoprea<\/a>\u00a0added that if we agree that learning is social, FB does offer lots of possibilities and can also become a VLE, “if dealt with appropriately”.\u00a0@Cybraryman1<\/a>\u00a0later shared his effusive opinions on how FB could be used, demonstrating many ways it can be used for educational purposes (link below).\u00a0\u00a0 A number of participants, however, felt that Edmodo, which has a similar interface to Facebook, was better for organising students and for facilitating the learning process.\u00a0 It doesn’t have synchronous tools but still think of it as VLE (@Marisa_C<\/a>,\u00a0@ShaunWilden<\/a>), a wonderful tool, even with adults (@marcego03<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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@NikPeachey<\/a>\u00a0offered Wiggio as his VLE of choice.\u00a0 It can host content easily and has great communication tools and features, as well as being quick to create. Nik provided a link to a introductory screencast. \u00a0 He added to the earlier comment that “learning can be just social … but it can be made more efficient by feeding in task and support.”\u00a0 “Without proper guidance, affordances and scaffolding”, added\u00a0@hoprea<\/a>, “it is just chat.”\u00a0@Marisa_C<\/a>\u00a0said she really liked Vyew, which has nice features other VLEs don’t have, such as being able to leave tools on indefinitely, providing a link (below).\u00a0 She asked\u00a0@NikPeachey<\/a>\u00a0whether Wiggio was free and he stated it was for him, with “better asynchronous features than WizIQ”.<\/p>\n

@Hoprea<\/a>\u00a0stated further down the chat that all you needed to do was to “add the ‘virtual’ component to any learning environement and there you go!”\u00a0 This triggered off a comment regarding ALE – ‘Any Learning Environment’.\u00a0 “Motivation, engagement, ability to work independently are all important in ALE,” suggested\u00a0@hoprea<\/a>, which was retweeted several times.<\/p>\n

There was correlating chat around the way that VLEs are supported by other tools – such as wikis, blogs etc (@SueAnnan<\/a>).\u00a0 The way these other tools are used was apparently questioned as a determiner of whether education\/learning takes place.\u00a0\u00a0@Barbsaka<\/a>\u00a0 reiterated her comment about how tools are used affected learning.@Teflgeek<\/a>\u00a0stated that how you use the available tools can affect the degree to which (education) occurs.@fceblog<\/a>agreed, adding that VLEs are not about the tool so much as the teacher’s responsibility in them.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile,\u00a0@BrunoELT<\/a>\u00a0asked “What does it take for a student to be a successful VLE learner? Is confidence with the medium important?\u00a0@ShaunWilden<\/a>\u00a0added, “Is it different from being a successful learner fullstop?” before adding that “the teacher should make the medium as easy as possible to use.”\u00a0@NikPeachey<\/a>\u00a0offered “motivation and opportunity”, while\u00a0@teflgeek<\/a>\u00a0offered “engagement in the process”. “Patience and lots of practice,” offered\u00a0@yorksensei<\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0\u00a0@hoprea<\/a>agreed that the teacher needs to offer guidance, just as in the physical world.\u00a0 Some VLEs get created and not used (@mattledding<\/a>\u00a0).\u00a0 Training and guidance was deemed important from the outset.\u00a0 “If no training is given, students will be at a loss with the tool,” said\u00a0@hoperea<\/a>. Furthermore, “a tool that could be a nice addition is dismissed out of hand.”\u00a0@Marisa_C<\/a>\u00a0agreed and confirmed ground rules as essential to begin with.\u00a0@HarrisonMike<\/a>\u00a0suggested some basic ICT skills must not be overlooked, while\u00a0@PatrickAndrews<\/a>\u00a0stated that ground rules were important, before adding that students often feel mistakes are more permanent in VLEs than in the classroom.\u00a0\u00a0@teflgeek<\/a>\u00a0admitted that his learning curve was steeper on some VLEs than his learners before adding that his VLE rules are similar to his classroom rules.@hoprea<\/a>\u00a0added that the teacher needs to know the VLE of his choice quite well as they will be involved in giving tech support to others.<\/p>\n

Towards the end of the chat, both\u00a0@mollybob<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0@PatrickAndrews<\/a>\u00a0asked if anyone was familiar with the 5 stage model of e-moderation.\u00a0 More detail about this can be found\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0 It is quite influential and often cited.\u00a0@ShaunWilden<\/a>\u00a0stated in the affirmative, saying that he “runs courses on e-moderation, so it comes up a lot.” as well as doing a talk at IATEFL on the role of the teacher in a VLE context – see link below.<\/p>\n

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Gilly Salmond’s 5 stages of e-moderation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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The chat continued for\u00a0a while on the theme of moderation.\u00a0 Unless familiar with the VLE being used, a teacher may struggle to create\u00a0enough motivation on the part of the learner.\u00a0\u00a0For some, motivation, engagement and the ability to work independently – those features already described for ‘Any Learning Environment’\u00a0were key points.\u00a0 There was some expectation expressed at teachers needing training rather than being left to get on with using the chosen\u00a0VLE.\u00a0“How can you expect teachers to use it … when\u00a0they don’t even know\u00a0how to use it themselves?” asked marcego03.\u00a0 Meanwhile, some expressed reluctance on the part of students to use\u00a0, for example, discussion boards (@PatrickAndrews<\/a>\u00a0) as this would ‘expose’ them.\u00a0 Furthermore, if it doesn’t work out, it was suggested that it easier to abandon a website,\u00a0compared with a (paid-for) coursebook, stated\u00a0@hoprea<\/a>, who later concluded that “k\u00a0nowledge triggers creativity.\u00a0 The\u00a0more you learn about a tool, the easier it is for you to find different uses for it.”<\/p>\n

The chat carried on for another 30 minutes (12.50 – 1.20), drifting well past the normal hour given over to the chat. If you are interested in what was said then the transcript is still available to read\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Links provided during the chat:<\/strong><\/h2>\n