Virtual Learning Environments, Blended Learning

and Teacher Intervention

Dr Nathalie V. TICHELER

Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities

n.ticheler@westminster.ac.uk http://ticheler.blogspot.com @nvticheler

Background information

– Topic: Students’ engagement with a Virtual Learning Environment (Blackboard)

for Blended Learning and elementary French

– Setting: “new” university in the United Kingdom

– Rationale: institutional policies, practitioner research, reflective practice, student

feedback, lack of data on students’ behaviour and attitude, staff development

– Doctoral thesis (more information available on http://ticheler.blogspot.com)

Research context

– Professional, organisational,

national and theoretical

(Plowright 2011)

– Precarious situation of languages

in the UK

(Kelly 2008; Worton 2009)

– Promotion of elearning

(HEFCE 10-year strategy for

elearning launched in 2005 and

revised in 2009)

– Institutional policies (elearning,

blended learning, teaching and

learning (2010 & 2011)

– Need to know more about students’

attitude, behaviour and engagement

(Mayes 2009; Garrison 2011)

– Homo sapiens digital (Prensky 2011)

– Normalisation of technologies

(Bax 2011)

– Notion of student autonomy

(Little 2011)

– Something about courses at the

targeted university

Gillespie’s triangle (2012)

Institution

LecturersStudents

Research set-up

– Focus on the students’ voice

and their experience

– Vygotskian perspective

– Practitioner research

– 96 questionnaires

– 6 follow-up interviews

– Other data collection tools

– Interaction between researcher

and participants

Findings

– Over 75% of students describe

Blackboard as easy to use,

convenient and useful

– Nearly 70% are satisfied with the

layout and nearly 80% are satisfied

with the contents

– Nearly 90% report a high level of

confidence in their use of

Blackboard. However….

– Interview data and their response to

open questions indicate they also

want to be guided by the teachers

– Differences in students’ attitude and

behaviour are noted in the statistical

treatment of data when it is considered

in connection with the various tutors

– Some lack of awareness of the

provision of materials and how to

exploit them

– A perceived lack of knowledge of how

to use communication tools

– A minority of students report

alternatives learning preferences

Recommendations

– Student digital literacy

(Conole et al 2006; Sharpe et al

2009)

– Transferability of digital skills for

formal learning purposes

(Haythornthwaite 2007; Tammelin

et al 2008; Ellis & Goodyear 2010)

– Careful induction of staff and

students (time and training)

– Streamlined and relevant provision

– Integration of VLE to daily routine

of the course (inside and outside

the classroom (Bax 2011)

– Providing training and guidance to

students in a scaffolded manner,

evolution of pedagogical practices

(Tammelin et al 2008;

Wise & O’Neill 2009; Oliver 2006)

– Examples of uses and activities