Virtual Learning Environments, Blended Learning
and Teacher Intervention
Dr Nathalie V. TICHELER
Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities
[email protected] 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