Issues when using a VLE
In this section, we describe some common problems that might occur when you are using a VLE for the first time. Many of these issues can be overcome through careful planning and course design.
Some of the technical issues that you may experience could be related to:
Robustness of system;
Lack of access to the Internet and computers for students;
Lack of student IT skills.
Any technical system from time to time will have downtime; this may be planned due to updates and necessary maintenance or may occur due to unforeseen difficulties, for example, an electrical surge. In such circumstances it is better to be honest with students and explain that the systems should be available shortly. Despite Oblinger and Frand's ideas, students can be very accommodating of such issues, as long as they are not on a regular basis.
Williams (2002) highlights one of the major barriers to using technology is enabling student access. Students may have access on campus but may have problems in connecting to the VLE off-campus (for example, from home, in outreach centres or when on placements).
Lack of attendance at face-to-face sessions
Many staff are concerned that making learning resources available to students will discourage them from attending class. There is evidence that that this is not the case. Sometimes attendance may be increased at face-to-face meetings. This depends on the perceived 'added value' in attending class. Also, research indicates that if tutors do not make PowerPoints available that this is linked with tutor fears that the VLE will replace them (Urquhart et al, 2004).
Omitting key words and concepts on the PowerPoint Presentations held within a VLE has been demonstrated as a powerful way of ensuring students attendance in class. As outlined in the LEAP Case Study 4, making slides available prior to class means that students can spend more time listening to the tutor and adding additional notes instead of copying down information. However, they key is careful planning around what you, as the tutor, will do in the face-to-face sessions and what you will ask the students to do.
Maintaining the momentum
Learners will need constant reminding to use your module in a VLE and will need a specific reason to visit. It is useful to keep reminding students about the VLE and its uses and role in the face-to-face sessions. Ensure that there are links from any documentation that you provide to the VLE module. You may wish to release materials from time to time to ensure that there are reasons for the students to return to the VLE. However, if you have carefully planned your module, with activities linked to content and your face-to-face sessions, students will return.
Lack of student involvement
Tutors often complain that students will not engage with a VLE. They will visit the VLE once or twice and print out all the materials and then not return again. This reflects the earlier simple use of a VLE as an information repository referred to by Sigala (2002). As we will see in another section it is important in the planning stage to think about how the student will use the resources. VLEs are about content and activities: as the tutor, your role is to guide the student through the content and the related activities. It is better in the design stage to focus on small sections which comprise a task and associated content. An example of this is the LEAP Case Study 12.
Coping with the demands of online students
Once students are involved in online learning and using the VLE, they can become very demanding in their support requirements. Having moved from one setting with very set boundaries and defined times, they find that a VLE can provide them with instant and constant support. As Breen et al (2001) state students understand that they have to wait for a book, they do not have the same perception of waiting for a computer or waiting for a tutor to reply to a posting. Oblinger (2003) and Frand (2000) recognise that increasing expectations from students are resulting in a need to provide 24x7 IT student support. It is essential that the tutor or teaching team set clear guidelines at the beginning about their role, their frequency of access and particularly with online discussions, their input.
A new way of learning
Not all students find working online and using a VLE easy. Students, like tutors, are used to working in a face-to-face learning environment and will require support to help them adjust their study skills to the VLE environment. Comments from students using VLEs have included:
'I paid for lectures so why aren't you providing them?'
Students are familiar and comfortable with 'chalk and talk' face-to-face sessions. They are used to being passive receivers of 'content' from the tutor. Taking responsibility for their learning and becoming more independent learners may place them outside their comfort zone. Therefore it is important that you prepare them for this experience especially when launching your course in a VLE. Careful planning of your course with a VLE is essential.
Lack of spontaneity
Students may complain about the lack of spontaneity in a VLE especially using computer mediated communication; they may dislike the lack of immediacy, quick responses and turn taking which are common in seminars but not possible in online discussions. They could also be frustrated with the time required for asynchronous online feedback and the increased length of time for decisions to be made. Further information about how to overcome such issues is available in the Communication Tools section of this infoKit.
