Choosing options for your e-learning environment
The main Lancaster University Virtual Learning Environment (LUVLE) can support a wide variety of learning activities. Below is a brief overview of the main activities supported by the VLE. Other templates are available and bespoke VLEs are possible if development time allows.
- Information dissemination - two functions are available for information dissemination, announcements and course materials. The announcements function displays messages in chronological order and the course materials function allows the use of folders and subfolders for the organisation and posting of information for students to collect.
- Discussion-based activities - a discussion function is available which allows tutors/students to post topics and responses.
- Distance learning support - in addition to the above course materials and discussion options, there are options to allow students to have a cafe area and a people section where they can write short biographies and post up pictures of themselves. This can also be used by on-campus students, but experience shows that these facilties are more frequently used by distance learners who rarely meet.
- Coursework submission - It is possible to set coursework 'drop boxes' online, which is particularly helpful e.g. if the work is on-line itself e.g. a website, needs to be viewed electronically such as Excel spreadsheets or you would like to have a departmental online record of student work. Work submitted this way can be 'bulk downloaded' for submission to the JISC Plagiarism Detection service (TurnitinUK) - please contact Phil Tubman who is supporting the system, by emailing learningtechnology@lancaster.ac.uk and marking the email as F.A.O. Phil Tubman.
- Other, bespoke, environments have been developed where there is a pedagogical need that the 'standard' templates do not meet. For examples of virtual learning environments and how they are being used see http://domino.lancs.ac.uk/celt/tald.nsf
To try out the LUVLE (pronounced lovely) standard template see http://domino.lancs.ac.uk/pub/sandpit.nsf
Login using your usual network username and password. A worksheet is attached to help you get started.
