The Lancaster University Virtual Learning Environment (LUVLE), pronounced 'lovely', is a web based, password protected environment that is used for dissemination of information, online communication, assessment and administration.
It is a bespoke system that has been developed throughout the years by the members of the Learning Technology Group. Most of the tools and functionalities of this system have been requested by students and staff within the University.
There are two main components in LUVLE.
My Modules
The first is known as 'MyModules' and presents information from LUVLE and LUSI to all students and lecturers registered as studying or teaching a current module. Students have a private, personal page listing their LUVLE spaces, any outstanding assessment tasks (from the Computer-Based-Assessment system) and links to a separate page for each of their modules.
We have recently added a link to Course details (from the online course handbook).
Students can create a personal calendar which will email them reminders of entries they make. They can make personal notes on their page. Lecturers have a similar personal page listing the modules that they are involved with. Each current module has a page in the MyModules site, from which students can link to module resources in the library. Lecturers can send email to the whole cohort or to individuals or to tutorial groups, they can download student information, see photos of all the students and enter notes of their own for students to see. MyModules covers all current modules whether or not they make use of a LUVLE module support site.
LUVLE Spaces
The second major LUVLE component is a standard module support LUVLE Spaces. These spaces allow lecturers to easily provide online discussion spaces, administrative announcements, course materials, a course calendar, learning journals and more. Each of these features can be turned on or off by the lecturer at any time. No special skills are required, creating pages is just a matter of typing or attaching Word or PowerPoint files with a web browser. Lecturers can see which students have seen which pages in the LUVLE Space.
Not all modules use a standard LUVLE Space. According to your needs and course design, the Learning Technology Group can provide bespoke online environments too. If you have any ideas or suggestions for the development of online activities or sites, please contact us at iss-service-desk@lancaster.ac.uk .
Development work is also being undertaken in e-assessment and electronic plagiarism detection.
Further information
Use the main menu to the left for more information relevant to LUVLE.