If I Had a VLE for my Courses
Hypothetically speaking, if I could use the whole potential of the Central Core that Universidad Latina has, a Moodle-like system, I will definitely create a hearty VLE for my students. Due to the fact that it is not 100% functionally at this point, let me fantasize of what I would do once it is at its full best.
At our Central Core I can upload texts, video, audio, etc. But everything is limited to a given amount of gigabytes per teacher. If I had the chance to upload all sorts of material to my courses, I would include interactive PPTs that students could download and work on. This sort of material can suit many kinesthetic students who need to manipulate objects, technology in this case, to achieve learning goals. Videos would be my second choice of elements I would nourish my VLE with. Why videos? The fact that many students are visual learners can guarantee that they will learn much more. The third element I would love to have as part of my courses’ VLE would be audio in podcast format for my aural students. A VLE can help all sort of students with various learning styles.
Having all the above elements in a VLE can be spiced up with other features. Polls sound like a nice tool to find out about student satisfaction and how course VLEs can be improved. Forums are incredible gadgets to be included in courses as well to keep on discussing what is being addressed in class. This can guarantee that introverted students can regain their voice and discuss overtly. A chat room as part of an VLE would simply make it way to create a class culture that could go beyond the boundaries of a room in a university. It could give students the chance to coach it other if needed, or the teacher could do it as well.
Can a VLE help absent students to catch up on their studying? The fact is that students miss class for several reasons, from very personal to medical ones. A VLE can provide students with a tool to work on the very same material covered in class. PPTs, handouts, practices, videos, pictures, and so on can be available to any student who did not show up for class. Although I do not actually use a VLE per se at the university, I created some blogs in which I embedded a blog content bar for students to get the corresponding material per week. Absent student can also catch up, or regular class attendants can go back and review material already covered.
I imagine that the time will come in which all of us teachers at Universidad Latina and at Laureate Universities Network will be fully into using technology and, consequently, VLEs. We just have to get ready for that day to come to cope with the challenges that this new way of virtual learning will bring.
Jonathan Acuña
Universidad Latina
Costa Rica
Saturday, December 11, 2010
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