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and instructors easily implement new educational models, tools and methods, such as gamification, advanced analytics, blended learning, etc, with the goal of personalising education and engaging students in the process.” As well as improvements in the
systems themselves, Sheila MacNeill notes that: “We, as a community of users, have become far more adept at using the functionality they offer in appropriate ways.” This is clearly an important factor in ensuring the future of the VLE: it is vital that the people who use them are able to fully appreciate their abilities and to employ them to their greatest potential. It is here that we come to the
challenges faced by today’s VLEs. There are still some staff who remain unaware of the diverse possibilities of modern VLEs and until such residual negative atitudes can be turned around, VLEs face an uphill struggle. Increased technical support for staff within HE could go some way to improving this, but it is far from the only challenge that the market faces. The challenges of living up to
(growing) student expectation in addition to user concerns about the consistency of the VLE experience and the quality assurance of online materials are all areas that need to be constantly
assessed by vendors to keep their products relevant and useful. All the while VLEs must keep up with the constant evolution of education and the students who are passing through the system. In addition, “Today’s VLEs must find
a balance between formal and informal learning environments; between the walled garden of the classroom and the open online spaces,” as Jared Stein, VP of Research and Education at the Learning Management System, Canvas by Instructure, explains. And so we come to the rise of the massive open online course (MOOC). MOOCs are another important part
of the ongoing transformation of HE towards ‘blended learning’, which sees opportunities for both face-to-face and online study increase. By contrast to conventional VLEs,
which are designed to support course delivery at a specific university, “MOOCs offer a variety of courses from a range of education providers (which may include universities, but also other providers),” explains Mike Sharples, Academic Lead at FutureLearn, the UK’s first MOOC provider. “By definition, these courses are open and online, available for learners to study wherever they have access to a web browser.” MOOCs are incredibly flexible and by
their very nature offer wide opportunity: “[They] extend the opportunities for learning at higher level to people who would not otherwise have access to university education, and to study a broad range of courses for professional development or leisure.” The main challenge facing the MOOC
is that of sustainability and at this stage it is hard to tell what the future holds. If they don’t survive on their own, they “may become part of a mix of global online educational services that include degree courses and accredited subscription modules at higher level as well as short, free courses,” Mike Sharples explains. Whatever the future holds for the MOOC, its advent marks an important milestone in the evolution of the traditional VLE, and will doubtless impact on its continued development. “An easy-to-use, robust and adaptable
VLE platform will be the foundation of learning in the 21st century as universities seek to deliver engaging and immersive educational experiences,” claims Jared Stein. And so long as systems can continue to adapt to the ever-changing needs of their users (and the varied challenges of the marketplace), there should continue to be a place for some form of VLE in supporting – and indeed enhancing – the HE experience. UB
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