The virtues of virtuality.
When I first came across this course, purely by accident, as mentioned in my very first blog, one of the aspects of it that both intrigued and concerned me, was learning in a virtual environment. I had never heard of - much less used - a 'virtual learning environment' so I was somewhat skeptical that it could achieve the same results as a face-to-face traditional classroom course. In particular, being unable to 'bounce' ideas off fellow students in a real-time campus environment seemed to be one of the potential drawbacks.
Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise to discover just how well the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is set up by the department. Right from the start, we were encouraged to 'introduce' ourselves to our colleagues by posting a short bio. This followed on from the on-campus orientation day when we first registered for the course. By physically meeting our classmates that day, and in subsequent one-day workshops, we soon developed a rapport, In fact, I have forged real-life friendships with a couple of colleagues that have continued outside of the classroom.
The VLE is particularly good at encouraging interacting with peers. Some of the early assignments required critiquing each other's e-tivities in a constructive manner. This is where online etiquette or 'netiquette' becomes important but, as expected, in an academic environment, everyone is courteous, professional and, above all, helpful. I particularly enjoyed the peer review process for our research proposal drafts in the first semester of this year. It was really nice to get positive feedback from my peers and I was happy to reciprocate in kind.
What I have found most useful is posting questions to the forum as a fellow student usually has an insightful answer. People have also been very open about sharing knowledge - posting tips and tricks that they've learned for a particular software tool or assignment, not only on the Sulis platform but also in our class Facebook group. In fact, the collaborative aspect of the VLE has been one of the most satisfying aspects of the whole course. It doesn't always have to fall to the lecturers to answer but they are always available to help, in forum threads, by email, and in weekly live chats. I have particularly appreciated the latter as, while I may not always contribute, it's reassuring to know that the option is there.
The asynchronous nature of the course has been a godsend from a time management perspective as we can download the weekly lecture material to study and learn at our own pace. Although I also enjoyed the occasional 'live' lecture that occurred through the Big Blue Button functionality. This course has been a fantastic opportunity to learn new technologies although it was quite nerve-wracking uploading initial assignments especially when you are at the mercy of an ancient laptop and temperamental broadband. Nowhere was this more evident than in my podcast assignment, the trials and tribulations of which, I covered in a previous blog.
Given the years of experience that I've had as an on-campus student through my primary and initial postgraduate degree courses, I'm not sure if a VLE would've suited me as a younger student. Back then, the company of my peers and the active social events of student life were just as - more than? - appealing as my course of study. Now, as a 'mature student' with my years of real-life experience behind me, the VLE suited me perfectly and, despite some of the technical and time-management challenges outlined in previous blog entries, I've enjoyed this experience immensely.
Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise to discover just how well the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is set up by the department. Right from the start, we were encouraged to 'introduce' ourselves to our colleagues by posting a short bio. This followed on from the on-campus orientation day when we first registered for the course. By physically meeting our classmates that day, and in subsequent one-day workshops, we soon developed a rapport, In fact, I have forged real-life friendships with a couple of colleagues that have continued outside of the classroom.
The VLE is particularly good at encouraging interacting with peers. Some of the early assignments required critiquing each other's e-tivities in a constructive manner. This is where online etiquette or 'netiquette' becomes important but, as expected, in an academic environment, everyone is courteous, professional and, above all, helpful. I particularly enjoyed the peer review process for our research proposal drafts in the first semester of this year. It was really nice to get positive feedback from my peers and I was happy to reciprocate in kind.
What I have found most useful is posting questions to the forum as a fellow student usually has an insightful answer. People have also been very open about sharing knowledge - posting tips and tricks that they've learned for a particular software tool or assignment, not only on the Sulis platform but also in our class Facebook group. In fact, the collaborative aspect of the VLE has been one of the most satisfying aspects of the whole course. It doesn't always have to fall to the lecturers to answer but they are always available to help, in forum threads, by email, and in weekly live chats. I have particularly appreciated the latter as, while I may not always contribute, it's reassuring to know that the option is there.
According to this week's timely podcast lecture - direct instruction facilitates cognitive, social, and educational presences. It helps that the main VLE resource (Sulis) is well-laid out and that lecturers upload weekly materials in a structured, predictable pattern so that it is relatively straightforward to find the required resources. Also, the use of Announcements to highlight any pertinent issues is very useful to ensure that we do not miss out on anything important. The interactive nature of the course has been one of the most positive aspects - interacting with both fellow students and technology to achieve our learning outcomes.
If I was to highlight any drawbacks, it would be the lack of access to the on-campus library facilities due to living so far away. I was unable to borrow any physical books and any available e-books were either (a) only short-term loan of a few days and/or (b) only allowed the printing of a limited number of pages. As a result, I ended up buying quite a lot of the textbooks which added additional unexpected expense to the course. However, I have built up quite a nice personal library of relevant textbooks as a result and I am certain that I will continue to refer to them for years to come.
Given the years of experience that I've had as an on-campus student through my primary and initial postgraduate degree courses, I'm not sure if a VLE would've suited me as a younger student. Back then, the company of my peers and the active social events of student life were just as - more than? - appealing as my course of study. Now, as a 'mature student' with my years of real-life experience behind me, the VLE suited me perfectly and, despite some of the technical and time-management challenges outlined in previous blog entries, I've enjoyed this experience immensely.
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"Be a real world human with a virtual presence, instead of being a virtual
world zombie who loses the real life." ~ Vishal Ostwal
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