Institutional Implementation of a Virtual Learning Environment

Andrew Booth & Jon MaberThe University of Leeds

The University of Leeds• Large civic university• Single campus (at the moment)• 24,000 undergraduates on-campus• Total student population of 75,000• Research culture - Russell Group• Faculties, schools and departments very

independent of centre• Modular teaching system with

overlapping modules

Bodington System1995 - ‘Forums’ - online bulletin boards in

Biochemistry made available to others in University

1997 – Nathan Bodington Building – student support system – no web publishing

1999 – Development project with LiNM introduction of web publishing and sophisticated group management

2000 – Bodington Common

2001 – Accessibility and interoperability

Bodington Common

Faculty Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Level 5

Non-modular

Total

Arts 13 22 26 8 69

Biol. Sciences 27 34 36 10 107

BLESS 31 50 32 87 200

Earth & Environ 14 18 17 12 61

Engineering 36 35 21 9 101

Maths & Phys. Sci

21 22 30 1 74

Medicine 12 5 2 18 37

Total 154 186 164 127 18 649

Courses supported at 1/3/2001

Institutional Issues

• Acceptance by Staff

• Acceptance by Students

• Support by Senior Management

Staff acceptance of Bodington • Must fit our ways of doing things • Ease of use - ‘semi-MLE’• Flexible - does not restrict pedagogic models• Control over resource creation and access• Support and training (low training overhead)• Students like it (so did QAA)• Staff have input into development• Developers are teachers• Development is not project funded

Student acceptance of Bodington • Design informed by student preferences

e.g. Layout is grouped by moduleAccess to communication is verifiable

• Development informed by students’ needs• Emphasis on student support rather than

shovelware• Anywhere, any time, any pace - freedom

from timetable• Student demand is a major driver for

uptake

Support by Senior Management

• Funded centrally through L&T - not C&IT• Cost recovered through overheads not

usage• Continuation - small team on permanent

contracts, not project funded• Sensible policy on IPR• Development driven by pedagogy, not

commercial imperative - open source• Protection of investment - interoperability

Policy on IPR

• Right to publishUniversity grants copyright to authors

irrespective of medium

• Right to useUniversity retains right to use material

• Right to exploitUniversity shares net income with originators

via a clearly defined formula

Technical Issues

• Functionality

• Reliability

• Scalability

• Continuous development

• Interoperability

• Accessibility

Functionality

Above all a VLE is a communication toolLearners must perceive that they are in contact with teachers and other learners via the VLEThe VLE must give on-line learners a sense of placeTechnical features can help or hinder

Reliability

Keep the VLE runningDown time in unsociable hoursKeep in mind time zonesNetwork reliability

Keep the data safeServer reliabilityDatabase backups

Scalability

Does the VLE scale up?Database issuesHardware issuesSoftware issues

Continuous Development

Users have good ideas for new functionalityIt is good to be able to respond to demandThis requires a VLE with an API (Application Programmer’s Interface) & modular design

Interoperability

Between a content provider and your VLEBetween your VLE and another organisation’s VLEBetween your VLE and your other systemsBetween your old VLE and your new VLE!!!

Instructional Management Systems

www.imsproject.orgAttempting to create interoperability standards;

Content PackagingQuestion and TestMetadataStudent ProfilesUsers and Groups

Interoperability - IMS

IMS doesn’t allow you to transfer an entire course from one VLE to anotherIt allows you to transfer content (I.e. web pages)Practice assessments separately and individually transferredIt can’t transfer communication tools

Adoption of IMS

Some have endorsed IMS standards but not yet implemented themSome claim to be close to releasing versions with IMS complianceNon commercial systems may be quicker off the mark

IMS and Bodington System

Successful interoperability with QuestionMark and with home grown question banksSuccessful import of content packages produced with Microsoft LRNSuccessful import of content produced in ColloquiaMetadata search engine operational

Accessibility

New legislation requires you to provide access for allHaving a VLE that strips pages down to text only is not enough

Accessibility – Bodington System

User selectable style sheets for;Visually impairedDyslexicUsers who use a mouse with difficulty

Narrative interface for blind usersRestores context that is lost when the graphics are stripped outExtra navigational aids