How E-Learning can support pedagogy?

This blog post will draw upon my personal reflections of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) that i have designed to support learning for the Foundation Diploma in Art and Design students. The group are currently working towards an enterprise module that involves designing and producing products that can be sold at Uplands Market. I will consider how e-learning can support learning, and the effects these processes have had on my own professional development. 

Using a VLE system is a great way of delivering course material online, and also offers opportunities to assess the learners progress and provide a range of resources that can enrich the learning experience. The information that is incorporated into the VLE is easy to follow, relevant to the subject and accompanied by visual images or videos. I wanted to accommodate all learning styles, and make the information easily accessible to all levels. 

The main page welcomes the students and a provides a brief description of the module, and the benefits of being involved in such a great project. The students can navigate their way around the VLE using the listed pages that are situated in the sidebar. Within each page, tasks have been set to help reinforce the information and initiate the students taking charge of their own learning. By completing each task, the learner will benefit from using online resource tools to generate their own outcomes. By passing some of the learning control over to the students, they are gaining valuable skills such as digital literacy, finding and evaluating useful resources and critical thinking. 

Students can also benefit from accessing important course information via the VLE, such as the module outline that illustrates what is required to complete the course, and a scheme of work timetable. Within this timetable, the group can see dates of lessons, lesson content and how their work with be assessed or evaluated. I found the online application, Bubbl.us, a great tool for creating mind maps and brainstorms. It was easy to use and a interesting way of presenting information in a visually format. This allowed me to construct a mind map for the course guidelines that highlight the module aims, the lesson objectives and how these can be achieved. This offers clarity to the learners, and provides a visual framework to work towards. The students can also begin to manage their own work loads and understand what will be involved to complete the project.

To aid communication amongst the group, and with the collaboration with the first year business students, a project forum has been included within the VLE. Here the students can organise meetings, discuss a topics or issues that may arise and also share any ideas. As a teacher I would have little input into this resource, and will rely on the students to take control of this tool and use it in a positive and constructive manner.

E-learning has a lot of potential when used for education and teaching, and can definitely enrich the learning environment. Though subjects such as art and design will always predominantly be studio based learning, and is generally taught using ‘direct experiences’, there is definitely room for ICT within the creative domain. One great tool that I found that can complement face-to-face teaching is the audio visual editor application called Movie Maker for Microsoft. This resource allows the user to upload a range of images or photos, and then overlay either spoken words or sounds over the top. Online workshops can be designed, and provide the students with additional help to complete practical tasks. For the Uplands market project, I have created a podcast for screen printing. This video runs through the different steps and equipment required, and provides an easy to follow description of each element. By offering these online tutorials, students can access the information at any time, use it to refer back to and gain knowledge of different processes. On a personal level, I found this learning tool very exciting, and is something I would love to use more of in the future for my own teaching practice.

Other applications that I have used are Wordle, which arranges words that you input into a cloud formation. This is a brilliant tool that can be used after a brainstorming session with the group to highlight discussion points. The word clouds can be additional used as handout to generate ideas and concepts at the start of projects. Pinterest is a fantastic visual discovery tool, and one that I use daily to collect a whole host of images, ideas and inspiration. An important factor of being creative is documenting any ideas or inspiration that may aid your own practice. Pinterest allows users to generate a number of boards that can be allocated themes, and pin photos, blog post etc to these board. I wanted the students to experience this brilliant resource, and have created a task where they produce their own research boards and log in. This presents an opportunity for the group to be individual in their research, consider lots of different elements and collate information. I have also created a blog which will document the journey of the group throughout the Uplands Market Project. This will present an opportunity for the students to reflect on their achievements and assess the outcome of their work and the end.

Assessment will be predominantly formative using regular observations, tutorials, feedback forms and peer group critiques.

Initially I was dubious on how a virtual learning environment could benefit a creative and practical course, but after using the plethora of teaching and learning tools available online I have definitely be converted. I found Google sites easy to navigate and creating the VLE, though slow going in the beginning was very easy to design after a short amount of practice. I actually feel excited at the prospect of using VLE’s in the future, and hope I get the opportunity to explore the possibilities within my own teaching.