Case Study: Lecturer-Student Perspective of Virtual Learning Environment

Background

University Campus Suffolk, the United Kingdom’s newest university (founded 2007) moved into a brand new state-of-the-art building in September 2008 as the students arrived to begin their courses/modules. Online registration and module enrolment was introduced for all programmes. The research methods module runs in the first semester of the second year of study for all students taking part-time health care masters (M level) courses. Although the students had already completed the first year, therefore, the introduction of the VLE was new, with online registration being their initial exposure. Thus, when they arrived for the first day of the module, they had already formed an impression of the use of the VLE and their ability to navigate around it. The VLE used at UCS is Blackboard (but known as Wolsey), an asynchronous package through which all administration and virtual student teacher interaction is delivered. This includes virtual areas for each module inclusive of discussion forums and areas to post important information, student activities, links, reading and teaching resources, such as power point presentations of face-to-face lectures. The fifteen students taking this module are all highly experienced, registered practitioners, released from their practice on a part-time basis to advance their continuing professional development. They are, therefore, individuals with a highly developed sense of professional identity and experience in its performance within the workplace.