Hi Ray, yes true, there's lots of debate and divergence still on what
systems should do and do do, and that's been aired on this list, as in
BECTA's Learning platform functional requirements 'Conformance
Framework' last year (mainly schools-focussed :
http://schools.becta.org.uk/upload-dir/downloads/functional_req_learning
_platforms_v1.1.doc), and that discussion will still run a good while
yet.
But I was trying to focus on something a bit more local and modest: the
quality not of the platform itself but of a particular installation or
instance of it: i.e. at the institution level: is your VLE (whether it
be WEbCT or Virtual or Bodington or whatever....) easy to find,
navigate, clearly laid out as to purpose, declare who's owning and
running it, does it have help for users that works, is it supported in a
clear and effective way, is it updated and dated appropriately, etc?;
and, still more important, at the course level, i.e. for the instances
within that VLE: are the resources in them clear and meaningful, do they
evidence a learning style or theory, are they targetted to the learning
objectives and assessment criteria, are the resources dated and badged
with a named author, is obsolete material removed, are the activities
maintained or marked in some coherent way, do they run well
cross-platform, etc etc? In other words, I'd like to have an internal
standard that we can say VLE course X adheres to it but VLE course Y
does not because it's not been updated or some links are broken, or
there's no clear sequence or whatever. And clearly the standard would
need to be fairly general, so as not to prescribe particular learning
styles or approaches.
Should be simple enough, eh?
Btw, I think you can't send attachments directly to the list, so try
links if you have them out there, otherwise Geoff may be able to post
them for you.
Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: Virtual Learning Environments [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Ray Tolley
Sent: 19 April 2007 12:00
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VLES] Quality standard for VLEs?
Tony,
How I agree with you! However, first there needs to be an agreement of
semantics before we can ever agree on the function of a VLE, Learning
Platform or PLE - or even begin to define quality standards. (I am also
an affiliate member of the Chartered Quality Institute - so I do
understand your questions.)
In order to define the functionality of a VLE we really need to remove
the clutter of all the other attached functionality. I humbly attach two
discussion documents, admittedly focussing on the needs of both Primary
and Secondary schools.
This raises another serious issue for me. I am well aware of the vast
progress made by many in the Tertiary sector. The universities and some
CPD suppliers in particular have pressed ahead and developed very
efficient systems which work for a specific delivery of well defined
courses. I would not like to see this limited perspective of a 'VLE'
becoming a national standard. The PLE should not be thought of as a
static platform - it should be 'dynamic' in several ways.
For a start, there is the serious problem of the compatibility of VLE
systems - as far as my limited understanding goes SCORM and SIF are not
dealing with the same protocols.
Secondly, Portability: What happens when a good A-level student (with a
precious e-portfolio and a well-developed PLE) moves to HE. Can he not
take his PLE with him? And then Durability: Can the PLE become more
refined as maturity increases?
Thirdly, Aggregation: Surely our FE and HE students come with a lot of
precious 'baggage', experiences, informal qualifications, expert skills
etc.
And what of APL? Surely, a good PLE must be capable of recognising both
formal and additional 'qualifications' and directing/re-directing the
student's learning pathways and methods, along with providing Assessment
and feedback?
Fourthly, As useful as Moodle is, I am not sure that Moodle (as a
platform) can deliver the full range of services I would expect from a
PLE.
In the UK I understand that presently there are over 1000 organisations
issuing qualifications - and this number will only increase over the
next few years with the increasing development of e-learning. Yes,
Tony, the matter of defining a quality standard is desperately overdue.
But perhaps Becta, JISC and other organisations are already talking to
each other?
These ideas, and others, are explored a little further:
See my website and select VLEs&PLEs > page 3
I would appreciate the thoughts of others....
Best Wishes
Ray Tolley
ICT Education Consultant
Maximise-ICT
www.maximise-ict.co.uk
-----Original Message-----
From: Virtual Learning Environments [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Tony Delahunty
Sent: 19 April 2007 09:00
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [VLES] Quality standard for VLEs?
Morning all.
Does any one have a quality standard for their VLE? We now have an
established VLE (Moodle since you ask) rolled out across all curriculum
areas, and visible and relevant in some way at least to all students
(whether for their own course, or as the portal for College info and
generic resources). Even a cursory look (and we allow our users to roam
fairly freely across course areas) shows great inconsistency - eg some
areas are rarely updated, have no clear structure or roadmap, resources
are obviously out-of-date (or undated, unsourced, incomplete etc).
What we'd like to set up and aspire to is some kind of service level
standard or quality mark - we already work to the Matrix standard
(http://www.matrixstandard.com/) for information advice and guidance
services, which covers some of this; and there are various Web
design/accessibility standards and checks you can run (though again I'd
welcome suggestions for the most appropriate); but what about the
pedagogy or at least teaching practice embodied in a VLE course - eg
does it have a clear roadmap, is there a range of resources, does it
give a sense of distance travelled, is it dynamic, etc etc?
Suggestions or ideas welcome, either for appropriate external standards,
or from your own quality procedures. What I'm thinking of ought to be
generic enough to apply to any learning platform/VLE (not merely Moodle
installations), and to be transferable.
Tony
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