JISC

This paper discusses ways of raising the awareness of staff about the uses and advantages of VLEs.

Why raise awareness?

When introducing a VLE for the first time, it is important to undertake a programme of awareness-raising for staff, to ensure that the VLE is used both effectively and widely within the college. There may be some initial resistance to the idea of online learning, so the role of ILT (ICT) Champions in overcoming this, and in awareness-raising generally, is very important. There are various ways to go about this process.

Be honest with staff
Don't over-hype VLEs and online learning. In the short term, there will be some extra work involved for some, possibly many, staff, particularly in learning new skills. Nevertheless, the rewards in terms of benefits to staff and students are considerable, including better administration and improvements to learning and teaching.

Involve staff in the process of choosing a VLE
Your lecturing staff will be the ones delivering the courses via the VLE and it is important that they are involved in the process of choosing one, if this is feasible. If they are involved right from the start, they are more likely to use it when it is installed, because they have developed some "ownership" of the VLE. This is often referred to as getting "buy-in".

Show staff how the VLE can make their life easier!
Show staff the advantages the VLE will have for them in their daily work, such as making it easier to share and re-use materials; making class administration and assessment easier; easing communications with students; improving student tracking.

Show staff how it improves learning and teaching
Show staff that the VLE can improve learning and teaching too. ILT (ICT) Champions should demonstrate the benefits, such as more up-to-date content, better support for students, flexibility of learning and so on.

Start off small
Find a small number of enthusiastic staff, in different subject areas, who are willing to put in the time needed to make the first online courses a success. Work closely with them, helping them to develop the necessary skills and content, and, once they have some successful classes up and running, other people will be encouraged to join in too. Remember, using VLEs is actually a very significant change in the way people work. It takes time to mainstream this.

Staff as learners
A good way to introduce a VLE to staff is for them to use it as though they were students. Not only will they learn about VLEs, but they will also be reminded of what being a student is like - and that can only be a good thing.

Formal awareness/training sessions
ILT (ICT) Champions are likely to be involved in the running of formal awareness/training sessions, to encourage staff to use the VLE and to give them training in how to use it. Staff should be given an overview of the benefits of using a VLE and at least an introduction into the practicalities.

Examples of good practice
An excellent way to raise awareness and encourage staff to use VLEs is to show them examples of good practice elsewhere. A number of colleges are now starting to use VLEs with large numbers of students. Many case studies from various colleges are available on the FERL website.

About the Author

Geoff Minshull has been in Further Education since 1983, mainly in the UK, during which time he has worked with a wide range of businesses and organisations. He has also worked and lectured extensively in Southern Africa, Central America and the USA. In 1996 he founded Direct Learn with the aim of developing online learning and promoting ILT in FE and HE. Recent work has included helping develop and deliver the National Learning Network ILT Champion training programme; working with FERL to develop the MLE feature on their Web site; helping to organise the FERL MLE conference in May 2000; providing consultancy to a number of colleges on implementing ILT, including using VLEs; and monitoring and advising colleges on their ILT Strategies.

Contact: geoffm@directlearn.co.uk

Further information

The FERL (Further Education Resources for Learning) feature is a good starting point for looking at VLEs. It includes links to other useful sites, supplier details, case studies from colleges using VLEs and guest logins to a number of VLEs.
National Learning Network
Stephen Bostock, University of Keele, has provided a useful site which illustrates how the web can be used in learning and teaching. Good for awareness-raising with colleagues.