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E-learning


		11-16 schools

		6th form schools

		Colleges

As increasingly powerful computers and internal networks have become available, schools and colleges are exploiting their potential by placing study materials on these networks to create a 'virtual learning environment' or VLE. 'Virtual' refers to the environment, not the learning. A 'managed learning environment' (MLE) exists where computer facilities are also used to manage what students do with the material. This might include scheduling tasks, providing advice and information, having students submit work by email, and returning marked work by email.

The next logical step, especially as more and more people have access to the internet, is to extend computer-based learning beyond the confines of the college so that some students do not even have to attend college to follow a course. They use the internet to access the college materials and tutors, and become online learners.

E-learning is a general shorthand term for any or all of these developments. Just as email means using networked computers to send messages, e-learning means using networked computers to study.

Using virtual and managed learning environments

The type of material that schools and colleges are placing on a computer network, usually in the form of web pages, includes:

administrative information, for example homework details (useful for students who have missed a lesson or lost classroom notes), examination dates, coursework deadlines, awarding body specifications
assignments, worksheets, tasks, exercises, demonstrations
learning materials needed to carry out assignments; not only text documents, pictures, diagrams and charts (which have traditionally been given to students in printed form) but also database and spreadsheet data, 3-D images, video clips and website links
help on researching topics, for example advice on general approaches to research and guidance on useful websites.

VLEs and MLEs make independent learning more effective because:

it is administratively efficient for students to get information from computer networks about what they need to do, by when and with what materials
many computerised learning materials are more vivid and immediate than traditional printed materials; for example, video clips showing muscle movement for PE, physiology or acceleration for physics
learning materials are more accessible as all students can access them at the same time. In some schools and colleges, departments keen to exploit VLEs have placed all the materials needed for a course on the computer network, completely replacing textbooks and handouts
students can be helped to make the best use of independent study time by using computers to specify activities and deadlines
independent learning can be 'multi-tasking' learning; a student working on a computer could do various tasks almost simultaneously, reading text documents, discussing ideas with a friend via email or in a chatroom debate, downloading data from websites, and listening to audio material on the CD drive. Making full use of computer facilities, as young people are keen to do, can make independent learning more enjoyable and more efficient.

Also see

> Teaching advanced level subjects

Case studies

> E-learning