Abstract
Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) have become a critical part of the Higher Education (HE) learning, teaching and assessment environment over the past two d ecades. The study in this paper complements the longitudinal study designed by the #VLEIreland Project team to examine the key drivers and barriers for uptake and usage of an institutional VLE amongst students. There is a dearth of literature on VLE usage by staff in an Irish context. The findings of the #VLEIreland staff survey, presented in this paper, help us understand staff usage of technology tools including the VLE, and places this in a wider context. In 2014, the project team developed an electronic survey instrument to examine staff perceptions of the VLE and online learning tools. This collaborative study involved seven Irish HE institutes. There were 580 respondents to the electronic survey. Findings show lack of time as a considerable barrier to staff usage of the VLE and that staff usage is primarily for distribution of resources, communication and assignment submission. However, insights can also be gleaned from the data to assist educational developers when designing appropriate interventions for the development needs of staff. When considered in conjunction with findings from student data, the common misconceptions about VLE usage can be addressed including a negative impact on attendance and over-reliance on lecturers. In addition, consideration for the professionalisation of teaching in terms of digital literacy and technological skills is considered of vital importance to empower staff in the era of the digital turn.
Highlights
Since the mid-1990s, higher education in Ireland and internationally has seen the emergence of digital technologies including the introduction of virtual learning environments (VLEs) across the sector
In order to examine the use of the VLE and online tools by Higher Education (HE) staff as a social phenomenon with an objective reality the following research questions were devised for this study: (a) To what extent are staff using the VLE and online learning tools and what are the barriers to use reported by staff? (b) What are the implications for educational developers arising from the perceptions of staff relating to VLE use and non-use?
This article has set out to answer the questions relating to the extent of use of VLEs by HE staff and the barriers to usage to consider the implications for educational developers
Summary
Since the mid-1990s, higher education in Ireland and internationally has seen the emergence of digital technologies including the introduction of virtual learning environments (VLEs) across the sector These developments in the increasing use of technologies have been identified as “the digital turn” 169), which requires increased attention to new literacy practices in digital environments across a variety of social contexts including educational, recreational sites and workplaces This decade saw the establishment of centres of learning and teaching in Ireland, initially in the universities funded by the HEA and more recently across the sector responding to staff development requirements including the use of the VLE. The need for research into the challenges faced by learners and teachers in pursuing learning goals using technology provides justification for this study, which focuses primarily on staff perceptions of the VLE and the implications of these for educational developers
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