Abstract
The introduction of virtual learning environments (VLEs) has been regarded by some as a panacea for many of the problems in today’s mass numbers modular higher education system. This paper demonstrates that VLEs can help or hinder student engagement and performance, and that they should be adapted to the different types of learner. A project is described that aimed to investigate whether the introduction of a VLE can assist ‘disengaged’ students, drawing on click count tracking data and student performance. The project took place in the context of two very large undergraduate modules (850 and 567 students) in a Business School of a new university in the UK. In an adaptation of a model of learner engagement in Web-enhanced environments, four distinct learner types have emerged: model, traditionalist, geek and disengaged. There was evidence that use of the VLE exacerbated, rather than moderated, the differences between these learner types. Keywords: virtual learning environments; e-learning; self-efficacy DOI: 10.1080/09687760802657577
Highlights
IntroductionIn a mass numbers modular higher education system, students may learn rapidly that their attendance is not closely monitored nor their absence penalised
The business world is not a global village but a global technological jungle, where survival depends on the ability to use IT in new and innovative ways. (Brady, Saren, and Tzokas 1999, 764)In a mass numbers modular higher education system, students may learn rapidly that their attendance is not closely monitored nor their absence penalised
This paper aimed to investigate whether virtual learning environment (VLE) help or hinder student engagement and performance
Summary
In a mass numbers modular higher education system, students may learn rapidly that their attendance is not closely monitored nor their absence penalised. Such students risk becoming ‘disengaged’, failing to participate in academic life. VLE activity data, sometimes called click count tracking, despite its imperfections, provides an available, yet rudimentary, measure of student ‘learning’ activity. Such systems may support flexible study, there is a concern that they may
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