1. Traditional Vs Virtual

2. Silverwood Comprehensive
Note to teacher: the image hyperlinks to a short animation demonstrating the main features of a typical learning platform or VLE created by Sheffield City Learning Centre. The animation features a fictitious school, Silverwood Comprehensive, where school staff, pupils and parents have embraced the features of a VLE to support teaching, learning and communication.
By using the scenario of Silverwood Comprehensive you are introducing the students to the potential benefits of a VLE no matter where your school is in the process of implementing such a system.
(mouse click)
Activity: class – watch introductory video

3. In this lesson students are learning about:
the features, functions and target audience of different aspects of Virtual Learning Environments

4. At the end of this lesson students will be able to:
recognise the potential impact the use of a Virtual Learning Environment can have on working practice and collaboration

5. Traditional versus new platform
Recently there has been a rapid adoption of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) in schools, colleges and higher education institutions.
One aim is that these new learning platforms will help teachers to optimise the time spent teaching and provide a service for students who use the Internet as the main tool for finding information and resources.
As we have seen from Silverwood Comprehensive, a VLE is a set of teaching and learning tools designed to enhance a student's learning experience by including computers and the Internet in the learning process. But what features, functions and target audience is the VLE serving?
The traditional classroom has changed somewhat over the last few years, not only in layout but also the technology it uses to support teaching and learning.
VLE
The traditional classroom has changed somewhat over the last few years, not only in layout but also the technology it uses to support teaching and learning.
(mouse click)
Recently there has been a rapid adoption of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) in schools, colleges and higher education institutions.
One aim is that these new learning platforms will help teachers to optimise the time spent teaching and provide a service for students who use the Internet as the main tool for finding information and resources.
As we have seen from Silverwood Comprehensive, a VLE is a set of teaching and learning tools designed to enhance a student's learning experience by including computers and the Internet in the learning process. But what features, functions and target audience is the VLE serving?
Image by: Veer / Ilin Sergey
Fotolia / Maksym Yemelyanov

6. Benefits of a VLE Think Pair Share
Think about your experience / ideas on the benefits of a VLE for each target audience, i.e. students, teachers and parents.
Think
Pair
Share
Activity: think, pair, share – benefits of a VLE
(mouse click)
Think about your experience / ideas on the benefits of a VLE for each target audience, i.e. students, teachers and parents.
(Give the students ‘think time’)
Turn to face a Learning Partner and work together, sharing ideas, discussing, clarifying and challenging each other’s thoughts.
Now ‘share’ your ideas with the whole class.
Note to teacher: it is important that students are able to share their partner’s ideas as well as their own
Note to teacher: discussions should elicit various benefits for the main audiences of the VLE
Image by: Shutterstock/KOUNADEAS IOANNHS + Air0ne

7. Exam Practice Timed question 10 Minutes
Outline the advantages and disadvantages to using VLEs in schools.
Focus on the viewpoint of Teachers, Students and parents. (6)
Note to teacher: for the remainder of this lesson ask the students to continue to work in their assigned groups for building the wiki pages
Your mission is nearing an end!
(mouse click)
We should be nearing completion of the guide to help Gump become a ‘savvy’ user of his space in the digital world.
We have now covered features of ‘VLEs’.
Activity: group – build a wiki
You should complete the population of the guide being built in the wiki in your assigned groups.
Remember to:
think about what you would like included in the wiki page – remember you can include text, images and sound or video files
decide as a group who should be creating each element on the page – you are working collaboratively
revisit some of the associated information that you have marked with ‘social bookmarking’
read any blog that has been created on your page area
Note to teacher: explain that they will need to complete with this work as part of their homework so they need agree this as a group and ensure they all contribute and play an active part in this knowledge creation
Image by: Shutterstock/AnatolyM

8. Mark your partners work