The VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) at Sussex is built in Moodle and called StudyDirect. Sussex has only had a university-wide VLE since last September. Several times this year, IT Services has asked users to come together to talk about what they like and don’t like about the system, and in particular, what they’d like changed. The invitees have been instructional staff who have a course in StudyDirect, including faculty and tutors. There were about 60 people at the most recent users group gathering and about 20 at the previous ones – this seems like a large number of keen people, and of course, these are the early adopters. There’s no formal assistance offered to instructors about how to design courses for the system, but IT Services does offer workshops on how to use it. Carol Shergold, a Senior systems Developer at IT Services, said that only about 50 people took the StudyDirect training over the past year. I did hear, however, that many instructors are using it as an online space to distribute PowerPoint slides and course documents, and only a few are using a wider selection of functions.
Daisy MacDonald, Project Officer at TLDU, has put together a portfolio ‘solution’ in StudyDirect for students who are in their first year of their D.Phil. (Ph.D.). These students will be using the system to gather artifacts and record accomplishments and reflections on their various activities and learnings as they go through the lengthy process of becoming academics. Daisy is organizing a users group for the portfolio and they will be meeting two or three times over the next several months. Feedback from the users will help made the portfolio more effective for their particular needs.
Well, I’m impressed with the commitment to consultation and evaluation.
I was just speaking with someone who works with portfolios today. I had always considered that portfolios where something you used to reflect on past learning, but one of the options in this one was an “action plan”. It’s something that seems rather obvious to me know, but it sort of stopped me in my tracks. If a portfolio is about life long learning, why wouldn’t it include planning?
Thanks for sharing your observations on the use of Moodle – it’s always good to hear that other institutions have a range of users with a range of objectives.