Virtual Learning Environments – content repository or collaborative tool

The presentation will present the findings of a multi-method student evaluation of an institutional VLE, based on Blackboard. The focus will be upon students' perceptions of the extent to which the VLE is either currently, or in the future, used as a content repository and a collaborative learning facility to enable participants consider how Blackboard is, or might, be used by students as a collaborative learning platform. The purpose of this study was to ascertain how students used the university’s VLE, based upon Blackboard, to inform the debate about the true level and nature of technologically enabled student collaboration. The study adopted an open approach to ascertain how students use the VLE, additional features students would like and identify factors influencing student VLE usage. Study methodology followed principles for examining students’ experiences of technology recommended for the JISC e-learning programme using three data collection methods: • Online questionnaire (n = 407) • Diary for 8 weeks (n = 14) • Focus group (n = 14) The main themes to emerge from the data were structural consistency; provision of learning materials; communication; student motivation: collaboration and enhanced use of the VLE. The nature of student engagement in collaborative learning activity found in the data suggests that such activity is not widespread within the university’s VLE, but students in the study expressed a desire that teaching staff facilitate the potential for student collaboration.