The Cascade project

Overview

We aim to provide virtual learning environment (VLE) support for as many of  the Department's award bearing courses as possible. These vary widely in terms of presentation format, academic level, subject area and diversity of students. To cater for this diversity, we aim to provide a set of template Moodles, each including a selection of administrative and academic content, both generic and course-specific. We will  also produce guidelines and tools to enable full use to be made of the available material, including customising it for any particular course. An administrative front end will be developed to make it as easy as possible to set up a Moodle for a new course. Integration with our current Departmental database, InfoSys, will enable student enrolment to a Moodle to be semi-automated.

Purpose of the initial pilot studies

• To discover attitudes of staff and students to VLE support and to the features it contains
• To determine the best format for VLE structure for certain course types and subject areas
• To identify the best sources of generic content for certain course types and subject areas
• To improve access to the latest versions of basic course information
• Development of tools and guidance materials to assist users in making the best use of the VLE

General approach

A Moodle will be set up for each course containing features and material considered to be potentially useful. These are determined by prior consultation with the appropriate members of the course teams and from previous experience of the TALL team. Surveys of students and staff prior to and at the end of the course, and logs of Moodle usage throughout the course, will provide information on the usefulness of each feature and whether there were any technical difficulties encountered in the use of the Moodle.