Title: Selecting a virtual learning environment
Course: Digivisio DEMO: Planning and creating a MOOC > Section: Starting points for planning a MOOC

Once you know the topic and target group of the MOOC and the resources for creating it are in place, you need to choose a virtual learning environment for it, in other words, decide where the learning will take place. The type of virtual learning environment that is available (VLE; sometimes also referred to as a learning management system, or LMS) and the pedagogical solutions it enables have a major impact on the pedagogical planning and practical creation of the MOOC.

You can now learn more about choosing a virtual learning environment from the perspectives of the teacher, learner, higher education institution (HEI), and tools.

Learner:
From the learner's perspective, it is essential that the learning environment is clear and user-friendly. The availability of instructions for navigating the learning environment and, if necessary, user support are also important from the learner's viewpoint.

Teacher:

From the teacher's perspective, key questions in the choice of learning environment include what kinds of tools and applications the learning environment enables and what types of pedagogical solutions are possible. When creating MOOCs, from a practical point of view the virtual learning environment needs to enable automated assessment (such as different automatically scored tests and mechanisms for study progress monitoring that can be used as part of assessment) and, when planning an interactive MOOC, smooth synchronous and asynchronous interaction between learners. The clarity and user-friendliness of the learning environment are also important from the teacher's point of view to make creating the MOOC in the virtual learning environment easy.

HEI:

Most higher education institutions have at least one virtual learning environment that is maintained either by the institution itself or a service provider. Most virtual learning environments today offer versatile digital tools and applications that can be used to create MOOCs. The virtual learning environment available for a higher education institution is not always totally ideal from the perspective of creating and maintaining MOOCs, and in this case, it is advisable to find out if getting access to some other environment for MOOCs would be possible and how this environment can be maintained. This is also a strategic question for higher education institutions, as they have different policies on the virtual learning environments they use and on whether or not the institution can have several environments for different purposes.

Tools:

Different learning environments offer different tools and applications for learning. Tools and applications can be used to create a pedagogically and visually relevant and accessible learning environment for learners. Most learning environments also come with tools that enable automated assessment, including various tests and mechanisms for monitoring progress in studies, as well as synchronous and asynchronous interaction between learners. From the viewpoint of maintaining the MOOC, potential integration with the student information system used by the student administration is an important feature. This integration may, for example, make it possible to add learners to the virtual learning environment and automatically transfer grades from the virtual learning environment to the student information system. In addition, the data analytics tools provided by the virtual learning environment may be important for maintaining the MOOC and monitoring learners’ progress.

Find out which options your higher education institution offers and then select a platform that suits your purposes. Fill in the virtual learning environment in your pedagogical manuscript. Pay attention to at least the following.

- Which features should a virtual learning environment have to enable you to create the kind of MOOC you want? For example, does it enable automated assessment or social interaction within groups?
- Which virtual learning environment will you choose and why?

References

Image: Adobe Stock photos.