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The VLE as a Transformational Technology

The VLE as a Transformational Technology. David Ball. Summary. Student use of electronic resources The e-book explosion Virtual learning environments (VLEs): challenges and opportunities. The Digital Natives. The average 21-year-old has: Spent 5,000 hours video-gaming

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The VLE as a Transformational Technology

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  1. The VLE as a Transformational Technology David Ball

  2. Summary • Student use of electronic resources • The e-book explosion • Virtual learning environments (VLEs): challenges and opportunities

  3. The Digital Natives The average 21-year-old has: • Spent 5,000 hours video-gaming • Sent 250,000 emails/messages • Spent 10,000 hours on a mobile ‘phone • Spent 3,000 hours online “ Their preference is for sharing, staying connected, instantaneity, multi-tasking, assembling random information into patterns, and using technology in new ways.” - Marc Prensky

  4. The Digital Immigrants Are less likely to have: • An iPod or equivalent • Posted material on the web • Created a blog or profile on MySpace • Downloaded content such as music, film • Taken a picture with a mobile ‘phone

  5. Student Use of E-Resources • Tenopir’s survey of surveys shows drivers: • Young users inhabiting electronic world • Convenience – desk top, speed, save/print • Health science library usage: • 28,000 full text downloads; 1800 uses of print • Bournemouth University: • 128% rise in full-text downloads over 4 years • Heavy undergraduate use of journal articles • 72% of nursing students’ last access from home

  6. Bournemouth Statistics

  7. Virtual Learning Environments “The components in which learners and tutors participate in ‘online’ interactions of various kinds, including online learning” • Controlled access to curriculum • Tracking student activity and achievement • Support of on-line learning • Communication between the learner, the tutor and others • Links to other administrative systems

  8. VLE as a Transformational Technology • Digital natives • Digital learning environment • Interactions with lecturers, other learners and administrators will be increasingly by electronic means • Core learning resources created by lecturers will be available through VLE • Students’ expectation will be for all learning resources to be so • MyBU

  9. Challenges for the Profession Studies show little integration of library resources into VLEs • Infiltrate resources into VLEs • Exploit VLE functionality • Develop procurement practice • E-books • Non-traditional learning resources • Develop information architecture

  10. E-Books • Existing heavy use of e-journals by undergraduates • Electronic medium the norm for students’ social and leisure pursuits • Electronic medium becoming primary in HE • Need for e-books

  11. E-Books: Problems and Obstacles • Lack of a clear open standard for operating systems; • Fears about the protection of content and the rights of the content owner in the context of giving users flexibility; • Lack of appropriate content in suitable quantities; • Pricing of titles, software and hardware; • Lack of integration into the general market for books. (Herther)

  12. E-Books: Current Developments • Google Book Project: • California, Complutense of Madrid, Harvard, Michigan, New York Public Library, Oxford, Stanford • Scan and digitise 16m volumes • MSN and BL – 100,000 volumes • Apple: • iPod book reader • Agreement on content with publisher

  13. SUPC E-Books Tender • Developing market place • Virtual Learning Environments • Fluid business models • Mimic hard-copy business models • Trend towards bundling/Big Deal • Avoid what happened with e-journals • Publishers determined business models • Price tied to historical hard-copy spend

  14. Preparing the Specification Aim to provide agreements that: • Were innovative and flexible • Exploited the electronic medium fully • Focused on users’ needs not libraries’ • Encouraged the addition of library-defined content Two distinct requirements: • Requirement A – a hosted e-book service from which institutions can purchase or subscribe to individual titles • Requirement B – a hosted e-book service of content that is specified by the institutions

  15. E-Textbooks • Obvious advantages for libraries: no multiple copies or SLCs, staff savings • BUT 80% of publishers’ textbook revenue is from individuals - not available • One aggregator has offered e-textbooks direct to students at 50% of list price

  16. Contract Award • Requirement A: Ebrary and Proquest Safari • Offer innovative models, value for money, flexibility and academic content of interest to members • Exploit electronic medium in terms of granularity and multi-user access • Requirement B: Ebrary • Flexibility and willingness to work openly • Textbooks model

  17. First Six Months • Impressed with both suppliers • Gradual uptake, due to timing of budgets • Student usage of collections much wider than anticipated; Ebrary functionality particularly liked • Good progress towards nursing core collection • Nearly all top publishers signed up • Business models for textbooks being developed

  18. Non-Traditional Resources • Lecturer’s/course team’s content • Course-pack readings • Course materials from other universities • Open access (e.g. MIT) • Subscribed • Commercial content designed for VLEs • Mediated by Blackboard • Open market

  19. Rights Management Issues • Who owns what rights – lecturers, university, publisher…? • Number of courses, students, years, campuses? • Can you repurpose? Export? Franchise? Sell? • More complex than a book on a shelf, or an e-journal package

  20. Integrating into the VLE - 1 Pathways to information: • VLE as one-stop-shop • Use of library catalogues/portals will decline • Embed/link to resources at point of need • Encourage use of wide variety of resources • Re-engineer information architecture

  21. Integrating into the VLE - 2 Interaction with students: • Exploit VLE functionality and structures • Integrate into courses, units at point of need • Use quizzes, discussion boards • Virtual classroom for remote students

  22. Integrating into the VLE - 3 Interaction with staff • Use organisations/groups to target particular staff – departments, subjects, research interests • Internally created resources maximised by content management system • Staff development

  23. Conclusion Position libraries for the VLE age by: • Maximising electronic availability • Influencing content aggregators • E-textbooks move us closer to completely electronic provision • Integrating resources and exploiting the new functionality

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