University of Wales: Digital Skills and VLE Impact on Students

This report investigates the impact of Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) on student learning. It begins with an introduction to VLEs, outlining their purpose and benefits in creating interactive learning experiences. The report establishes aims and objectives, followed by a literature review exploring the advantages of VLEs, such as accessibility and flexibility, and disadvantages, including social isolation and technological issues. The methodology involves a questionnaire administered to students at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David, London Campus, to gather primary data on VLE usage and perceptions. The results reveal students' experiences, preferences, and suggestions for improvement. The discussion section analyzes the findings, highlighting the convenience and affordability of VLEs while acknowledging the drawbacks of solo learning and the need for improved communication and integrated learning programs. The report concludes with a summary of findings and recommendations for enhancing VLE effectiveness.

Digital Skills and
Research Methods

Contents
TOPIC..............................................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
AIMS and OBJECTIVES................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................3
METHOD........................................................................................................................................5
RESULTS........................................................................................................................................6
DISCUSSION..................................................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

TOPIC
“An investigation into the impact of Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) on students”
INTRODUCTION
A virtual learning environment means when learning takes place on the online platform
so that students and professors can find digital solutions to their problems and enhance their
learning experience. This platform is aimed at creating an interactive and active learning
environment for the students and assist professors to store the learning contents, plan the courses
and lessons. The VLE is also helpful for the students to communicate with the professors over e-
mails and discussions even on real-time basis. In this report an investigation on the impact which
is created by VLE on students will be discussed which will be helpful in mitigating the negative
impacts and enhancing the positive ones. I would like to conduct this research so that my
knowledge gets improved on VLE and its learning outcomes which could be helpful in my career
prospects and in my higher studies.
AIMS and OBJECTIVES
The aim of this research topic is “To determine the impact which is is created by virtual
learning environment on student's learning.”
Objectives:
This is an important part of research project as it help researcher in completion of report
effectively. Research objectives are based on two variables which are dependent and
independent (Dascalu And et. al., 2015). According to the given topic, student's learning
is a dependent variable which depends on virtual learning environment. Based on the
topic some objectives which will be discussed in this report are mentioned as follows:
 To develop an understanding about Virtual Learning Environment.
 To determine the advantages which is created by VLE on student's learning.
 To ascertain the disadvantages of Virtual Learning Environment and its impact on
student's learning.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Understanding about the Virtual Learning Environment
According to Margaret Rouse, (2018), virtual learning environment (VLE) are a set of
tools which can help in the learning and teaching process by the way of online platform like by

the use of internet and computers. The main components of VLE include curriculum mapping
which involves breaking the entire curriculum into sections which can be assigned to students.
Also it includes student tracking, online support for both teacher and student, communications
via electronic media etc. which can help in overall learning of the students via online platform.
This platform thus assists in making learning of students and teachers convenient as they can
access the online platform from anywhere and can enhance their learning experience. This helps
in creating an efficient learning environment which can make the learning process simpler and
more effective. The distance due to place, time or both can be easily managed through the virtual
learning environment as access can be made from anywhere, at anytime and at any place. This
online learning has also helped in making learning easy and affordable as the process just
requires a computer and internet connection so that learning process can be effectively done.
There are a large number of commercial VLE packages which are available on the online
platform which can be assessed by making the required amount of fees that is to be paid before
assessing these online portals. Some of the examples of commercial VLE software packages are
Blackboard, WebCT, Lotus learning space etc.
Advantages of VLE on student's learning
As per the view point of Emarkable, (2018), Virtual learning is a new and advanced
method of gaining education in all the types of subjects which help students in acquiring online
learning opportunity in a wide variety of subjects. VLE has many advantages and disadvantages
on student's learning of which advantages are that the virtual learning is accessible. This means
that students can easily access various sites on which learning can be done irrespective of the
location of the student, time suited for learning etc. Also the virtual learning provides flexibility
in learning which means that the students can gain knowledge whenever and where ever they
want. This helps in increasing the convenience of learning as people with families, jobs or other
responsibilities easily access learning as per their suitable time and location. The VLE is also
affordable as it saves costs of travelling to a teaching institution so as to gain the same
knowledge which can be easily done on the online platform. Further it saves the cost of taking
admissions in institutions where learning regarding the student's interest area can be done. This
type of learning only requires electronic platform and internet connection so that the digital
platform can be utilized in enhancing the learning experience along with making this process
highly comfortable and convenient.

Disadvantages of Virtual Learning Environment and its impact on student's learning
As per the views of William McCoy, (2019), virtual classroom allows learning through
the use of technology in which online platform is used for both learning and teaching purposes.
Apart from the advantages which virtual learning has on student's learning, there are also some
disadvantages which creates a negative impact on the learning process of the students. VLE
deprive students from socialization which can be done in the physical classrooms. This makes
the learning process isolated which makes student learning lonely and also the development of
students cannot be completely done as is possible in a physical classroom. A students develops
academically and personally in a classroom and they also become able to solve various
classroom related problems. Also the disadvantages which are faced due to virtual learning are
technology issues like internet disruption, lack of concentration etc. which affects the learning of
students. A lack of proper structure in which education is provided to students in the classroom is
also not available on the virtual learning. There is also a problem of lack of motivation which is
continuously given by teachers in the classroom which is not possible on virtual learning. This
lack of motivation may also make the students demotivated and their performance may be
affected which influence their grades.
METHOD
Research process: For completing the research process in an effective manner an interview was
conducted so that primary data collection can be done which can help in analysing the impact of
virtual learning environment on the learning process of students. The research process involves
various steps like identification, assessment and analysis of information which is collected so
that appropriate opinions can be formed which can help in finding answers to the research
question (Carruthers and et. al., 2015).
Selection techniques: The selection technique which is used in this research project is
questionnaire in which close ended questions are asked to the selected sample of population so
that their views regarding the impact which VLE creates on student’s learning can be analysed.
This technique helps in the collection of information from the population which can help in
finding correct information for the research topic.
Nature of the questions : The nature of questions asked in the questionnaire is close ended
questions where the answerer has to select among the options that are given to be answered by
the selected population sample. These questions help in getting direct answers which can help

the researcher in analysing the data in an appropriate manner and formulation of analysis which
can be useful for both the students and the researcher (Fowler, 2015).
Area in which research carried out: The research process was carried out in the University of
Wales Trinity Saint David, London Campus. This research was conducted in the class of the
college so that the impact of VLE can be created on student’s learning.
RESULTS
The questionnaire was conducted on 30 students so that research can be conducted in an
efficient manner. The questions asked to the students will help in gaining information about
the usefulness of VLE in the learning of students.
Q1) Have you used VLE for learning process?
 Yes - 20
 No-10
From this it can be interpreted that most of the students in the college have used VLE for
their learning process which means that the concept of virtual learning is known to a
large number of students in the college.
Q2) Is it convenient to use VLE for gaining knowledge?
 Yes - 25
 No-5
From this it can be interpreted that most of the VLE using students find it convenient as it
can be used for learning on the real time basis which makes it convenient to be used at
anytime and at any place.
Q3) How do you find VLE useful?
 It is convenient-15
 It is affordable-15
From this question it can be interpreted that VLE is found convenient by 15 students and
the other 15 find it affordable which means that it is a useful digital tool to make learning
easier.
Q4) Will you suggest other students to use VLE for their learning process?
 Yes it is very convenient-10
 No it does not motivate learning process-20

It can be seen that 10 students are of the favour of suggesting VLE to other students
while the other 20 students are against it as it is a solo learning process which isolates
thee students from classroom learning which is motivating in many ways.
Q5) Should teachers use VLE in teaching students in the college?
 Yes-10
 No-20
Only 10 out of 30 students are of favour of being taught by the virtual learning platform
which means that rest of the students do not find it useful and also find more comfortable in
being taught by the teachers in the class itself.
DISCUSSION
From the above research it can be seen that virtual learning is an online learning platform
which can be used by the students to enhance their learning experience on the online
platform so that education can become more convenient and affordable. This platform
allows the students to learn on the online platform form any place and at anytime. This
makes learning efficient for the students who have jobs and are involved with their families
or are unavailable in the classroom due to some other reasons etc. Virtual learning
environment thus helps the student to acquire knowledge about vast variety of subjects so
that their learning process become more enhanced and more convenient. There are a large
number of advantages of VLE like it is more accessible and more affordable to be used by
the students which help them in improving their learning process (Cuthell, 2017). However
it also has various disadvantages like it encourages solo learning which means that the
student gain knowledge on an individual level and gets deprived from the classroom
activities and other extracurricular activities which help in their growth and development.
VLE also may create confusions as the students cannot directly contact with the tutors as in
the classroom which increases their subject related doubts. Other disadvantages of using
VLE is it requires strong and continuous connection of internet so that disruptions cannot be
created while the learning process. This means that learning is only possible where there is
connectivity to the internet so that the learning process can take place in an efficient manner.
All these disadvantages create a negative impact on the students which makes their learning
process slow and might also affect their grades.

The VLE can be improved by making learning more easy and opening two-way
communication on the online platform so that the students can discuss about their queries
which helps in making their learning more efficient. Also the learning must be more
involved in the classrooms so that more students can gain the benefits of using it which will
help in improving their grades. Also integrated learning programmes must be started in the
college so that apart from the face-to-face learning students can also be benefitted from the
convenience of learning at any time and any place they want. These improvements can help
in attracting more students towards virtual learning process so that their academics can be
improved which can help in their personal, academic and professional growth .
CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that virtual learning provides a platform for
students to enhance their learning process as they can use this to learn about their subjects as
per their convenience. The process is also very affordable for students which help them in
expanding their learning process to a wide subject area. Apart from the advantages the
process also has some disadvantages which can be improved so that the negative impact
which is created on their learning can be reduced and their learning can be enhanced.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Dascalu, M.I. And et. al., 2015. A recommender agent based on learning styles for better virtual
collaborative learning experiences. Computers in Human Behavior, 45, pp.243-253.
Carruthers, C. and et. al., 2015. ‘I like the sound of that’–an evaluation of providing audio
feedback via the virtual learning environment for summative assessment. Assessment &
Evaluation in Higher Education, 40(3), pp.352-370.
Fowler, C., 2015. Virtual reality and learning: Where is the pedagogy?. British journal of
educational technology, 46(2), pp.412-422.
Cuthell, J.P., 2017. Virtual learning. Routledge.
Aluja-Banet, T., Sancho, M.R. and Vukic, I., 2017. Measuring motivation from the virtual
learning environment in secondary education. Journal of Computational Science.
Online
Emarkable. 2018. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Virtual Learning. [online] Available
through; <https://ciftraining.ie/2018/01/advantages-disadvantages-virtual-learning/>
Margaret Rouse .2019. Virtual learning environment (VLE). [online] Available through;
<https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/virtual-learning-environment-VLE-or-
managed-learning-environment-MLE>
William McCoy. 2019. The disadvantages of virtual classroom. [online] Available through;
<https://classroom.synonym.com/disadvantages-virtual-classroom-7942944.html>