VLE is keeping students connected

11:56 15th June 2009

Home study students at the University of Leicester are coming together through a new virtual learning environment (VLE).

The postgraduate MA in Tesol and Applied Linguistics is using an interactive website as a base for communication and course content, reports the Guardian.

All course material is being uploaded onto the website which also hosts podcasts, discussion boards and links to other useful websites.

But the main priority is to create a social space to prevent students from feeling isolated.

Dr Diane Davies is a lecturer on the course, says: "We are already seeing a huge difference. The discussion boards have brought cohorts of students together in a way that was not possible in the past."

Lancaster University has created a new online-only MA in Tesol and is also planning ways to help students bond. For example, the course will start with a three-day introduction face-to-face, allowing students and lecturers to meet one another and create a sense of solidarity before returning home separately.

Tesol stands for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages and is a professional association which aims to ensure the excellence in teaching English.