Can forming a virtual learning community enhance learning on a face-to-face learning programme?

摘要

A Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) was set up in support of the curriculum at a new medical school, which delivers a five-year undergraduate face-to-face programme. We set out to evaluate the effectiveness of the VLE without any preconceptions, employing quantitative and qualitative methods. Some of the results of this study are reported here. A key finding was that students did not readily share information through the VLE in the first year despite the collaborative learning environment of the course. We have now further explored our results in the light of research on the definition of a virtual community, how to examine it and how to make a virtual community work in order to promote collaborative learning.