How Does Student Access to a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Change During Periods of Disruption?

Abstract

Higher Education often faces disruptions to teaching due to wider events, such as industrial action by staff or the recent COVID-19 pandemic (Li et al., 2022). Digital learning tools (such as Virtual Learning Environments, VLEs) can be used to support teaching and learning processes reducing the impact of disruptive events. This case study, compares student VLE behaviour across three consecutive cohorts featuring two "typical" university semesters (2016 and 2017), and one semester ( 2018) which featured industrial action. Learning analytics from students' activity on the VLE system analyzed. Findings show that high-and middle-performing students tend to increase their use to compensate for the lack of teaching, whilst lower-performing students reduce their access possibly due to lower levels of self-efficacy and selfregulation. These findings suggest that educators need to consider how VLEs could be designed to support students when learning should be delivered through an asynchronous online learning environment. For example, educators should consider designing VLE spaces that promote flexibility, and supporting selfregulation, whilst also providing clear guidance on structuring learning activities.

Diversity of Strategies for Motivation in Learning (DSML)—A New Measure for Measuring Student Academic Motivation

“…Along with assessing the predictability of the measure at the individual level, we propose that the DSML may be used to test wider disruptions at the societal level, too. For example, testing whether events creating large-scale disruptions to the higher education system, such as the COVID-19 pandemic [ 34 ] or national teaching strikes [ 81 ], have uniquely driven further changes in student behaviors. The DSML has also been used to test students’ academic performance from three different disciplines when they brought their own devices to a lecture theater [ 82 ].…”