MASTER IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AUTONOMOUS LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS 2013

SETTING AND OPTIMIZING LANGUAGE RESOURCE CENTRES The architecture of your VLRC Patricia Alvarez

The architecture of your VLRC In this presentation you are going to explore the components of a virtual language resource centre. These are intended to the provision of self-training, the integration of participants in a community of learning, the access to learning objects aimed at the learning and practice of the foreign language and the use of learning materials which have been selected, adapted, digitized or constructed to support the delivery of content. For this to happen, the architecture of the centre must be open and flexible, this means that you will be welcome to add any other components that you find necessary and suitable for the needs of your learners. SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES TO FOSTER SELF-DIRECTED LANGUAGE LEARNING IN COLOMBIA -DIAGNOSING THE CURRENT STATUS IN EDUCATIONAL SETTINGS-

A blast from the past In 2002, Paquette characterized a VLRC as a learning scenario which “rests on the networking of actors and resources, aims to provide access to learners, synchronously or asynchronously, to different resources: instructors and tutors, subject-matter experts, training managers and professors acting as designers”. Paquette, G (2002). Handbook on information technologies for education and training: Designing virtual learning centers. Berlin: Springer Verlag. Online available: http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/docs/00/19/06/67/PDF/Paquette-Gilbert-Chap16-2001.pdf

The arquitecture of a VLRC The use of sections(tabs) makes it easy for users to jump straight to the information they need.

Rationale This section includes a brief reference to the VLRC and the educational significance it represents for the educational community in which it is to be implemented. The main purposes of the centre and also the users’ profile are included in this section.

Home Here users are welcomed and guided to a more effective acquaintance with the different sections of the centre. A separate section where other users such as parents, other teachers or stake holders can also be devised, this section will facilitate the involvement of other members of the educational community.

Collaborative project Here users are invited to take part of a project related to the a topic of their interest in which the foreign language serves as a means of communication. Additionally, users find a general overview of the project, its objectives and the learning objects that will give them the input they need for the successful completion of the project.

Resources This section is based on the principle that “a learning system supports the learning process through various seamlessly integrated resources, tools and documents within a coherent set of objectives, tools and methods”. The resources will have to be chosen according to the learner needs and the production required from the learners in the collaborative project.

Help Desk Resources like a Shoutbox (where users are to leave and answer queries), a FAQ section, and the tutor and peer contact details are available in this section for users to post any questions they may have related to the collaborative project and the VLRC.

Forums & Chatrooms The communication tools provided in this section facilitate synchronous and asynchronous communication among the users of the centre. Their primary function is to enact different forms of collaboration or cooperation between learners for team work, group discussion and collaborative problem solving, etc that lead to the development of their collaborative project. .

Some additional points to bear in mind We will be embarking a self-learning and “ distance” education boat. In this light consider the following points, see my edits in blue  “in distance education the instructor does not necessarily have the immediate student feedback nor do they have control over the student’s learning environment or the inherent distractions of said environment” ( this is the situation we will be facing while implementing our VLRC)

b. “I perceive instructional design as the art and science of crafting effective learning environments” (Murphy,n.d.) With the design of the VLRC we are assuming the role of instructional designers who will plan to meet the needs of a group of learners and capture them by means of online instruction Murphy, David (n.d.) “Knowledge Series: Instructional Design for Self-Learning in Distance Education.” Educational Resources Information Center.

When designing activities for the VLRC challenges can be numerous, however in my opinion the planning stage is the most important design stage “All instructional designers agree on the need for effective planning of the design and development process”… elements such as clear indications of what will be done, who will do it and by when. “ (Murphy)

During the instructional design planning stage it is important to identify the audience, the goals, (this has been partially done with the rationale) the content outline, the learning environment ( the architecture of the center, the selection of the content management system)

interaction and learning activities to be utilized, assessment tools and evaluation methods (stages to come in our VLRC) . Proper planning eliminates the majority of rework and interactivity issues ( what is your view on this? ) Information retreived from : http://researchreportsedu.wordpress.com/2012/06/17/instructional-design-for-self-learning-in-distance-education/ ,