Teachers in Europe would find it very hard if they had to teach like many African teachers - without books, blackboards and other resources. Such things make the educational process very much more effective.

In a very few year's time European teachers (and learners) will also expect to have the support of a virtual learning environment, because this can extend and improve learning in so many ways.

No matter how a teacher blends their time with a class, time with individuals, group work, individual work or other learning activities, there are many times when you need your students to access learning resources and tools. The texts, pictures, diagrams, work starting points, tests and tools are increasingly digital. They can best be held, presented and accessed through a virtual learning environment (VLE).

A VLE can also make it much easier for students to access these learning resources out of class time. If we want learners to do homework and personal study effectively, and to develop a joy in learning in their own time, this is important.

One of the leading European VLEs has been designed by the UK National Research Centre for ICT in Education, at the University of Wolverhampton, and it is being further developed by Granada Learning. Teachers of all ages of student, if they expect still to be teaching in five years time, need to start now to assess how VLEs can help. It will take several years for all teachers -

• to explore and think about the capabilities of VLEs,
• to try them out and develop initial skills in using them,
• to trial their use with some groups of students,
• to get appropriate learning material published in the right form and integrated into the system,
• and then to use the VLEs effectively with whole year groups, across the whole institution.

You can see the capabilities being built into VLEs by looking at www.learnwise.net. You can also read here about the experiences of some of the 80 schools/colleges which have already adopted Learnwise.

The Granada Learning Group Company Profile on our web site will give you an overview of the company.

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If you know of examples of innovative use of ICT-for-learning that others would be interested in, please email innovations@eep-edu.org

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