A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing? An analysis of student engagement with virtual learning environments.

Abstract

The growth in the use of virtual learning environments to support learning and teaching should be accompanied by research to examine their effectiveness. The aim of this study was twofold: a) To explore the views, opinions and experiences of student engagement or non-engagement in online learning activities; b) To use this knowledge to develop learning and teaching strategies that enhance student engagement with online learning activities. Focus groups were conducted with students studying leisure and tourism degree programmes to explore reasons for usage and non-usage of the online activities in the Wolverhampton Online Learning Framework (WOLF). Results identified issues related to student awareness, motivation, behaviour and learning approaches, assessment and technical factors. Findings from the study have implications for practice, including how to enhance the relevance of information, technical factors, enhancing awareness and links with assessment.