An impact of Virtual Learning Environments on communication process between students and instructors

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ФЕДЕРАЛЬНОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ БЮДЖЕТНОЕ ОБРАЗОВАТЕЛЬНОЕ УЧРЕЖДЕНИЕ

ВЫСШЕГО ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНОГО ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ

«САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ»

Диссертация

на соискание степени магистра

по основной образовательной программе высшего образования

по направлению 390401 «Социология»,

профиль «Европейские общества» / MA «Studies in European Societies»

Влияние виртуальных обучающий сред на процесс коммуникации между студентами и преподавателями

An impact of Virtual Learning Environments on communication process between students and instructors

Жук Иван Игоревич

Zhuk Ivan Igorevich

Научный руководитель / Scientific supervisor:

доктор социологических наук

Минина В.Н. / Dr. Minina V.N.

Санкт-Петербург, 2017

Virtual Learning Environments in higher education

In recent years, a surge of interest in Information technologies in education has raised. This field is not well researched as it is a young field which has been rising for the last years. As information technologies and virtual learning environments (BlackBoard, Sakai) (and other university systems) are helping in the process of getting education, this particular thesis might be of interest, since it looks deep into these systems and tries to analyze not only virtual connections in these systems between actors of university life, but also tries to explain how does the whole network of different systems affects communication process between them. In order to do that, an online survey will be used to get quantitative information from students, and in-depth interviews with academics and staff responsible for maintaining university systems to get qualitative. One of the steps to informatization was to apply new IT services to the university to make some aspects of student's life easier. Starting with electronic schedule and personal page of a student with just information about passport, level of education and a name, we are moving forward, introducing Sakai and Blackboard, virtual learning environments and management systems to create a better learning and communication field. Currently, my hypothesis, based on a short-survey and personal findings is that those systems are not working in their full potential and some of the basic features, such as communication with students and professors, inquiries and some others are underused, and this might be due to many reasons which this study is also aiming to find. As a conclusion, this thesis presents results of the research, discusses limitations and perspectives of such technologies and possibilities for communication in VLE and VIS.

Keywords: sociology, higher education, communication, information technologies, university systems

1. Theoretical Framework for studying an impact of VLE on communications in a learning process

1.1 Concept of VLE: general overview

The use of new information technologies in the last decade has led to serious qualitative changes in the system of higher education of the world's leading countries. First, the problem of access to quality education has been solved in principle. Regardless of location, host country and time zone, potential students have the opportunity to study in almost any leading educational institution through remote (online) technologies. Second, the main information Resources (lectures, seminars, textbooks, scientific publications) on a mass scale are translated (or already translated) into digital form and are available to remote users on their request. Third, governmental and public organizations, private individuals and corporations have connected to the creation of educational content in electronic form, which has increased the information field many times. Fourthly, Web 2.0 technologies and virtual spaces are becoming more user friendly and do not require special programming knowledge. Finally, the creation of simple and relatively inexpensive peripherals, such as netbooks, iPhone, Kindle, IPOD, Blackberry and the ubiquitous availability of wireless Internet have paved the way for new opportunities for the mass consumer. In particular, in the USA in 2007 at least one distance course was studied by about 4 million students, and the number of new users increases in avalanche. (Allen S., Seaman J. 2008)

Mass introduction of new technologies is accompanied by Serious restructuring in the content and structure of the higher Education. Originally on the crest of a new wave in the many universities, mainly in the Europe and United States, etc. have surfaced. These private universities are oriented towards working professionals for whom the convenience of online learning and a friendly, non-bureaucratic style of communication is more important than the academic reputation of the institution. At present, new technologies are being introduced in the bulk of public and private universities, which allows us to speak about the onset of a new stage in the technological revolution in education. The key in this process is the creation in the university of a virtual learning environment. In this thesis, we will examine how the virtual learning environment of the British University of Warwick and St. Petersburg State University

Virtual learning environment is a set of technological and software tools that ensure the conduct of the learning process, regardless of the location of the participants in the process. In turn, it is part of a broader educational management system that includes electronic databases of students and employees, subsystems for registration and financial accounting, educational control, electronic educational resources, library, quality control system, communication resources and much more. (Rovai A., Ponton M 2009)

What is a virtual learning environment VLE? This concept is extensive, it follows from the concept of "information and educational environment" the general information space in which the educational process is carried out (in school, university, in the region). Virtual learning environment the information space of interaction between participants in the learning process, generated by information and communication technologies. Virtual learning environment a complex of computer facilities and technologies, allowing to manage the content of the educational environment and communication of participants.

Virtual educational environment is a rapidly developing, multilevel and multifunctional system that unites:

1) pedagogical, didactic and methodological technologies, specific for the interaction of participants in the educational process;

2) information resources: databases and knowledge, libraries, electronic training materials, etc .;

3) modern software: software shells, means of electronic communication.

The functions of the VLE: information and training (host usually provide the necessary educational information); Communication (training takes place in a dialogue with the participants in the learning process) and control and administrative (comprehensive measures are being taken to control the level of the zoon and administer).

Virtual education is a process and result of interaction between subjects and educational objects, accompanied by the creation of a virtual educational space, the specifics of which are determined precisely by these objects and subjects. The existence of a virtual educational space outside the communication of teachers, students and educational facilities is impossible. In other words, the virtual educational environment is created only by those objects and subjects that participate in the educational process, rather than classrooms, teaching aids or technical means. сommunication student teacher electronic

It is important to emphasize that training in the new information space is not antagonistic in relation to existing forms of education and does not deny the existing educational trends. The new naturally integrates into these systems, complementing and developing them, and contributes to the creation of a mobile educational environment.

Let's consider further how the elements of the virtual learning environment are used in the work of distance education.

Let's enumerate the basic capabilities of Distance Learning Systems, which form their basic functional:

· Creation and loading of educational and auxiliary materials. It is necessary to include tools for editing and uploading educational materials, plans, notes, additional instructions, etc. to the educational site. In many Modern DLS, this function is implemented using the Web interface.

· Creating and implementing online tests. Online tests are an effective way of operational control and self-control of knowledge. The storage subsystem can instantly assess the quality of mastering the new material.

· Issue and verification of tasks. Placement and review of tasks on-line greatly simplifies this time-consuming procedure.

· Operational control of progress.

· Forums, chats, videoconferences and other types of networked collective interactivity.

1.2 Basic elements

Students' web-portal the main communication channel, connecting the university with students. The University has a Sal-center, where applicants can get answers to all questions by phone. Through the web portal, students become acquainted with information about the programs, specialties and specializations of the college, and also sign up for the courses they are interested in. In addition, the web portal performs an exceptionally important role in mastering students' key academic skills, which we will discuss in detail later. The next element of the virtual learning environment is the management system of the training course (distance learning environment). In the UK, the most popular commercial products are Blackboard, ANGEL, WebCT, D2L, and also based on open source Moodle and Sakai. Since this environment is designed to use Web 2.0 objects, students must systematically have a stable and reliable connection to the Internet. Immediately after enrollment, the student receives a login and password and independently passes the orientation in the Blackboard. In case of problems, he should either look for answers on the student web portal and in the user's manual of the blackboard or contact the technical support service of the college. Training materials are ordinary "hard" textbooks published by major university and scientific publishing houses and purchased in the college electronic store. The use of standard teaching materials has significant advantages in comparison with the development of the university own materials. First, publishing houses are difficult to compete. Secondly, for most standard courses there is always a large selection of textbooks. Thirdly, publishers publish not only textbooks, but also ready-made teaching and methodical complexes. They form large professional groups that work in all major areas of science and education, regularly publish and reprint standard texts.

Textbooks are supplemented with methodological materials (tests, explanations, cases, tasks, games, simulators, software), as well as exemplary curricula and programs, lists of additional literature and thematic Web sites, lecture plans, Power-Point slides of presentations for lectures, Often with comments in sound files. At a circulation of the textbook not less than 25 copies. Teachers have the opportunity to order special editions for their courses, including the necessary materials. In most cases, instead of a "hard copy" students can purchase an electronic version of the textbook. In recent years, publishers have begun to see a tendency to shift from the production of textbooks to the creation of electronic educational and methodical complexes. In addition to the textbook, students are encouraged to purchase temporary access to a special website where they can complete

Automated tests and other types of tasks for independent work, as well as view video cases, slide compilations with comments to lectures. All this content (video, audio, texts) they can also get on their mobile devices.

In the conditions of mass use of electronic educational and methodical complexes, the traditional work of a teacher in the development of his own methodological materials is largely meaningless, since it is impossible and there is no reason to compete with what has already been done on a high professional level of work of the publishing house. Online pedagogy offers distance learning teachers to focus on creating creative assignments that cannot be automated and in which students are required to show knowledge and skills of a higher order than, for example, when working with tests.

The electronic library is one of the main elements of Virtual learning environment is formed both from sources of open access, and subscription full-text databases. In the electronic library ESC students and teachers have access to 60 thousand names of magazines and newspapers; If it does not contain any full-text source, it can almost always be found within the entire SUNY system. Students receive resources online on their home computers. The library organizes the work of a special "virtual methodologist" to help students in real time. In addition to the electronic library, students can study on a student card at any university library of the SUNY system at their place of residence. Students of master's programs and teachers have the opportunity to order online a "hard copy" of the necessary books or articles. If there is no necessary book, it is purchased through the Amazon online store and sent by mail.

Another function performed by the electronic library is the development of necessary academic skills for students, including information search and evaluation, work with primary sources, compilation of annotated bibliographies, implementation of research projects, etc. For this, the library's website hosts the necessary resources, examples, and exercises for independent work. One of the basic skills that a college seeks to immediately teach a student is honesty. To identify plagiarism, online systems are used to verify the authenticity of student work.

Networking tools for recording, editing and reviewing lectures are rapidly entering the practice of UK and Russian universities and, probably, in the near future will turn into an indispensable condition for conducting both remote and "ordinary"

Educational programs. Unlike DVDs with pre-recorded and unchanged lectures, new software allows you to record the current lecture in real time, combine video with PowerPoint slides, explanations of the lecturer, additional materials and make

These data are available on the server of the university online. Students can quickly "flip through" the lecture and then return to the most difficult questions, download and view fragments of the lecture on the iPhone, listen to the audio recording of the lecture in mp3 format in the car or on iPOD, ask questions via e-mail. In the subsequent lecture edited by a teacher or an assistant, supplemented by answers to questions asked after the lecture. At present, online lecture recording facilities are being introduced faster in traditional "on-site" training courses. This is technically easier if you purchase the necessary software and complete the lecture audience with special equipment. In the event that the training course is offered by the university only in a remote format, it is more difficult to organize lecturing. Nevertheless, distance courses actively use resources created as

Universities themselves, and placed in open sources such as YouTube and iTunesU. It can be assumed that in the foreseeable future, basic lectures on most standard disciplines will be available to users of distance courses (although they are unlikely to be able to ask questions to the lecturer). Initially, universities were skeptical about network lecture resources, but this situation began to change by the time the article was written.

Networked lecture resources are closely adjoined already widespread podcasts (podcasts) and webcasts (webcasts). In the first case, only audio recording of the lecture or seminar is made, in the second one video recording, but without the possibility of editing and often low quality (for example, recording from a web camera). Initially, after the appearance of these services, many teachers and universities actively experimented with them. But since teachers are not, as a rule, either good speakers or experienced technical specialists, it is more effective to use professionally made podcasts and webcasts, which are currently available on many thematic websites.

Synchronous communication facilities (Wimba, Elluminate, WebEx, Flashmeeting, Acrobat, NetMeeting, Skopa, etc.) are now actively used in business to reduce the cost of meetings, as well as in the corporate training system. The skill of free usage of the means of synchronous communication is one of the necessary business competencies in many private firms and public organizations. Employees should be able to conduct electronic meetings, perform simple operations such as sharing a screen to demonstrate software or work results; Conducting online presentations. For example, Warwick uses the web-tool for internal communication and training. In addition, Elluminate and Wimba are integrated into Blackboard and are used in training courses for seminars and presentations, especially in classes with MBA students. However, despite the progress, asynchronous communications are still the main form of interaction between teachers and students in remote online courses, including those, provided by Warwick and SPSU. These include e-mail, discussions, wiki, blogs, e-portfolio; With e-mail still playing the role of a basic tool. College students are working professionals, many of whom are in different time zones and even countries. This circumstance is taken into account by the designers of training courses, focusing primarily on the use of asynchronous communications. (Chukhlomin V., Jones O 2007)

At this point, I would like to make a couple of entrances. Advising Russian universities on the application of distance learning, I drew attention to their often-expressed desire to "jump" through the necessary stages. Meanwhile, there are several absolutely necessary prerequisites for the successful application of e-Learning in any organization:

1. all students, teachers, administrative and technical workers must confidently own a computer, use standard software and equipment close to them, have a reliable and permanent access to the Internet,

2. All designated categories of persons should be well acquainted with how to use corporate communication channels (email, electronic bulletin boards, corporate website), there should be a developed culture of information exchange in the organization, and specialists in maintaining information systems should work in the proper order.

Despite the obviousness of these considerations, in fact they are difficult to implement. I will give a simple example. The developed culture of using e-mail suggests that all communications between employees should be based on e-mail. If the employees have even agreed verbally about something everything should be duplicated by e-mail with copies to all those who need to know about it. Correct copying of messages in the organization is a whole science, because, first, the message should reach everyone who needs it; Secondly, there should not be too much information "noise", since many employees receive hundreds of messages a day.

Further, working e-mail is a working area where its etiquette operates. For example, reading and sorting mail is required constantly (several times a day), answering the inquiries of superiors and colleagues is required immediately, the letters of students no later than in 1-2 days. In paperless circulation, e-mail is equivalent to a written order for signature. In addition, the organization has the right to view employees' e-mail. If, for example, a complaint has been received from a student, a commission is created that looks at the correspondence. Finally, the organization should have an information security system. It is interesting that these preconditions are not only (and not so much) technological, but also to a greater extent culturological. It is not enough to buy a computer and connect it to the Internet, we still need to work out the appropriate rules and behavior stereotypes.

It should be noted that in the educational process blogs, wiki, electronic portfolio is compulsorily created in the Blackboard environment. All communications between students and teachers (including testimonials, discussions, correspondence, video and audio recordings) in the college are supposed to be carried out only within the framework of the training course. It is forbidden, for example, to use to communicate with students personal email of a teacher or external resources such as Blogger, Skype, etc. The fact is that after the end of the course the latter is archived and remains available for college staff. If necessary (student complaint, suspicion of plagiarism), it should remain possible to view electronic archives and obtain complete and exhaustive information. The actions of employees in typical situations are strictly regulated and recorded in the catalog.

Of the above asynchronous communications, the least frequently used in business courses are blogs; Much more often discussions (for discussion of cases), wiki (for organization of group projects) and electronic portfolio. The latter appeared relatively recently and, perhaps, require a separate explanation.

In modern conditions, specialists are increasingly required to have samples of their work available electronically. The skill of compiling an electronic portfolio is one of the necessary competencies, for example, a specialist in marketing and advertising. Companies and organizations and even universities create databases of their employees in the form of electronic portfolios.

For example, the certification of teachers of some universities is done using this method. The teacher needs to collect samples of all his works for a certain period (articles, chapters from a textbook or a monograph, copies of presentations at conferences, examples of a conclusion on counterroll work of a student, etc.), a resume, a list of works, an essay with a presentation of scientific and teaching philosophy. Then there are added the results of a survey of students, feedback from students and teachers, the conclusion of the department, the commission of the faculty, the commission of the university, the dean. If necessary, external reviews. During the attestation period, access to this information is temporarily available for teachers of the faculty, various commissions, the dean, the pro-rector, the rector. The portfolio so formed can only be replenished, it grows and spreads and is stored forever. Change it is impossible.

Similarly, the work of other organizations is organized, so students in the college are initially taught to manage the portfolio. They put their resumes and samples of completed work, confirming their authorship (or personal contribution). It is believed that this measure is also effective in combating plagiarism. It's one thing to present someone else's material in person and then destroy it, and quite another is to place it under your own name on a public resource for an indefinitely long time.

Virtual worlds have become widespread in recent years. Many universities, including Warwick and SPSU, bought their "islands" in Second Life. Currently, the concept of using virtual spaces in business education has not yet been sufficiently developed, but students and teachers can use college resources for independent work. Support systems play an extremely important role in distance education. In addition to those already mentioned

Those provided services in SPSU and Warwick are staffed by methodologists, financial aid specialists, first-semester support methodologists, mentor teachers, online tutors.

Students who are just starting on-line training are helped by methodologists in support in the first semester. These are specialists with a master's degree in pedagogy who answer questions over the phone and talk about college, distance education, necessary skills. After the first semester, each student is assigned a curator-teacher. The instructor's workload includes the obligation to assist students in the selection of training courses (usually 30-40 students per teacher).

Online tutors are hourly employees who are hired by a private firm in agreement with the college. Typically, these are senior students or school teachers who have the necessary knowledge and skills, as well as time, opportunity and the desire to work with students online for a small fee. If during the course of a course of study it turns out that the student does not have the necessary knowledge (skills), the teacher can assign him "additional work-up". In this case, the student can not continue training until he or she applies with the received task on the special web-site of the college, where online tutors will work with him (without additional payment from the student).

2. Approaches to understanding communications in VLE

2.1 Reachability, emotions and communication

2.1.1 Distance Learning System

Professor A.A. Andreev, analyzing various definitions, comes to the conclusion that "distance learning is a purposeful, organized process of interactive interaction between learners and students among themselves and with learning tools, invariant to their location in space and time, which is realized in a specific didactic system." In accordance with this, he also gives the definition of "distance education" a system in which the process of distance learning is realized and the individual attains and confirms the educational qualification.

Professor E.S. Polat defines: "Distance learning is an independent form of learning, in which the interaction of the teacher and students and students with each other is carried out at a distance and reflects all the components inherent in the learning process (goals, content, methods, organizational forms, teaching tools), Released by specific means of Internet technologies or other interactive technologies" In turn, distance education is an education realized through distance learning.

2.1.2 In universities

The University of Warwick and Saint-Petersburg State University has one of the largest university systems in countries, uniting higher education institutions, funded from the state budget of Russia and UK respectively. The initiative to create SUNY Learning Network one of the first distance learning systems in the world, based on Internet technology emerged long time ago and nowadays we can see specific results of development.

Subsequently, Warwick was one of the first of the universities to switch from the Learning Network to the use of VLE's, a new type of distance education environment that allows the integration of synchronous communications and Web 2.0 technologies. Currently, the university is one of the recognized leaders in distance education in the United Kingdom and is currently among top 10 universities of the UK. It also conducts foreign programs in Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and several countries in Central and South America. In total, Warwick trains dozens of thousands of students inside and outside of the campus based in Coventry, UK.

2.1.3 VLE as a new medium for communication

The scientist V.P. Tikhomirov believed that such a medium between actors of university life and new technologies is primarily a system of distance learning and full-time education and there is an inextricable link. With the help of distance technologies, the possibilities of full-time education are expanding, the availability of remote teachers, students and specialists is increasing. The goal of virtual education is the person's achievement in the real world, which can be combined with virtual and other possibilities. Economic literature interprets the virtual educational environment as the informational content and communicative capabilities of local, corporation and global computer networks, and these technologies are used by participants in the educational process. Teachers and teachers need to constantly improve their professional activities, this is necessary in order to achieve optimal results in pedagogical work. Virtual educational environment is created for effective communication of all participants of the educational process. For the information society, the skills of owning information technologies are necessary and the educational environment in modern conditions must already satisfy the needs of the individual, society, and promote social adaptation in professional development. Domestic and foreign literature considers the virtual educational environment in the works of such scientists as F.F. Andreev, V.P. Tikhomirov, I.V. Kholodkova, A.V. Khutorskaya. Virtual educational environment is a new model of continuous professional development and here the benchmark is on the effectiveness of technology. Information, culture is formed and the formation is based on cultural learning. Scientist A.Yu. Uvarov virtual educational environment is an open educational architecture with the main goals, methods and organizational forms, where there is a woven communication, information and physical space. A.V. Khutorskoy considered that the educational environment is, first of all, the conditions for the development of the individual. V.A. Yasvin educational environment is a system of influences and conditions for the formation of the personality according to the basic pattern.

Learning in a virtual educational environment is an absolutely new education paradigm and it focuses on the functional effectiveness of technologies of information and communications and then forms a special learning culture. Note that within the virtual educational environment, an innovative resource has its advantages and disadvantages. The virtual educational environment is more verbal and non-verbal elements that are needed primarily to convey personal feelings and emotions and this is a sign of effective communication in a virtual educational environment. It should be noted that among the main parameters of the virtual educational environment, the most effective are the presence of feedback and the level of interactivity, linguistic diversity and means of expression, personal orientation. For the participants of the educational process, the availability of technology, its cost and the skills of using technologies are of great importance. An open educational environment arises from the interaction of virtual educational space and centers on the Internet, this environment allows you to revise the curriculum and allows you to assess your knowledge of the subject, because the landmark goes to different points of view. The technological aspect of considering the virtual educational environment is primarily the information space and there is an active interaction of participants in the educational process, which is a complex of computer tools and technologies that allow to manage the content of the educational environment and communication of participants. For today the computer replaces traditional methods of training, but for this purpose perfect possession not only information but also pedagogical technologies is necessary. From our point of view, a virtual educational environment is a complex system that provides a link between the teacher, students and other members of the training organization. There are new open models of individual learning with the use of resources and opportunities for technology and information and communication. In the new format, education allows to mobilize a virtual educational environment and in today's realities it is a multifunctional system and it contains primarily innovative and traditional technologies and they are specific for the interaction of the participants in the educational process in the framework of, first of all, an open model of individual education. The main functions of the virtual educational environment are informational and educational. Information can be presented in a variety of forms, communicative ie, training with participants in the educational process, control and administrative, various kinds of comprehensive measures for assessing knowledge, skills and habits can be conducted. A virtual educational environment is one of the priority areas for the implementation of continuing education, and the main issue here is the role of the educator in the educational environment. In the new conditions of the educational environment for the teacher, it is important to adapt to such features as a new form of communication, there can be a virtual discussion and an additional means can be a reflection in communication, which certainly raises the level of thinking. A special moment is the individualization of education, where for each participant, for each participant, its own trajectory for innovative work is built, the possible structuring of the educational environment, which is flexible and open, the creation of a new concept and teaching methods.

To date, modern technology is a springboard for major changes in continuing education. Summarizing the above, we note that a virtual educational environment is an environment that can implement educational communication at a distance. To date, a virtual learning environment allows you to create innovationist approach to professional development, is primarily the implementation of continuing education and is building a path of professional growth of the student and all of this leads to the educational resources available regardless of the location of the learner, and so on. D. It should be noted that modern education has been built on the use of a virtual learning environment that is today the main means of communications between the teacher and the student.

2.1.4 Potential for VLE use in university science classrooms

Roth et al. (1996) noted that science educators have often been `unabatedly enthusiastic about the possibilities for learning with VLE while Linn (1998) suggested that the use of VLE technology is `often viewed as a catalyst, panacea or solution to limitations in students' science understanding' (p. 265). Not surprisingly therefore, the advances in VLE software and hardware and the introduction of such technologies into universities have been warmly welcomed with a sense of anticipation by many science teachers and science education theorists. Reviews on the uses and potential of VLE in science classrooms are increasingly commonplace in the science education literature (see, for example, Berger et al., 1994; Plomp & Voogt, 1995; Linn, 1998). Typically, authors outline the potential value of the VLE in terms of specific tasks that the VLE, its associated interfacing and, where necessary, other associated apparatus (e.g. probes and sensors) can perform for students. Each of these applications has potential educational value and may be seen as compatible with the broad contemporary goals of science education which increasingly focus on providing students with opportunities to explore and understand workplace applications of science, to develop strategies of investigation, reflection and analysis, and to create and=or refine knowledge. The development of higher-order reasoning encapsulated in such goals, coupled with the goal of increasing students' conceptual understanding of the science they study, are central to reform directions in science education (Bybee & DeBoer, 1994). There is no doubt that VLE have the potential to be used for multiple, valuable purposes in science classrooms. Past use of VLE in university science classrooms and the effect of such use Despite such potential, much of the past research in relation to the learning outcomes resulting from university science students' use of VLE may be considered as generally ambivalent, providing little firm justification for implementing the innovation. For example, Plomp & Voogt (1995) noted that `the anticipated effects of using new technologies often are not yet supported by empirical evidence' and that in secondary science education, `the effect of VLE assisted instruction on pupil performance is relatively small' (p. 175). Such findings are also reflective of reviews of specific uses of VLE technology in science classrooms. For example, in a review of the effect of MBL on practical university science, Rogers and Wild (1996) asserted that it was `easier to describe data-logging activities than to define their benefits to pupils' learning and understanding of science' and that most reports were `mainly articulated through professional opinion and anecdotal evidence rather than through rigorous examination' (p. 131). In a meta-analysis of 50 published, peer-reviewed articles from the period 1988±95 Weller (1997), building on a previous review (Weller, 1996), noted that over one-third of the studies reported little or minimal advancement of science learning as a consequence of VLE use. Weller's reporting that two-thirds of the studies described positive outcomes may, on face value, be cause for celebration and provide further justification for increasing VLE use in science classrooms. However, Weller carefully elaborated that the majority of the studies in the meta-analysis were comparison studies in which one type of instructional delivery medium was pitted against another ± as he put it leaving unexamined confounding variables and not considering possible rival hypotheses' (p. 4). He also suggested that the studies forming the sample of his meta-analysis had not targeted how teachers and students used the technology for teaching and learning with their predominant focus being on a `very small number of variables, often assessing dependent variables with one or more post-tests' (p. 5). Importantly, Weller also added that most of the studies `did not aim to investigate comprehension in the products and processes of science' (p. 5).

The lack of such research into the use of VLE in university science classrooms, like much science education research, is symptomatic of the general lack of studies that focus sharply on teachers' and students' actions and discourse in science classrooms and university science laboratories as suggested respectively by Roth et al. (1997) and Hodson (1990, 1992). Until recently, there have been few fine-grained studies on the use of VLE in science classrooms that closely examined (a) what students and teachers do when they interact with the c VLE technology (b) the reasons behind their actions and=or (c) how teachers' and students' interactions with the technology affect students' learning. Yet, as was foreseen by Weller (1997), recent, longer-term investigations using predominantly qualitative data collection and fine-grained analysis have yielded rich information and provided insights into the ways teachers and students use and interact with VLE technology in the contexts of their classrooms, schools and societies. Constructivist and situated cognition perspectives of education have often informed such research. Research in science education increasingly views classrooms as complex learning sites where multiple variables interact. It is valuable to review the main findings from a selection of these studies and seek to integrate these findings with relevant science education theory to develop guidelines for the purpose of advancing and enhancing the use of VLE in university science classrooms.

2.1.5 Recent research findings

Roth et al. (1996) reported mixed findings in their study on how a VLE micro-world contributed to students' interactions and their learning of physics concepts as evidenced by changes in students' discourse. On the positive account, they concluded that the microworld could be used to facilitate the negotiation of meaning because the display provided an `anchor for the conversational topic' (p. 1009). By representing common history for the students the micro-worlds provided students with opportunities to collaborate towards achieving a common goal, to clarify the meaning of ambiguous terms and to focus others' attention on specific aspects of the display. On the negative ledger, these authors found that the VLE divided the physical space, constraining the joint use of the interface, resulting in the exclusion of some group members from the interactions. Hence the level of shared understandings and educational opportunities between the group members was found to vary. Roth et al. (1996) concluded that, on balance, the disadvantages of the use of the technology, in this instance, outweighed the advantages for the teacher and some students in the study. In recent interpretive research, McRobbie & Thomas (2000), found that a teacher introducing MBL into her Year II chemistry classroom did so solely, in practice, to improve the quality of the data that was collected by students from their experiments. The teacher suggested initially that a prime reason for implementing VLE use in the classroom was to enhance students' thinking. However, in class she showed little interest in the development of either students' cognition or any conceptual understanding that may have resulted from the use of the technology, confirming such an interpretation of her actions during interviews. She cited her predominantly objectivist epistemology as a major justification for her teaching practice. Such a finding supports Bigum's (1998) contention that once a technology is put in place it is possible that little interest may be shown in using it for the purposes for which it was originally purchased. McRobbie & Thomas also noted that when the data obtained using the VLE was not of the anticipated quality, the teacher cast aside that data and used idealized data in her discussions with students in relation to the experiments. In this case study, the technology was introduced into the teacher's otherwise unchanged pedagogy and as Salomon & Almog (1998) have suggested, `when some technology can be assimilated into existing educational practices without challenging them, its chances of stimulating a worthwhile change are very small' (p. 224). Notably, the students in the study were content to accept such a limited use for the technology as such a use was generally congruent with their broader views and expectations for their education and their understanding of what should occur in their senior chemistry classroom. McRobbie & Thomas found that the students' learning was not advanced through using the computer technology. Their findings highlight the centrality of teacher and student epistemologies and beliefs about teaching and learning in determining the use of the technology. On a more positive note, in research that subscribed to a `learning as conceptual change' perspective, Tao & Gunstone (1999) found that quality reasoning occurred using CAl, although the effect of the VLE use was uneven across the student participants. Discrepant events within a force and motion micro-world were used to stimulate cognitive conflicts for the students in an attempt to induce them to reflect on the conflicts and try to resolve them. A key aspect of Tao & Gunstone's research was their use of Predict-Observe-Explain (POE) tasks (White, 1988; White & Gunstone, 1992) to initiate the cognitive conflicts with students. Such tasks have been shown to be powerful aids in probing students' tacit and revised understandings of phenomena and for stimulating students to engage in conceptual change. Tao & Gunstone found that a VLE supported collaborative learning environment provided those students who were both (a) cognitively engaged with the learning tasks, and (b) willing to reflect on and reconstruct their conceptions in the light of new encounters mediated by the technology and their interaction with their peers, with `experiences of co-construction of shared understanding' (p. 39). They also found that personal and social construction of knowledge interacted to facilitate conceptual change but that, while social construction was important, whether or not individual conceptual change occurred was strongly influenced by each individual's learning dispositions. Also, reporting findings in a positive vein, Bell (1998) found that `with appropriately designed curriculum and software, students were able to construct conceptually-focused arguments about a topic under debate' (p. 1). His research, conducted on the Knowledge Integration Environment, focused on understanding how conceptual change in relation to specific science concepts could be induced via argumentation and debate. Such a perspective regarding the importance of argumentation is becoming increasingly widespread in the science education literature with theorists such as Kuhn (1991, 1993) highlighting the centrality of argument as a means of bringing about conceptual change and seeking to increase the prominence of such thinking in science classrooms. Students were asked to undertake inquiry with the aim of contrasting theoretical positions concerning the propagation of light. This inquiry involved students' `interpretation and critique of a set of networked multimedia evidence from both scientific and everyday sources' (p. 5) and their construction and refinement of an argument in support of one of the theories. Although not explicitly stated by Bell, such thinking would have involved students in theory=evidence coordination, another activity for students which is prominent in perspectives proposed for enhancing science education (see, for example, Kuhn et al., 1988; Leach, 1997). A key element of Bell's study included the use of the Sense Maker argument building tool that enabled students, either individually or in small groups, to organize evidence in support of particular statements linked to theories. In this way students' thinking was made visible for the mind for others in the form of the on-screen artefact. Making students' thinking visible is a key element in developing their metacognition, a key determinant of expertise and expert learning (Glaser & Chi, 1988; Gunstone, 1992).

In what might be considered watershed research, White & Frederiksen (1998) reported on the development, in collaboration with classroom teachers, of the Thinkers Tools curriculum and pedagogy. Their package incorporated a constructivist, metacognitive focus and a general model of the scientific inquiry and learning process with computer models and simulations. The Thinkers Tools software embodies `increasingly sophisticated models for how forces affect motion' (White, 1998, p. 307). Explicit in this research was recognition of the need for students to investigate and learn about the nature of scientific models. Consequently, students were challenged to create conceptually complex scientific models through the generation of new simulation situations and experimental plans aimed at enabling them to test the rigor of their existing models and to construct new models that accommodated their emerging understandings of force and motion phenomena. An inquiry spiral that might be considered as a scaffolder series of POE tasks was used in this research. Responsibility for initiating and managing the inquiry was increasingly turned over to students. Through this pedagogy, students were informed of how scientific inquiry proceeds via experimentation through the successive refinement of models. The metacognitive element of the curriculum took the form of a Reflective-Assessment Process in which students monitored their progress against criteria characterizing good scientific research. White and Frederiksen reported that such integrated use of VLE enabled students to develop conceptual models for force and motion that they were able to transfer to new, real-world situations to enable them to understand those situations. Such an approach helped a wide range of students to learn and was particularly successful in assisting low-achieving students. White and Frederiksen noted that skilled teachers, possessing a solid conceptual framework for characterizing good inquiry teaching and able to manage classroom conversations, were essential elements of the learning environment. They also noted that some students voiced disapproval of the curriculum on the grounds that there was too much self-assessment and too much repetition.

2.2 The way forward: propositions and challenges

This more recent research into VLE use in science classrooms, like other science education research in general, illustrates that not all science instruction is effective, including that utilizing computers. These studies are complex, multi-faceted and not concerned with examining a small number of variables. Rather, they provide insights into the complexity of learning in classrooms where VLE were being used. Before the use of any ICT technology in science classrooms can influence science learning to the extent that it is mooted by pro-information technology advocates, numerous issues relating to the quality of science teaching and learning that are often found in the science education literature need to be addressed. In particular, a reevaluation of the teaching=learning orientations of classrooms' participants are required. Such a call is not new in science education. Assuming that such a challenge can be addressed solely by the introduction of

information technology into science classrooms, where past reform agendas have had patchy success, is clearly inappropriate. Simply providing VLE for teachers and students to use in high school science classrooms is insufficient itself to bring about improved science learning. Several themes emerge from the review of such research and these themes can be shaped into guidelines for advancing and enhancing VLE use in high school science classrooms.