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My VLE: The userbase

Subject chosen, who exactly is my e-learning site going to be aimed at? I won't leave you hanging, it's degree-level students, specifically BSc. I've been teaching that demographic for nigh on 12 years so I'm hardly going to suddenly change it. What does that choice mean for my site?

They'll be at least 18, most commonly early-20s and potentially of any adult age

I'm not dealing with children, basically, but beyond that I can't guarantee anything. I can expect a certain level of maturity, but not always, and everybody should be capable of using a full-featured web browser & other software. Beyond that, Knowles' assumptions apply, so in theory they should be willing to learn (debatable...) and self-driven (Knowles, 1990).

It will probably be male dominated

It's no secret the computer sciences attract way more males, but speaking from personal experience maybe one in 10 I've taught web design to have been female. They typically (but not always) don't enjoy the coding as much but enjoy the design aspects more. Despite that I've never noticed a major difference in the aptitude of either and both genders demonstrate a range of abilities from incredible to goddamned awful. I don't target one over the other and believe my materials to be gender neutral, though as a male I'm sure that's a wholly naive assumption.

They will have a technical bias

BSc programmes have a stronger technical focus, requiring deeper analytical skills and an ability to work procedurally. Students on my module should be able to tackle topics in a logical manner, and should develop problem solving and critical thinking skills. The subject itself is very structured as a concept, thus the way it is delivered should be also.

They will be doing private study much more than lectures

I mean, yeah, a lot of students might not and might spend exponentially longer down the pub, but going by the book, students are meant to put many more hours into self-study than they get in actual lecturer contact. This means I should expect the VLE to get more use outside the classroom. Although I intend to make the site a central part of lessons I'll still need to make sure it serves the home users well.

References

  1. Knowles, M. (1990). The adult learner: A neglected species (4th ed.). Houston: Gulf Publishing Company.
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