1. The VLE @ GSA:
an introduction

2. Today’s session:
 The VLE at GSA.
 User roles
 A quick tour
 Designing your course – things to consider.
 Adding content.
 Communicating – announcements and emails.
 Managing groups.
2

3. The VLE at GSA:
 Virtual Learning Environment.
 Supports studio/ face-to-face learning and teaching.
 Every course at GSA has a presence on the VLE (‘course’).
 Used in different ways: repository, portal, communication...
 Remote access 24/7.
 Need GSA network username and password.
3

4. A quick tour:
 Landing page: My VLE, Course catalogue.
 Enrolments, announcements, calendar.
 Customisable: what items visible, colour scheme, text size,
etc.
 Multiple communication tools.
 Multiple ways to do things.
4

5. User roles
5
Staff
Instructor
Course Builder
Teaching Assistant
Add Access
Student
Student
AccessStudent

6. Designing your course
6
 Plan your course on a bit of paper – what menu items will
you need?
 Make sure you give menu items a clear name.
 Organise information logically and intuitively.
 When adding items (documents, images, etc), make
sure the file name is clear with no spaces (e.g.
term1plan.doc) and add a brief description.
 Keep your content up-to-date.
 Consider appearance – colours are great but make sure
text can be read.

7. Designing your course
7

8. Designing your course
8

9. Designing your course
9

10. Customising your course
10
Choose menu style
Set entry point
Add banner
(150 px x 1035 px)
Display settings

11. Adding content
11
 Possible to add a variety of media – documents, images,
audio, video, links...
 This can be done individually, but more effective to use
Files >> in Control Panel.
 You can then browse course resources and add items
individually.
 Remember to include a concise, intuitive file name and
descriptive text.
 At this point you can set also availability and track
access.

12. Adding content
12
You can manages resources here:
Create folders, upload multiple files,
ensure single copy.

13. Adding content
13
Add documents, images, URLs or
create folders to organise resources.

14. Adding content
14
Add contextual information and set
availability.

15. Communication
15
 There are a number of ways to communicate
including announcements and emails.
 Announcements will keep those enrolled on your
course up to date. You can control when they are
available and for how long. They will also be emailed
to all student users.
 Emails can be sent to individuals or groups.

16. Communication
16

17. Communication
17
Add contextual information and set
availability.

18. Communication
18

19. Groups
19
 Groups are a useful way to contact specific VLE users
about certain topics, for example a tutorial group within a
larger class or electives.
 Students can self-enrol, or can be added by the course
instructor.
 As course instructor, you can control which areas you
give students access to, and check which users are
enrolled.

20. Groups
20

21. Groups
21
Add name for group.
Set tool availability.
Define membership.
Student 1
Student 2
Student 3
Student 4

22. Summary
22
 Multiple ways to do things in VLE – if you forget one,
there’ll be another.
 Make sure there’s a purpose to your course, design and
content.
 Be clear where possible in organisation, naming, etc.
 Lots of resources in VLE Help course or please contact
me: v.boyd@gsa.ac.uk

23. The VLE at GSA:
an introduction