The Influence of New Tools in Virtual Learning Environments on the Teaching and Learning Process in Chemical Engineering

The recent downturn in the world economy has already had an influence on higher educational establishments. The recession has had a disproportionate influence on the employment rates of young people in the age range 18-30, and it has been increasingly difficult, even for well trained young people to find suitable employment. Consequently the number of young people entering higher education for the first time has shown a significant increase, both to seek increasing skill levels and to postpone entering the employment market. There have been similar increases for both full-time postgraduate programmes and part-time programmes. At the same time, support from government for education is likely to fall, or at best remain constant. This is likely to pose a dilemma for those involved in the educational process. How to maintain (or even improve the quality of programmes) in the face of larger class sizes and possibly less resource? This paper looks at some of the potential solutions to these problems using tools available in Virtual Learning Environments (VLE's). The use of eAssessment has been carried out on a moderate class size of both full-time and part-time distance learning students. The eAssessment has made it easier for a large class size to acquire information on their progress in a course, and allows teaching staff to assess areas that require more resource, and those students who may need further help. The management of student submissions on larger items of coursework has been accomplished using the Blackboard VLE, and has further been checked for plagiarism (an increasing concern in UK universities). The VLE also allows staff to grade the submitted work, and provide contextual feedback related to the originally submitted work. In addition, the process allows easier administration and management of the overall process.