What is a learning platform?

A learning platform is what will allow schools to add resources online so teachers and students can access their work from anywhere in school and at home.

The government’s e-strategy by 2010 is that every school should have integrated learning and management systems. A learning platform brings together the hardware, software and supporting services to enable effective ways of working outside the classroom. Learning platforms provide in essence a content management system to store resources of work to use, Curriculum planning tools for lesson planning and personalization, administration tools which can enable access to pupil attendance and timetables, then lastly communication tools such as Emailing.

Below are some benefits of what a learning platform can do for both teachers and students.

Practical benefits to teachers

·        create and share teaching materials which can be accessed online, printed out or used with an interactive whiteboard

·        put their resources online page by page, lesson plan by lesson plan, so colleagues can access them both in school and from home

·        access a wide variety of learning materials that they can customize for the exact needs of their pupils

·        access lesson plans from colleagues to support supply cover

·        assess, monitor and track individual and group progress

·        receive submissions of work from pupils in one area that is easy to manage

·        manage their timetables, diary, email and discussions within personal desktop space

·        Increase their ICT competence and confidence.

Practical benefits to pupils

·        access learning materials created by their teachers and others, outside lesson time and from locations such as the library and home

·        store work and notes online for use in assignments, homework and revision, outside normal school hours

·        work at their own pace and with a wider choice of learning styles, through a more personalized curriculum

·        create an online portfolio, including digital photos and videos of performance as well as text

·        improve their ICT skills and online management of materials

·        submit homework and assignments for marking and assessment

Below is a very useful video created by a third party that animates simply what a VLE is and what its capable of.