This #Take5 is brought to you by Paolo Oprandi, a digital educational theorist and practitioner at London Metropolitan University. Paolo is a member of the Active Learning Network and is passionate about active learning both F2F and online. Most recently he has had a special focus on re-designing institutional VLEs (virtual learning environments) so that they better scaffold and support student learning. In this post he shares some practical solutions that can make the VLE dimension of university teaching more effective and accessible for both lecturers and students.
The VLE template students wished every lecturer used
I’m Dr. Paolo Oprandi, a digital educational theorist and practitioner and I work at the intersection of pedagogy and digital learning design. I’m passionate about finding practical solutions that make university teaching more effective and accessible for both lecturers and students.
I’m writing about Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) module templates because they have the potential to significantly enhance the teaching and learning experience in ways that are supportive rather than prescriptive. When implemented well, templates organise module content, and gently reshape how lecturers conceptualise and structure their online teaching spaces. In doing so,VLE templates can improve student orientation, understanding and continuation, fostering a more equitable learning environment where all students know exactly where to find what they need.
Over the past few years, I’ve focused on developing templates that help lecturers feel confident in making the most of these online tools, with the ultimate aim of strengthening student success. Well-designed VLE templates can improve the ways lecturers communicate with and engage students. They can help VLE modules become more accessible to students, and allow them to navigate their studies with greater ease and purpose.
Why module templates matter
A good VLE module template provides lecturers with suggested content placements and pre-configured sections that create a consistent, intuitive navigation structure. Ricardo Eversley, Lecturer in Digital Innovation, described a good template as acting as “a scaffold for lecturers” that helps them create a consistent, intuitive navigation structure for students to follow. It helps them organise content in a way that is predictable and easy for students to follow, reducing confusion and improving student engagement.
Well structured VLE modules allow students to orient themselves quickly, understand the what, why and how of a module, and navigate with confidence. They include a welcome area with course overview materials, clear signposting to key resources, and a logical sequence of learning activities.
Students benefit from the consistency that a template gives a VLE module because they know where to find lecture materials, assessments, and support resources. A consistent structure reduces cognitive load, allowing students to focus on learning rather than searching for information. As Elisa Gonzalez, Lecturer in Social Work, noted, students arrive with very different educational backgrounds and levels of confidence, so the structure of a VLE module needs to be clear, predictable, and supportive from the very beginning. Natalie Sweeney, Lecturer in Law, supports this sentiment when she told us,
“Consistency is key! Students shouldn’t be looking at different modules with content all over the place because they become confused.”
Rethinking Content Delivery
Through a VLE module template, lecturers cannot only ensure that the students have everything they need to succeed, but also be confident they know where to find it. One of the most valuable aspects of using templates is how they encourage lecturers to reconsider their approach to content presentation. Rather than overloading PowerPoint slides with dense text and detailed explanations, lecturers can use the VLE to house supplementary materials, extended readings, and detailed notes. This allows presentations to remain focused and visual, whilst the VLE becomes a space for deeper learning that students can access at their own pace.
The VLE module does not replace in-person teaching, rather it acts as an advert for it, reminding students of its value, and why they should attend. Amara Anyogu, Senior Academic Mentor in Health Sciences, explained to us that while’ classroom attendance to class is important, the VLE module released the pressure of providing all the learning and all the information during those sessions. Precious Sango, a Lecturer in Health, described how the template encouraged her to make much more use of the Weblearn site, rather than relying on in‑class explanations and lecture slides. At the same time, the VLE module helps those students who missed a week to catch up and rejoin the module where they left off.
A good template should encourage lecturers to make learning content and activities available for students to engage with outside of in-person teaching, the benefits of which are explained by Marie Stephenson, Lecturer in Education,
“I’ve found that using the Weblearn template gives students a clear, consistent space to review activities and revisit key concepts at their own pace.”
A good VLE template guides lecturers to make explicit connections between weekly activities and the wider skillset they are building, whether that’s critical thinking, data analysis, teamwork, or communication. By consistently signposting the academic, professional, and interpersonal skills embedded in each task, we shift skills development from something implicit to something students can recognise, describe, and intentionally grow. Abi Snasdell, Lecturer in Forensic Science, and Sango, both told us that their VLE templates encouraged them to explain the importance of seminar and independent study tasks to students and make explicit how they develop employability and transferable skills. This not only strengthens the students’ self-awareness as emerging professionals but also equips them with the language they need to evidence these capabilities in job applications, interviews, and future learning.
A good template also guides lecturers to use engagement strategies throughout their module. For example, it can encourage lecturers to provide Interactive activities for immediate feedback and shared spaces for students to engage with each other using online discussions, Padlet walls, and shared OneDrive documents. Importantly, the template should encourage lecturers to include brief explanatory text that makes the learning journey visible, telling students what they should be doing and why. This transparency helps students understand the purpose behind each activity and how it contributes to their overall development. Stephenson said that through embedding tools like Mentimeter and Padlet created a shared space where students contributed, collaborated, and built student confidence in a supportive environment.
The “What’s On This Week” Page
My most recent VLE template produced for London Met centres on a “What’s On This Week” page that helps lecturers make learning tangible by connecting weekly topics to the specific soft and practical skills students will develop. It guides students through the week using three key sections:
- Prepare: Module Leaders can add preparation materials and pre‑session tasks.
- Apply: Module Leaders can explain how theory connects to practice.
- Consolidate: Module Leaders can include materials and activities that help students consolidate their learning before moving on to the next topic.
This structured approach supports students’ metacognitive awareness of their own learning journey. Chelsea Mainwaring, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, says,
“The Prepare–Apply–Consolidate structure has helped me think more intentionally about what I want students to do after the session, rather than them simply leaving and never revisiting the material.”
Real Impact
VLE templates have a real and positive impact on lecturers’ working lives and the depth of student learning.
Lecturers like the template
Lecturers recognise the value of a VLE module template, and have noted that they make them feel more organised. They also recognise that adhering to a template reduces student emails because information is more accessible. Whilst recognising the initial time investment in applying a template, lecturers almost always come to appreciate the long-term benefits. Angela Phoenix, Lecturer in Criminology, told us,
“Once the initial setup time is invested, the benefits become clear: fewer emails, more independent learning, and a smoother teaching experience overall.”
She also notes that it has not so much increased her workload as helped her organise her term’s teaching in a constructive and positive way.
“It’s helped me become more organised overall, particularly in how I develop and plan teaching activities. At the same time, while there’s more structure, it’s also made things more flexible, especially for students, allowing us to better meet a wider range of needs.”
Academic services like the template
A VLE module template plays an important role in strengthening collaboration with key academic services such as the Careers Service and the Library. It can encourage lecturers to introduce key library staff in a “Meet the team” section and to integrate the Library reading list directly into weekly content, thus making the library services more accessible, and aligned with the module. Furthermore, by prompting staff to highlight the specific skills students are developing they reinforce the relevance of the curriculum to future employability, and creates natural touchpoints for the Careers Service, aligning their guidance and resources with what students are actively learning.
And importantly, students like it too
Where a module has adopted the VLE template and embedded it within its structure, students have been overwhelmingly positive. Although at London Met it is too early to report a positive difference in NSS survey results or claim a direct correlation, evidence of the template impact is building through the end-of-term surveys. Students have explained.
“Everything being in one place is so helpful, I wish every module was like this.” ~ Student
“The weekly layout works well. Each week is clearly labelled, with learning focus, lecture slides, recordings, and activities grouped together, which helps with preparation and independent study.” ~ Student.
“The structure feels well organised, consistent across modules, and supportive of student learning. It is more intuitive than previous versions and makes it easier to stay on track throughout the semester.” ~ Student
The students particularly value how it saves time and reduces confusion. They have told us that the weekly structure, where preparation materials, slides, recordings, and activities are grouped together, has proved particularly useful for both preparation for class and independent study. Students have described VLE modules using the template as “intuitive,” “consistent,” and genuinely supportive of their learning.
Conclusion
The VLE module is not a silver bullet for every teaching challenge, but it can be a big part of the solution. Excellent teaching happens every day without heavy use of the VLE; however, the VLE can enhance that teaching rather than compete with it. Used well, it supports student submission, independent study, immediate and automated feedback, and provides lecturers with timely insight into student understanding. It can also enable peer engagement and support in ways that are difficult to achieve in limited contact hours.
Crucially, the VLE is often the first point of contact students have with their module, and the primary space they return to when reconnecting with their studies outside of in-person teaching. Its value lies not in replacing the lecture, but in deepening learning outside of the classroom and helping students navigate their learning journey more confidently.
Recommendations
The effectiveness of a VLE module depends largely on lecturer engagement and how well it is integrated with in-person teaching. Simply uploading materials is not enough. Lecturers should actively reference the VLE during teaching, guide students on how and why to use specific resources or activities, and then return to those online activities in subsequent sessions. By referencing VLE activities during in-person teaching the value of that work is seen and felt by students, and the teacher creates coherence and reinforces the VLE as a meaningful, supporting learning space, rather than a static repository.The VLE module is rarely a replacement for in-person teaching, or an attempt to create a shadow module that students can use to avoid attending in-person teaching. Usually it is an online space for students to continue or supplement engaging learning activities outside of class time.
The VLE module should not be treated as a place to simply share lecture slides. Instead, it can contain many types of materials, reading, videos and activities. Information does not need to be duplicated; rather, conscious decisions should be made about where content best sits. This is ultimately an exercise in information management. Content that needs ongoing emphasis and easy access should live on the VLE webpage. Content that supports spoken explanation can sit on slides. Slides, being primarily visual, should remain concise and uncluttered, avoiding excessive text or information overload.
When the VLE and in-person teaching are deliberately aligned, each strengthens the other resulting in a clearer, more connected learning experience for students, improving continuation, engagement and student empowerment.
Bio & Photograph
Dr. Paolo Oprandi has a mission to contribute to the positive and transformational potential of education to people and society. His work attempts to maximise knowledge production by providing access and input to the academic disciplines to all people, whatever their background and circumstances. He promotes sustainable development, and inclusive and active learning cultures whenever he can, and blends in-person and online teaching methods, uniting embodied and online learning experiences.