Investigating the adoption of a university virtual learning environment : an Activity Theoretic analysis

Abstract

Recent literature in e-leaming research and computer-assisted language learning (CALL) asserts that technologies are under-used in higher education. There has been specific criticism in e-learning research of the virtual learning environment (VLE) as perpetuating a transmission-based approach to teaching, instead of supporting constructivist methods. Meanwhile, much has been made of the power of Web 2.0 technologies to bring about the transformations in teaching and learning which the VLE has failed to deliver. This thesis examines whether there is evidence to support claims about the shortcomings of the VLE. It is argued that research has not adequately examined the place of the VLE within taught courses in campus-based institutions. An institution-wide examination of the adoption of the VLE, as well as its use in the context of specific disciplines, was needed in order to address identified gaps in the research literature concerning the VLE. The development of a framework with which to undertake such an analysis would be valuable to researchers, and the outcomes of the work would contribute to the discussion of whether the VLE was fit for purpose. These outcomes in turn could address whether there are indeed patterns of “cyclical failure" (Mayes, 1995, p. 1) in the adoption of new technologies.