Nominations are open for our sixth annual Blackboard & VLE Awards.   Students have the opportunity to feed back on what they’ve found particularly helpful to their learning, and invite recognition of the staff who are supporting them in this way.

A ‘virtual learning environment’ has the potential to be exactly that: an online space for learning, not just a file store.  We are seeking the best examples of online provision that makes a difference, and want to hear how.  What features or aspects of a module’s VLE site did you wish were in all sites?  Or, how was your VLE site tailored to best support your module?  What contribution did the VLE make to improving your experience?

Students may nominate up to three courses, with each entry submitted to a prize draw for a £50 Amazon voucher.

Go to http://go.soton.ac.uk/724 to submit your nomination.

What works?

The number of winners’ trophies each year may be small, but the awards highlight a wealth of valuable content and inspiring ideas.  Shortlisted course representatives often comment that they’re “not doing anything special”, but sometimes simple changes can make a difference.

Previous award winners have shown various ways of making their VLE into an active learning space, perhaps getting students involved in designing and developing their course site.  View examples from last year’s winning and shortlisted courses at: http://go.soton.ac.uk/vleawards.

Get involved

While we’d urge all students to nominate, staff can participate too.  Why don’t you add in a course announcement encouraging your students to have their say (feel free to download the graphic above), or add in the course banner below?  The guide How to add a course banner to your Blackboard course from the MLE team explains how.

Staff also have the opportunity to put forward their own courses for consideration in our self-nominated category.

Nominations are open until March 9th.