Week 6: Evaluate two E-learning websites

Evaluate two e-learning websites: 1) Vbus

The first website dedicated to e learning that I will evaluate will be the Temasek Polytechnic Business school website, VBUS, located at http://vbus-elearning.tp.edu.sg/vbus/.

As a business school student, where sometimes lecturers need to urgently give documents to every student, VBUS stands as an incredibly effective website in delivering the content that business students need to succeed in their academic careers.

Signing in is simple and intuitive. Simply key in the student's admin number and password, and the website immediately loads whichever courses and subjects the student happens to be enrolled in.

Organisation is one of the strengths of the VBUS website. Enrolling in whatever subject you are taking is simply a matter of clicking on the enrolling link and choosing the subject, and after entering an enrollment key that should have been provided earlier by the lecturer, you are enrolled in the course immediately.

I feel that this is a very simple and effective system, and even though it may not seem like much, it actually takes quite a bit of effort to produce a system that is so easily understood and accessed by hundreds of students. The enrolment key system is one that I feel is both secure yet not so convoluted that students would be confused. The security that it provides gives students the assurance that private documents like lecture notes cannot be assessed by people who have no right to access it.

Once in the course page, the organisation once again stands out. Important information such as course guidelines is immediately visible, and the page is organised neatly into weeks, showing which documents have been uploaded for each week's lectures and tutorials. To find the latest documents that they need, students simply have to scroll down to the latest week and download the data.

I feel that again, this system may be overlooked because of how easy it looks, but it is actually very very intuitive and effective in delivering content to e-learning students. There is simply no confusion to be had here, and even important upcoming events like deadlines and guest lectures are displayed prominently, so no student will forget.

However, I personally think that the key to the success of this website is the commitment of the lecturers themselves in uploading relevant documents. If lecturers neglect VBUS, and do not post lecture notes, student guides and tutorial worksheets, there is simply little point in visiting the course's site, and I think lecturers should not neglect this important part of the course package, as it is utterly crucial in allowing students to learn as and when they please.

Although most of the courses on VBUS are normal courses, I have undergone an e-learning course, Media Management Principles, in my first year of study, and I felt that it was an extremely effective way of learning, as the teacher uploaded notes which were all paired with audio narration for the student to learn easier, along with interactive elements like quizzes. After seeing first-hand how the website can be used very well as a fully e-learning tool, I have no doubts that the site is extremely good for e-learning, and I give it my highest recommendation as a platform for students and lecturers alike to reap the rewards that effective e-learning gives.