Northern Ireland Integrated Managed Learning Environment
The original bid submitted to the JISC identified seven key deliverables as follows:
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A regional integrated MLE
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MLE guidelines & tools
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Demonstrators of portable courses
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A report on the effectiveness of IMS to underpin an integrated MLE for a region
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Comprehensive reports on the experience gained and the outcomes
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Case studies describing the impact of an MLE on business processes
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An evaluation report on the effectiveness and impact of the project
The implementation of the regional integrated MLE will provide the first, and core deliverable, while the other six deliverables will be derived from the experiences gained during the implementation.
Services provided by the regional integrated MLE
All the services offered in the NIIMLE will be student focused and will directly or indirectly facilitate progression and retention within the FE/HE sector.
A personalised student portal
The NIIMLE will be implemented as a portal that will be accessible through a web browser. The home page will be personalised to the individual user and will display personal details including student name, institution name and student ID. This home page will also serve as a launch pad for other MLE services.
Pathways
Using a specific subject area for the pilot, the NIIMLE will give students access to information about courses offered in FE and HE institutions in Northern Ireland. This will include details about the college or universtiy offering the course, the campus (where applicable), duration, mode of attendance and other information which will help inform choice.
Mentoring
Students who are interested in a course they have read about in 'Pathways' (see above) will also have access to an online mentoring service. This service is designed to help students make a more informed decision about their next step. Communication will take place via a discussion forum where an academic will provide information related to specific course structures and content. The service will also be supported by a FAQs section.
Demonstrators of portable courses
The MLE will provide the ability to host course materials or entire courses, which may be general or subject specific. These portable courses will be available for use in individual institutional VLEs and will support colleges and universities in sharing and reusing learning materials and resources.
Careers service
Students will be able to avail of an online CV which will built up from their owm learner records and personal developement plans (see below). All of this information will be available to the student via the NIIMLE portal. The 'Portable Courses' (see above) will contain careers specific courses and will be available to students when they are transferred to their own college or university VLE.
Learner Record
Students will have access to their learner records via the regional MLE. Where students have moved within the sector, the learner record will include qualifications from each institution attended.
Personal Development Plan
The MLE will provide a facility for a student to record his or her own thoughts and personal reflections during their academic life, contributing to their personal development planning.
