“It Ain’t What You Use, It’s the Way That You Use It”: How Virtual Learning Environments May Impact Student Mental Wellbeing
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Design and Setting
2.2. Participants
2.3. Data Collection
2.4. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Theme 1: Lecturer VLE-Use Supports or Undermines Students’ Mental Wellbeing
3.1.1. Well-Organized VLE Content Impacts Motivation, Confidence, and Concentration
if there’s too much information, then you’re overwhelmed by it. You’re wondering “What do you need for now rather than for later?”. But if there’s too little information then you’re like, “Well, do I actually have the information that I need? What do I need to do now?”. It’s like, especially, I understand that they can’t be spoon feeding you, but at the same time you need some sort of hint on what you’re actually doing (FY41).
my lecturers use it differently (…) cos there are different titles you can have on your side menus (…) some people will put their assessments in the module description or schedule and stuff like that. And then some will put them in the actual assessment box (UY22).
That can get quite stressful, and I can remember for that [assignment] (…) trying to make sure you made notes on all the ones you wanted to when it was just a long list of documents that weren’t even properly named some of the times. It was just like “PowerPoint Final” (FY5).
every single week we have like the name of what we’re gonna be like focusing on, then all the readings that we have to do for that particular week with, err, like seminar questions. So I feel like we, err, ours is quite nicely structured (…) so I can like be strategic, do the work that I need to do and like everything’s already there (UY29).
for me, um, Moodle is more like a place of organization, so everything is compiled into one place. So, if I decide “today’s the day that I want to work on one module”, everything I need is there. The syllabus is there, you know, the slides, the lectures, the captures and everything are there. So, I think it’s, it helps when say like my documents are all over the place or if I am doing a lot of things at once, just to go back and center it down and be like okay this is, um, step-by-step kind of thing (UY32).
You start, you’re scared to do things that, um, you gotta do and then you get kind of a momentum that helps you do more things and complete more things due to that um kind of centralization of all the tasks (UY34).
I think it helps guide my studies. It helps structure my learning for sure, um, because (…) I think that my lecturers do a really good job of setting out all the things that I could possibly need to help complete my assignments, um, on time. And it helps me take a certain degree of responsibility because you can’t just be like, “Oh, I didn’t know” because there was no excuse not to know because it’s all there. So, it helps for accountability. It helps for me for feeling like I’m taking responsibility for my own learning (FY36).
3.1.2. What and How Lecturers Communicate via the VLE Affects Students’ Connectedness, Motivation and Progress
I feel like it kind of indirectly motivates you to have some sort of a schedule. Cos that keeps on popping up the last thing you want to do is, you know, every half hour you get back to doing some more work. You can just say, right I have lectures between say 9 til 2. Then I’ll have an hour break, then I’ll do 3 til 6, and then I’ll have my own time. And even if a notification pops up, you can just flag it down, make sure it just stays there or something, so when it comes to the next day you have it up there ready for you. So weirdly [it] motivates you to get organized (FY13).
every time [lecturers] make an announcement on Moodle (…), I get an email (…) that sort of keeps me on my toes to make sure that I’m not really missing anything (…) So, um, that prompts me to go back on and check any of the work (UY30).
I think it can be a very good motivator to students, like if they see announcements coming up that kind of like keeps their mind going. Like “Oh, yes, that’s coming up. I’ve got this lecture tomorrow. I’ve got to do the reading for that seminar next week.” At the same time like that can be a source of anxiety. Like I’ve had times when I’ve been like bombarded by things and like had like loads of essays due all at once and it’s been a bit overwhelming. So sometimes you do need to be able to take that step back from it. (…) Like, it’s good for motivation but sometimes if you’re not great with time management it can be overwhelming (UY10).
sometimes (…) when an announcement will come out, I’ll read it and think “I dunno what that means” or an assessment will come out and I’ll be reading through the guidelines and like “I’ve got no idea what any of this means” and where there isn’t the chat or discussion board on Blackboard, I feel like sometimes I’m on my own (FY39).
But I have noticed that sometimes people are quite scared cos if it might be like a “silly” question or everyone might already know and you might get a sort of a “I did mention this in the lecture but this, this and this” (UY30).
And a lot of people were asking questions [on social media] and there was a lot of misinformation and I told this to my lecturer. Like it was so confusing trying to juggle my essay writing with every [sic] all the information that was coming into that Facebook group, so I do think that it would be a lot more helpful if the lecturers made the effort to like guide us towards (…) the discussion groups rather than the Facebook because in Facebook there is no lecturers (UY9).
Well, there are a few lecturers (…) which ask you specifically not to email them and just to use Blackboard to, because they have different tabs on Blackboard for each module where everyone in that module is in this big group chat or you can have this private chat with the lecturer and then they ask you to just post a question on that (FY14).
3.1.3. Lecturer VLE Skills Impact on Student VLE Skills for Learning
navigating through all of those [sub-links] is really confusing unless you’re told otherwise, like told specifically where to go by the lecturers. Like, if you wanted to find like a really specific reading link, you have to go through about, I dunno, like seven or eight different sub-tabs to get to that specific link that you have to read and (…) it can be quite confusing at the start (FY14).
You’ve got like so much just like coming at you that you just need someone to sit down and go, “Right, you’ve got this essay coming up. Here’s where the title is. I’d recommend downloading this. Get it started. Here’s the library search. Here’s your timetable.” Like it’s quite basic stuff and you can figure it out but sometimes like I needed that push to, to get me on with my essays, otherwise I genuinely wouldn’t have submitted them on time (UY10).
I think so long as we know how to use it and the lecturers know how to put the information on there properly, it can be used, like, as quite a good tool. But if they don’t, then it can lead to like just making things harder or making things a little bit more frustrating (FY17).
3.2. Theme 2: Access to the VLE Affects Students’ Productivity, Academic Performance, and Mental Wellbeing
3.2.1. Anytime Access to the VLE Provides an Inclusive Stress-Alleviating Safety Net
like support, cos (…) I know that everything I need to help me is there. So it will put me (…) in the right mindset when I’m doing work, even if the tab is just there and I haven’t clicked on it for an hour (…) and that kind of does keep me in the right mindset when doing coursework (FY39).
3.2.2. Anywhere VLE Access Impacts Student Concentration and Productivity
3.2.3. Anytime, Anywhere VLE Access Can Be a “Double-Edged Sword”
But if say it was purely just like analogue rather than digital, um, it would be like “Oh, I can just shut the book”. And I feel like without having the notifications coming through saying “This lecturer has uploaded this slide” and like “You’ve got an email from this person” it’s like finding the boundary between it. And like there are ways that you can obviously turn off the notifications and things but then if you do that you might feel like oh “what if I miss out on something that’s really important” cos quite often like lecturers will upload really important information and if you don’t like keep like looking up like on the VLE then you’ll miss out and then like it’s the fear of like missing out and like not being the best that you can be (UY21).
it just makes me feel better that it’s always open (…) Even if I’m like on YouTube it’s just I’m not technically doing work but I might do any minute because Blackboard is open right now, so I’m not really that lazy [giggle]. It’s just I got side-tracked. Even if it’s not true, I just lie to myself about it and it makes me feel better about myself again (…) it’s the illusion of productivity (UY8).
I think it goes both ways, really. Like having the 24-h access is like very good, cos if you want to get on with something, (…), a quick thought, (…) to get on with something, inspiration, it’s very good in that sense. But obviously the bad sense, and I’m a bit like this really, I mean I always feel a little bit bad if I’m not being productive, even if it’s on like weekends (UY44).
means that we can sort of be connected and (…) have (…) the majority of our resources are around us at all times. But also, (…) because it is online, um, there is that sort of potential to struggle to switch off because (…) even when you’re doing something like (…) scrolling through Facebook and you see your Bookmark bar that you’ve got Moodle and you think “Oh maybe I should be working right now” but you may be actually having a legitimate break (UY31).
there’s that element of not being able to switch off completely which sometimes can be helpful cos it can refocus you but can also maybe play on your wellbeing a little bit, because (…) you know that it’s the portal for work [it] can stop you from switching off effectively (…) it can (…) be in the background all the time in your thoughts so it stops you from being able to switch off university and that can sort of effect your, um, your mental health in a sense (UY31).
It’s a very (…) positive experience. It gives me flexibility on where and when I can do my work. Um, and yeah, the, shutting off is a difficulty with it being so accessible but I think that’s a, it’s a fair trade-off when overall it does help with (…) your degree experience (UY32).
Moodle is there available for me at any time, I know I can do revision at any time, and I can access all the information I need and I want at any time. So, it kind of helps me, um, to kind of delete that kind of stage of “(…) I don’t know where to start, (…) I don’t know what to do” um, and that kind of helps me to fight my procrastination (FY37).
3.2.4. VLE Technical Difficulties Frustrate Control and Provoke Strong Emotions
Feeling a little bit clueless as to how I’m doing (…) what I’m actually achieving. And that again makes me feel anxious, it makes me feel nervous cos I want to do well. I want to get a good job at the end of this and (…) a good grade overall. So, yeah, it just makes me feel a little bit, yeah anxious a bit annoyed, um, yeah, I think the lack of clarity isn’t, it just isn’t good” (UY33).
3.3. Theme 3: Student Mindset towards the VLE Impacts Their Studies and Mental Wellbeing
3.3.1. Learning to Use the VLE Is Effortful but Worthwhile
it was slow at the start because I would miss out on things. Like I just gave up on trying to find it because I just assumed it wasn’t there and [sic] because I couldn’t find it in this massive pool of information (…) And I just gave up. But now I don’t because I’ve learnt how to use it (FY14).
not only how the platform worked, but what to expect, like you had a better understanding of the materials that the course would use, so you had just a better understanding of where to look and where things would naturally be (…) for example, (…) once you realize for a typical week you have a lecture and, in the lecture, you would have like reading materials to do before, PowerPoint slides, maybe further reading and like a learning objective overview. If you knew that that would be covered on Moodle and if you knew that for the lecture you would expect a lecture PowerPoint and you would have to read, you would kind of know those things go together (FY36).
3.3.2. Student Mindset towards the VLE Impacts Emotional Response and Productivity
There’s two versions of how you open up Blackboard. It’s either (…) an active way where you’re (…) ready to do stuff, you’re being active, you’re learning stuff. And there’s the slightly more disappointed, depressed person who’s opening it cos you have to get through some work. It’s kind of a slog. A chore. You’re trying to get through stuff. You’re even more or possibly it’s kind of heavy because you’ve got behind on some work. And you’re like “Oh, no I have to go” so it’s kind of you have that positive and negative side (UY12).
Actually, if you think about what Blackboard is, it’s got such positive features and such good benefits, I think it’s just, [pause] I think it’s more the actual function of like going to do work and going to do essays. It’s probably not something you associate with positively. Um, so it’s actually more of a reflection of the work we’re doing rather than Blackboard itself (FY2).
4. Discussion
Limitations and Future Directions
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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University Type | VLE Platform | Focus Groups Face-to-Face (F2F)/Online | Focus Group Membership (First Year: Upper Year) |
---|---|---|---|
Research-intensive | Moodle | F2F | 6 UY |
Online | 3 UY | ||
Online | 3 UY | ||
Online | 2 FY | ||
Research-intensive | Blackboard | F2F | 6 FY, 1UY 1 |
F2F | 5 UY | ||
F2F | 3 FY | ||
F2F | 5 FY | ||
F2F | 3 UY | ||
Post-1992 2 | Blackboard | Online | 3 FY |
Online | 2 FY | ||
Online | 2 UY |
Themes | Sub-Themes |
---|---|
Theme 1: Lecturer VLE-use supports or undermines students’ mental wellbeing | 1.1 Well-organized VLE content impacts motivation, confidence, and concentration. |
1.2 What and how lecturers communicate via the VLE affects students’ connectedness, motivation, and progress. | |
1.3 Lecturer VLE skills impact on student VLE skills for learning | |
Theme 2: Access to the VLE affects students’ productivity, academic performance, and mental wellbeing | 2.1 Anytime access to the VLE provides an inclusive, stress-alleviating safety net |
2.2 Anywhere VLE access impacts student productivity | |
2.3 Anytime, anywhere VLE access can be a “double-edged sword” | |
2.4 VLE technical difficulties frustrate control and provoke strong emotions | |
Theme 3: Student mindset towards the VLE impacts their studies and mental wellbeing | 3.1 Learning to use the VLE is effortful but worthwhile |
3.2 Student mindset towards the VLE impacts emotional response and productivity. |
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Share and Cite
Rakow, K.E.; Upsher, R.J.; Foster, J.L.H.; Byrom, N.C.; Dommett, E.J. “It Ain’t What You Use, It’s the Way That You Use It”: How Virtual Learning Environments May Impact Student Mental Wellbeing. Educ. Sci. 2023, 13, 749. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13070749
Rakow KE, Upsher RJ, Foster JLH, Byrom NC, Dommett EJ. “It Ain’t What You Use, It’s the Way That You Use It”: How Virtual Learning Environments May Impact Student Mental Wellbeing. Education Sciences. 2023; 13(7):749. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13070749
Chicago/Turabian StyleRakow, Katie E., Rebecca J. Upsher, Juliet L. H. Foster, Nicola C. Byrom, and Eleanor J. Dommett. 2023. "“It Ain’t What You Use, It’s the Way That You Use It”: How Virtual Learning Environments May Impact Student Mental Wellbeing" Education Sciences 13, no. 7: 749. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13070749