Virtual learning environments

We use WOLF and PebblePad: WOLF is more of a course management system, but it's reliable, fairly rich and useful: PebblePad is embarrassingly clunky, unreliable and closed (to maintain your records after graduation, you have to pay for it…)

We're having a really good debate on the use of VLEs, and the leaders are insisting on the primacy of purpose, rather than fetishing technology or using to fulfil the vacuous demands of the hierarchy. All very stimulating.

Are you using VLEs as teachers or as students? What do you use them for? What are they good for and what are they bad for?

Web = collective wisdom

This is of interest to students and staff at my institution only.

Amongst the Brazilian, Iranian, Slovenian and other surfers washing up on my blog today was someone from Surrey University, who googled 'Pebblepad is awful'.

They're absolutely right. It's the worst piece of software ever used. It's the child porn of software: unpleasant and unnecessary.

Now I'm embarrassed

Someone's just come in to ask me to turn down my swearing because students are doing an exam. I'm normally very mild-mannered, but PebblePad is turning me into a dishevelled wild-eyed monster. I've had to turn up Tosca to drown out my Tourettish cursing. I could actually have finished the outstanding piece of work, were it not for the 4 hours it's taken so far to upload a few documents. It shouldn't take 5 goes to highlight a piece of text or add a link.

I've also sent an angry letter to the PGCE people.

What's the worst piece of software you've ever used?

A bit nerdy I know, but I'm boiling with fury.

Windows doesn't count, by the way. Not that I use it.

I'm nominating PebblePad. If you work in the real world, it's a proprietary e-portfolio designed by someone in Wolves University.

PebblePad has been designed to three key tenets: advanced functionality, maximum flexibility and simple usability

Bollocks. I'm a semi-professional geek. I love computing, so if I'm screaming at this pixellated turd, it's definitely crap. It's older than my gran and less user-friendly. To upload a document requires a training session and a MINIMUM of ten actions, none of them intuitive. It runs slower than than a disabled snail and has all the grace of a Bosch gargoyle. Half the PGCE course was spent trying to make us use this bloody thing, until they realised that the only way to do it was to make us submit our work using it. The effect, however, is to reinforce my hatred and determination that none of you, students, will ever have to go near it on any of my courses again (if I keep my job after this post of course).

I'm having to listen to a lot of Sigur Ros to keep my blood pressure down.

I'm adding 'use PebblePad' to the 'list of things I won't do for love'.