AN ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL PATTERNS OF LEARNING PLATFORM USE BY STUDENTS IN SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES
Authors: Wallace Albin 
Published: February 2023

An Analysis of National Patterns of Learning Platform Use by Students in Schools and Academies in the United Kingdom

The United Church Schools Trust and the United Learning Trust comprise a national group of 12 independent schools and 17 academies across a wide range of geographic and demographic areas of England. In 2008, the decision to implement a learning platform (also known as a Virtual Learning Environment or VLE) across the group was made. Although a fully supported technical solution was provided along with a sustained programme of continuous professional development, the decision as to how the learning platform was to be used was owned by each individual school and academy according to its own priorities.
The learning platform chosen was itslearning&copy;, developed in Bergen University College in Norway and now adopted across a wide range of educational establishments. As a cloud-based product, itslearning offered a number of attractive potential benefits.
Now that the learning platform is embedded in many of the schools and academies with consistent, sustained usage in areas of excellence, it has been decided to undertake research into how the learning platform is being used and what strategic and implementation lessons can be learned so far. A survey has been consequently undertaken of 1000 students into how they used the learning platform and what their perceptions were about it as a vehicle for teaching and learning. The survey was based on the most commonly used features of the learning platform and was conducted online using the built-in survey tools of itslearning.
This paper will report back on the findings of the survey, indicating those elements of the online learning environment that students themselves found most useful. It will discuss issues relating to pedagogy, learning styles, functionality and will also analyse those particular subjects in which the learning platform were found to be most useful. In particular the paper will analyse how the use of a learning platform has changed the nature of teaching and learning.
Now that the learning platform is embedded in many of the schools and academies with consistent, sustained usage in areas of excellence, it has been decided to undertake research into how the learning platform is being used and what strategic and implementation lessons can be learned so far. A survey has been consequently undertaken of 1000 students into how they used the learning platform and what their perceptions were about it as a vehicle for teaching and learning. The survey was based on the most commonly used features of the learning platform and was conducted online using the built-in survey tools of itslearning.
The learning platform chosen was itslearning&copy;, developed in Bergen University College in Norway and now adopted across a wide range of educational establishments. As a cloud-based product, itslearning offered a number of attractive potential benefits including:
1. Ease of use
2. Speed of implementation
3. Enhanced collaboration
4. Continuity of curriculum anywhere and anytime
5. Minimal initial investment
6. Scalability
7. Reduction of operating costs
8. Reduction of hosting costs

The following is a list of questions that were asked using the survey:
1.	Which school or academy do you attend?
2.	Are you a boy or a girl?
3.	Which year are you in?
4.	How often do you use Itslearning?
5.	Where do you use Itslearning?
6.	When do you prefer to use Itslearning?
7.	Which subjects do you use it in?
8.	What do you use Itslearning for?
9.	What do your teachers use Itslearning for?
10.	Have you ever used Itslearning on your phone?
11.	Would you like to be able to change the colour and design of Itslearning?
12.	How much does Itslearning help with your learning?
13.	How much do you enjoy using Itslearning?
14.	How easy is Itslearning to use?
15.	Do the people who look after you at home have access to Itslearning?
16.	What do you like best about Itslearning?
17.	For which subjects do you find Itslearning most useful?
18	What things in Itslearning could be made better?