Aug 4, 2026 · 11 min · 7 segments
In this episode, Linda and the Academic Skills team discuss the new Virtual Learning Environment that you will be using at UWS- Brightspace!
Linda RichesHostJohnHostCarlyHostNikosHostOkay, yeah, so VLE, Virtual Learning Environment, Brightspace, these are essentially the same thing.
If you're a continuing student, you might have heard of OWLA, or you should have heard of OWLA, because that was the original VLE that was used before 2026.
But Virtual Learning Environment was pretty much used across universities and colleges nowadays to support students with their learning.
It provides a digital space, usually used, I would say, for what we call asynchronous content.
So where students can find things that they can work on in their own time.
It could also be recordings of lectures.
It could be extra resources, it could be extra activities, but it's some space that exists digitally, essentially a website that students can visit that is related to their particular course or their particular modules.
And there is an expectation at university that you interact with those.
It's not meant to be just attending your lectures or doing the reading.
I suppose it depends on your course how much you use it.
If you were doing something that was distance learning, for example, then there would be almost an expectation you would be visiting that every day because that is how you would get the input on your course.
So I suppose it depends on your course how much you visit it, but there is an expectation that you are visiting it at some point during your course.
You know, it might be a lot, it might not be that much, but you are expected to engage with it.
Okay, yeah, so VLE, Virtual Learning Environment, Brightspace, these are essentially the same thing.
If you're a continuing student, you might have heard of OWLA, or you should have heard of OWLA, because that was the original VLE that was used before 2026.
But Virtual Learning Environment was pretty much used across universities and colleges nowadays to support students with their learning.
It provides a digital space, usually used, I would say, for what we call asynchronous content.
So where students can find things that they can work on in their own time.
It could also be recordings of lectures.
It could be extra resources, it could be extra activities, but it's some space that exists digitally, essentially a website that students can visit that is related to their particular course or their particular modules.
And there is an expectation at university that you interact with those.
It's not meant to be just attending your lectures or doing the reading.
I suppose it depends on your course how much you use it.
If you were doing something that was distance learning, for example, then there would be almost an expectation you would be visiting that every day because that is how you would get the input on your course.
So I suppose it depends on your course how much you visit it, but there is an expectation that you are visiting it at some point during your course.
You know, it might be a lot, it might not be that much, but you are expected to engage with it.
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