A
virtual learning environment (VLE) is a software system designed to support teaching and learning in an educational setting, as distinct from a Managed Learning Environment, (MLE) where the focus is on management. A VLE will normally work over the Internet and provide a collection of tools such as those for assessment (particularly of types that can be marked automatically, such as multiple choice), communication, uploading of content, return of students' work, peer assessment, administration of student groups, collecting and organizing student grades, questionnaires, tracking tools, etc. New features in these systems include
wikiA wiki is a website that uses wiki software, allowing the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked Web pages, using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor, within the browser...
s,
blogA blog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order...
s,
RSSRSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format...
and
3D virtual learning spacesEdusim is a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment "Immersive Touch" based concept of lesson driven 3D virtual worlds on the classroom interactive whiteboard or classroom interactive surface...
.
While originally created for distance education, VLEs are now most often used to supplement traditional face to face classroom activities, commonly known as Blended Learning. These systems usually run on
serverA server is an application running on a computer that delivers a service. For example, a web server will deliver web pages when requested by a browser . The way a server and a client dialogs is called a protocol...
s, to serve the course to students
MultimediaMultimedia learning is the common name used to describe the cognitive theory of multimedia learning This theory encompasses several principles of learning with multimedia.-The Modality principle:...
and/or
web pageA webpage or web page is a document or resource of information that is suitable for the World Wide Web and can be accessed through a web browser and displayed on a computer screen....
s.
In 'Virtually There', a book and DVD pack distributed freely to schools by the Yorkshire and Humber Grid for Learning Foundation (YHGfL), Professor Stephen Heppell writes in the foreword: "Learning is breaking out of the narrow boxes that it was trapped in during the 20th century; teachers' professionalism, reflection and ingenuity are leading learning to places that genuinely excite this new generation of connected young school students - and their teachers too. VLEs are helping to make sure that their learning is not confined to a particular building, or restricted to any single location or moment."
Similar terms
A VLE is a
computer programComputer programs are instructions for a computer. A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor. The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute the instructions...
that facilitates computerized learning or
e-learningE-learning is a term which is commonly used, but does not have a universally accepted definition. Most frequently it seems to be used for web-based and distance education, which may also involve face-to-face interaction. However, much broader definitions are also common...
. Such e-learning systems are sometimes also called
Learning Management SystemA learning management system is "a software application that automates the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training events" ....
(LMS), Content Management System (CMS), Learning Content Management System (LCMS), Managed Learning Environment (MLE), Learning Support System (LSS), Online Learning Centre (OLC) or Learning Platform (LP); it is education via
computer-mediated communicationComputer-Mediated Communication is defined as any communicative transaction that occurs through the use of two or more networked computers...
(CMC) or Online Education.
A more correct term may be a virtual environment for learning, rather than virtual learning environment. This removes any ambiguities and identifies that it is the environment which is virtual and not the learning. The term virtual may also contribute to confusion, suggesting that the learning is not real or authentic.
In the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, CMS and LMS are the more common terms, however LMS is more frequently associated with software for managing corporate training programs rather than courses in traditional education institutions.
In the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and many
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an countries the terms VLE and MLE are favored; however, it is important to realize that these are two very different things. A VLE can be considered a subsystem of an MLE, whereas MLE refers to the wider infrastructure of information systems in an
organization that support and enable electronic learning on a wider scale. In fact a rather pedantic reading of the term MLE could be extended to encompass the physical environment in which learning takes place (i.e. a school). Also the use of VLE avoids confusion with the use of LMS to mean "Library Management System" (which is more commonly referred to as
Integrated Library SystemAn integrated library system , also known as a library management system ,is an enterprise resource planning system for a library, used to track items owned, orders made, bills paid, and patrons who have borrowed....
, or ILS, in the United States).
BectaBecta is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Children, Schools and Families in the UK.-Role:...
, in the UK, have coined the term
learning platformA learning platform is an integrated set of interactive online services that provide teachers, learners, parents and others involved in education with information, tools and resources to support and enhance educational delivery and management....
to cover both MLE and VLE as used in the schools sector. 'The term learning platform describes a broad range of ICT systems used to deliver and support learning. Through a learning platform, hardware, software and supporting services are brought together to enable more effective ways of working within and outside the classroom. At the heart of any learning platform is the concept of a personalized online learning space for the pupil. This space should offer teachers and pupils access to stored work, e-learning resources, communication and collaboration with peers, and the facility to track progress.'
Facilities
A VLE should make it possible for a course designer to present to students, through a single, consistent, and intuitive interface, all the components required for a course of education or training. Although logically it is not a requirement, in practice VLEs always make extensive use of computers and the
InternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standardized Internet Protocol Suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. A VLE should implement all the following elements:
- The syllabus for the course
- Administrative information including the location of sessions, details of pre-requisites and co-requisites, credit information, and how to get help
- A notice board for up-to-date course information
- Student registration and tracking facilities, if necessary with payment options
- Basic teaching materials. These may be the complete content of the course, if the VLE is being used in a distance learning context, or copies of visual aids used in lectures or other classes where it is being used to support a campus-based course.
- Additional resources, including reading materials, and links to outside resources in libraries and on the Internet.
- Self-assessment quizzes which can be scored automatically
- Formal assessment procedures
- Electronic communication support including e-mail
Electronic mail, often abbreviated as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages, designed primarily for human use...
, threaded discussionA threaded discussion is an electronic discussion in which the software aids the user by visually grouping messages. Messages are usually grouped visually in a hierarchy by topic. A set of messages grouped in this way is called a topic thread or simply "thread"...
s and a chat roomThe term chat room, or chatroom, is primarily used by mass media to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing...
, with or without a moderator
- Differential access rights
Access rights can refer to:*Access to Information Act, a Canadian act that allows public access to government information*Disability rights movement, disabled access to public and private locations is a key issue...
for instructors and students
- Production of documentation and statistics on the course in the format required for institutional administration and quality control
In engineering and manufacturing, quality control and quality engineering are used in developing systems to ensure products or services are designed and produced to meet or exceed customer requirements....
- All these facilities should be capable of being hyperlink
In computing, a hyperlink is a reference in a document to an external or internal piece of information. The most common usage is in the Internet to browse through web pages: some text in the current document is highlighted so that when clicked, the browser automatically displays another page or...
ed together
- Easy authoring tools for creating the necessary documents including the insertion of hyperlinks - though it is acceptable (arguably, preferable) for the VLE to be designed allowing standard word processor
A word processor is a computer application used for the production of any sort of printable material....
s or other office software to be used for authoring.
In addition, the VLE should be capable of supporting numerous courses, so that students and instructors in a given institution (and, indeed, across institutions) experience a consistent interface when moving from one course to another.
Popularity
UniversitiesA university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
and other institutions of higher and
further educationFurther education is a term mainly used in connection with education in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is post-compulsory education , that is distinct from the education offered in universities...
are increasingly turning to VLEs in order to:
- Economize on the time of teaching staff, especially when they are also involved in research and administration. The extent of the economy over traditional "talk-and-chalk" teaching is not yet clear, but for instructors without web development expertise, using a VLE absorbs less time and produces a more professional result.
- Provide a service for students who increasingly look to the internet as the natural medium for finding information and resources.
- Ensure that quality control requirements are met by providing a standard vehicle for collecting the required information
- Facilitate the integration of distance and campus-based learning or of learning on different campuses.
For example, accredited institutions such as Chapman College University, Touro University, and Adams State College offer online, on-demand teacher training courses for educators to earn graduate credit and/or masters degrees.
In the UK schools are being encouraged to make use of learning platforms. The DCSF in the UK government has published an eStrategy outlining priorities that include every learner in schools having access to an online learning space and e-portfolio.
Transferring course content
Most VLEs support
Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM)Sharable Content Object Reference Model is a collection of standards and specifications for web-based e-learning. It defines communications between client side content and a host system called the run-time environment...
as a standard way to upload, launch and track courses. There are no commonly used standards that define how the learner's performance within a course should be transferred from one VLE to another.
Some institutions have attempted to combat this problem by agreeing to share common platforms. Use of
open sourceOpen source is an approach to the design, development, and distribution of software, offering practical accessibility to a software's source code. Some consider open source as one of various possible design approaches, while others consider it a critical strategic element of their operations...
VLEs such as
MoodleMoodle: Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment is a free and open-source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment...
(moodle is also referred to as a CMS or Course Management System) have more recently enabled institutions to share content more easily. For the schools sector in the UK the DCSF via Becta has defined a learning platform "conformance framework" to encourage interoperability.
Systems available
For those wishing to deliver e-learning there are many free open source and proprietary VLEs available for use. On-demand e-learning services are also a popular choice because they can be deployed in minutes and don't require instructors & institutions to run their own servers.
Many VLEs are placed on a web server. In a typical VLE there are one or more programs or languages that provides the user (Teacher-Student) interface, and which interacts with a database. For example, a VLE might use PHP as its web language/program, with MySQL as a database.
VLEs are increasingly found in new niches. These include new emerging technologies, as well as specialized markets. A VLE can be deployed on a USB drive as a child, which synchronizes from time to time with its web based parent. VLEs can be used for training or in something as specialized as to meet
ISO 9000ISO 9000 is a family of standards for quality management systems. ISO 9000 is maintained by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization and is administered by accreditation and certification bodies...
certification requirements.
Virtual world learning environments
-
Emerging technologies include Sloodle, a merge of
Second LifeSecond Life is a virtual world developed by Linden Lab that launched on June 23, 2003, and is accessible via the Internet. A free client program called the Second Life Viewer enables its users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
,
MoodleMoodle: Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment is a free and open-source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment...
, i.e. integrating
virtual worldA virtual world is a computer-based simulated environment intended for its users to inhabit and interact via avatars. These avatars are usually depicted as textual, two-dimensional, or three-dimensional graphical representations, although other forms are possible...
s and course management
. This early development approach hints at new options for enabling learning in a social, immersive, and interactive way. Another 3D virtual learning environment called Edusim brings a lessons driven 3D virtual environment to the classroom interactive whiteboard surface allowing the direct manipulation of 3D virtual objects. Umgumbo is an immersive 3D VLE set in a Newtonian simulation of the solar system. Still in development, Umgumbo will allow collaborative and interactive learning within personalized 3D spaces, including educational gaming, and is delivered from a single external website.
Learning management systems
- Claroline
Claroline is a collaborative eLearning and eWorking platform released under Open Source license . It allows hundreds of organizations worldwide to create and administer courses and collaboration spaces through the web...
- Desire2Learn
Desire2Learn Incorporated is a global provider of enterprise eLearning solutions and develops online Learning Management Systems for schools, higher education, associations, government and private industry. Today the company and its subsidiaries support more than 5 million learners worldwide...
- eFront
eFront is an open source e-learning platform ....
- An Open-Source web-based Learning Management System
- LAMS
LAMS, the Learning Activity Management System, is an open source Learning Design system for designing, managing and delivering online collaborative learning activities. It provides teachers with an intuitive visual authoring environment for creating sequences of learning activities...
- the Learning Activity Management System
- SharePointLMS
SharePointLMS is a Learning Management System which is based on the Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 & WSS3.0 platform. SharePointLMS is an .Net-based application that is designed to be scalable, reliable, and secure...
- a LMSA learning management system is "a software application that automates the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training events" ....
based on MS SharePointMicrosoft Office SharePoint Server , Windows SharePoint Services . MOSS builds on WSS by adding both core features as well as end user web parts to it. Its main strength is enabling an organization’s information to be organized and aggregated in one central, web-based application and provide a...
- JoomlaLMS
JoomlaLMS is a commercial component for Joomla Web content management system. The Learning Management System is PHP and MySQL based.JoomlaLMS enables users to create native LMS courses or import SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 courses either created using Rapid Elearning authoring tools or off the shelf...
- a LMSA learning management system is "a software application that automates the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training events" ....
based on Joomla platform
Course management systems
- Coggno
Coggno is an e-learning software platform and courseware creation toolkit, Learning Management System , and Virtual Learning Environment.- Coggno features :* Text editor* User Interface * Podcast recording...
- e-learning software platform and courseware creation toolkit
- Desire2Learn
Desire2Learn Incorporated is a global provider of enterprise eLearning solutions and develops online Learning Management Systems for schools, higher education, associations, government and private industry. Today the company and its subsidiaries support more than 5 million learners worldwide...
- Pegasus LMS Pearson Publications
Free softwareFree software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with minimal restrictions only to ensure that further recipients can also...
and
open sourceOpen source is an approach to the design, development, and distribution of software, offering practical accessibility to a software's source code. Some consider open source as one of various possible design approaches, while others consider it a critical strategic element of their operations...
- Dokeos
Dokeos is a company dedicated to open source Learning Management Systems. Its main product is a SCORM-compliant open source learning suite used by multinational companies, federal administrations and universities in some 60 countries for a total of 21,110,172 users.Dokeos operates on a professional...
- ILIAS
ILIAS is an open source web-based learning management system . It supports learning content management and tools for collaboration, communication, evaluation and assessment...
- Moodle
Moodle: Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment is a free and open-source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment...
- Sakai
Virtual learning environment
- Blackboard - a family of software
- WebCT
WebCT or Blackboard Learning System, now owned by Blackboard, is an online proprietary virtual learning environment system that is sold to colleges and other institutions and used in many campuses for e-learning...
- (Now a part of Blackboard) software applications designed to enhance teaching and learning
- FirstClass
FirstClass is a client/server groupware, email, online conferencing, voice/fax services, and bulletin-board system for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux...
- messaging and communications solution
- Desire2Learn
Desire2Learn Incorporated is a global provider of enterprise eLearning solutions and develops online Learning Management Systems for schools, higher education, associations, government and private industry. Today the company and its subsidiaries support more than 5 million learners worldwide...
- Desire2Learn eLearning solutions
- CyberExtension
The CyberExtension is a managed virtual learning environment built by Right Reason Technologies and designed to be used as an online extension of a school district in the USA. The system is currently used for homebound students, credit recovery and supplemental coursework...
- Virtual Managed Learning Environment
- It's Learning
it's learning is an internet-based VLE that is made for all levels of education all around the world. The website incorporates features such as a help center, web tutorials, mobile login and many other features designed to make working collaboratively and presenting work easy.According to its own...
- Norwegian Closed Source System (written in ASP.NET)
- WebTrain
WebTrain Communications provides web conferencing services for educational training, business meetings, presentation webinars and live auctions. WebTrain is a privately held Canadian company established in 1999.-History:...
- Virtual live classes, enrollment, attendance, attention monitoring.
Other descriptions
- Apex Learning
Apex Learning, Inc. is a privately-held provider of e-Learning solutions for K-12 education, offering online courses in mathematics, science, English studies, social studies, Romance languages, and Advanced Placement.-History:...
- K-12 online course service and AP test study
- ATutor
ATutor is an Open Source Web-based Learning Content Management System .ATutor is used in various contexts, including online course management, continuing professional development for teachers, career development, and academic research...
- LCMS
- Dokeos
Dokeos is a company dedicated to open source Learning Management Systems. Its main product is a SCORM-compliant open source learning suite used by multinational companies, federal administrations and universities in some 60 countries for a total of 21,110,172 users.Dokeos operates on a professional...
- elearning and course management web application
- eCollege
eCollege is an on-demand, or Software as a Service , provider of eLearning software and services to secondary and post-secondary learning institutions. Founded in 1996 as Real Education, the company went public in 2002 as eCollege.com...
- comprehensive eLearning solution
- Pass-port
PASS-PORT is a web-based electronic portfolio assessment and course management system operated by Innovative Learning Assessment Technologies, LLC.-Origins:...
- a commercial ePortfolio and assessment system that includes a course management component
- Spiral Universe - student information system
A student information system is a software application for educational establishments to manage student data. Student information systems provide capabilities for entering student test and other assessment scores through an electronic grade book, building student schedules, tracking student...
- Yacapaca
Yacapaca is a free e-learning platform designed for educators to create, share, set, mark and analyse assessments. It is not a VLE, LMS or CMS, but a pure assessment tool. It has a significant user base with 476,225 registered members...
- free assessment platform with large repository of User-generated contentUser-generated content , also known as consumer-generated media or user-created content , refers to various kinds of media content, publicly available, that are produced by end-users....
See also
- Becta
Becta is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Children, Schools and Families in the UK.-Role:...
- Computer-assisted language learning
Computer-assisted language learning is a form of computer-based learning which carries two important features: bidirectional learning and individualized learning. It is not a method. CALL materials are tools for learning. The focus of CALL is learning, and not teaching. CALL materials are used in...
- Content management framework
A content management framework is an application programming interface for creating a customized content management system. Below is an analogy that may help you to understand the difference between a system and a framework:...
- Digication
- E-learning
E-learning is a term which is commonly used, but does not have a universally accepted definition. Most frequently it seems to be used for web-based and distance education, which may also involve face-to-face interaction. However, much broader definitions are also common...
- History of virtual learning environments
A virtual learning environment is a system that creates an environment designed to facilitate teachers in the management of educational courses for their students, especially a system using computer hardware and software, which involves distance learning...
- Hybrid course
Hybrid courses combine face-to-face classroom instruction with electronic online devices. A significant amount of learning in a hybrid course occurs online. As a result, a hybrid course reduces the amount of classroom seat time. The term hybrid is not used often...
- Knowledge environment
In the broadest sense knowledge environments may be defined as social practices, technological and physical arrangements intended to facilitate collaborative knowledge building, decision making, inference or discovery, depending on the epistemological premises and goals.- Overview :Knowledge...
- Learning Management System
A learning management system is "a software application that automates the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training events" ....
- OpenCourseWare
OpenCourseWare, or OCW, is a term applied to course materials created by universities and shared freely with the world via the internet. Already in 1999 the University of Tübingen in Germany published videos of lectures online in the context of its timms initiative. The OCW movement only took off,...
- Second Life
Second Life is a virtual world developed by Linden Lab that launched on June 23, 2003, and is accessible via the Internet. A free client program called the Second Life Viewer enables its users, called Residents, to interact with each other through avatars...
- Virtual Collaborative Learning
Similar to computer-supported collaborative learning , virtual collaborative learning environments aim to produce technology-based learning processes where participants can cooperatively work as a group to construct and share knowledge...
- Virtual education
Virtual education refers to instruction in a learning environment where teacher and student are separated by time or space, or both, and the teacher provides course content through course management applications, multimedia resources, the Internet, videoconferencing, etc...
- Virtual school
A virtual school or cyberschool describes an institution that teaches courses entirely or primarily through online methods. Though there are tens of thousands of commercial and non-accredited courses available online, the term "virtual school" is generally reserved for accredited schools that teach...
- Virtual university
The term "virtual university" is used to describe any organization that provides higher education programs through electronic devices such as the computer...
Further reading
- Jenkins, M, T. Browne and R. Walker (2005). VLE Surveys: A longitudinal perspective between March 2001, March 2003 and March 2005 for higher education in the United Kingdom. UCISA. Retrieved August 8, 2007
- Morgan, G. (2003). Faculty Use of Course Management Systems. 2, Retrieved November 27, 2005, from
- Paulsen, M. F. 2003. Online Education and Learning Management Systems - Global Elearning in a Scandinavian Perspective. Oslo: NKI Forlaget.
- Popat, K, MacLean, H, Heppell, S. (2007). Virtually There : Learning Platforms - YHGfL/Cleveratom ISBN 987-0-9556006-0-9
- Weller, M. (2007). Virtual Learning Environments: Using, choosing and developing your VLE - London. Routledge.