Purpose

According to Virtual learning environment from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, the following are some basic requirements  for an environment or online education curriculum to take place.

Similar terms

Computerized learning systems have been referred to as: e-learning, learning platform or Learning Management Systems used by educational institutions. The major difference is that a VLE and LMS is an application, whereas the Learning Platform share characteristics with an Operating System (or CoursePark Platform) where different educational web based applications can be run on the platform.

Range of Applications

The terms virtual learning environment (VLE) and learning platform are generically used to describe a range of integrated web based applications that provide teachers, learners, parents and others involved in education with information, tools and resources to support and enhanced educa-tional delivery and management. These terms are broadly synonymous with” managed learning environments'” MLEs) and  “managed virtual learning environments” (MVLEs).

Applications Of Online Services

The applications that form part of these online services can include web pages, email, message boards and discussion forums, text and video conferencing, shared diaries, online social areas, as well as assessment, management and tracking tools.

Term Learning Platform

The term learning platform refers to a range of tools and services often described using terms such as educational extranet, VLE, LMS, ILMS and LCMS providing learning and content management. The term learning platform also includes the personal learning environment (PLE) or personal online learning space (POLS), including tools and systems that allow the development and management of eportfolios. The specific functionality associated with any implementation of a learning platform will vary depending upon the needs of the users and can be achieved by bringing together a range of features from different software solutions either commercially available, open source, self built or available as free to use web services. These tools are delivered together via a cohesive user environment with a single entry point, through integration achieved by technical standards.

Engagement And Administration

Learner engagement and administration – managed access to learner information and resources and tracking of progress and achievement Communication and collaboration – emails, notices, chat, wikis, blogs In principle a learning platform is a safe and secure environment that is reliable, available online and accessible to a wide user base. A user should be able to move between learning platforms throughout their life with no loss of access to their personal data. The concept of a learning platform accommodates a continuously evolving description of functionality changing to meet the needs of the user.

Support For Communications,

Support for communications, including e-mail, threaded discussions, chat rooms, Twitter and other media, sometimes with the instructor or an assistant acting as moderator. Additional elements include wikis, blogs, RSS and 3D virtual learning spaces. Management of access rights for instructors, their assistants, course support staff, and students’ Documen-tation and statistics as required for institutional administration and quality control Authoring tools for creating the necessary documents by the instructor, and, usually, submissions by the students’ Provision for the necessary hyperlinks to create a unified presentation to the students.

Supporting Multiple Courses

A VLE is normally not designed for a specific course or subject, but is capable of supporting multiple courses over the full range of the academic program, giving a consistent interface within the institution and—to some degree—with other institutions using the System Justification Institutions of higher and further education use VLEs in order to: Economize on the time of teaching staff, and the cost of instruction.

Standards

Most VLEs support the Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) as a standard, but there are no commonly used standards that define how the learner’s performance within a course can be transferred from one VLE to another.

Many Environments

There are many virtual learning environments for students in grades K-12. These systems are also particularly suited for the needs of independent educational programs, charter schools and home-based education.

Assessment

Educators need benchmark tools to assess a virtual learning environment as a viable means of education. Walker developed a survey instrument known as the Distance Education Learning Environment Survey (DELES), which is accessible to students anywhere, examines instructor support, student interaction and collaboration, personal relevance, authentic learning, student active learning, and autonomy. approach based on training, implementation, system usage, communication, and support.

Systems Available

There are many open source and proprietary VLEs available for use [citation needed]. On-demand elearning services are also a popular choice because they can be deployed in minutes and do not require instructors and institutions to run their own servers. Many VLEs are placed on a web server. In a typical VLE there are one are 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.

Communication Between School And Home.

The virtual learning environment supports an exchange of information between a student or a user at home with the school or learning institute he or she is currently enrolled in through digital mediums like e-mail, chat rooms, web 2.0 sites or a forum thereby helping convey information to any part of the world with just a single click.

Recent Survey

According to a recent survey parents having children specially the working professional are very much concerned about their child’s performance within the school always, but sometimes they are so busy in work that they know nothing of what their child is up to. And it is because of progress in online education or virtual learning environment that parents now remain in contact with their children, their academic performance and their faculty members as well with ease. Parents generally see their association as a key variable, by and large accomplishment and solid yearning to be more educated about in general advancement, particularly reviews, so as to absolutely affect their kid’s school execution. The study uncovered that center school is basic time for schools to give folks the chance to get more included the effect being better scholastic execution later onion secondary school. Folks see the profits of better correspondence, particularly online correspondence, as managing an understudy prior intercession to tackle issues and as a rousing component for their kid to assume more obligations regarding the conclusion of his or her scholastic execution.

Conclusion

Virtual learning environment (VLE) and managed learning
environment (MLE) both the two terminologies are often used and interchanged in the same context and helps promote and spread education plus learning activities on digital mediums on the web. With the advancement in technology the education sector has given a real
positive boost to online education and this is the reason that online communication in the form of exchange of information exists between the teacher, student and the faculty with ease and without hassle through virtual learning environment. In technical terms the most generic of definitions to sum up we can say that a virtual learning environment is a designed information space for education purpose.

See also: Online communication between school and home Virtual world#Education

Cordially,

Woody Woodchuck
“Words of wisdom from the Prairie Dog”

Prairie Dogs Participate In Virtual Online Learning