Virtual Learning Environments

This section provides a general introduction to VLEs and describes the functionality that is usually available in a VLE to you, the tutor, and your students. The advantages of the integrated online tools in a VLE from the tutor perspective are discussed and a number of scenarios are provided where VLEs may help to solve some issues that you may have as a tutor or a member of a teaching team. Case studies and voices of tutors who have used a VLE are available.

Although many institutions claim to have a VLE, it is perhaps worth checking what is meant by a VLE. As with real learning environments (eg. classrooms, laboratories), a VLE is designed to support and enhance student learning. According to the JISC:

'A VLE refers to the components in which learners and tutors participate in 'online' interactions of various kinds, including online learning.'

However, not all interactions have to be online since a VLE can act as a focus for students' learning activities. Hence, Mark Stiles states:

'a 'Virtual Learning Environment' (VLE) or 'Learning Management System' [is] designed to act as a focus for students' learning activities and their management and facilitation, along with the provision of content and resources required to help make the activities successful.' (Stiles - http://www.staffs.ac.uk/cital/poznan.html)

These systems allow students and tutors to interact locally or remotely. They can collaboratively share and generate knowledge in the virtual environment without having to travel out of their local setting (Britain and Liber, 1999; Milligan, 1999).

VLE software is currently being used across most UK institutions to support a variety of different types of learning: for example, collaborative and co-operative, blended and distance learning. A study undertaken in 2005 for the JISC indicates a high take-up of VLE in all types of institutions surveyed (including FE and HE). 86% of FE colleges, 97% of pre-1992 universities and 90% of post-1992 universities report using at least one type of VLE. However, there is a wide variation in subject area usage of a VLE from 16% in Medicine, Dentistry & Veterinary Medicine through to 82% in Business Management, Accountancy, Economics and Law. In other countries, such as the United States, Australia and some European nations, VLEs are more commonly referred to as 'Course Management Systems' or 'Learning Management Systems' (LMS).

Many commercial VLEs (e.g. Blackboard, WebCT etc) consist of a variety of different tools bundled together into a package. There are also a number of open source software packages available (e.g. Moodle, Bodington, COSE). The JISC e-Learning Frameworks (ELF) projects is producing a range of open source e-learning tools that can be used separately, linked together or used to complement existing software packages.

Often a VLE is linked to other information systems within an institution, eg. library, student records, finance, Intranet. This is often referred to as a Managed Learning Environment (MLE). Students are able to log in once to the system (using one password) and then move seamlessly between one system to another without having to log in again.

There has been considerable confusion regarding VLEs and MLEs. To clarify, a VLE focuses on learning and teaching and is usually a specific piece of software. MLE is a conceptual term for a whole range of different software, systems and processes that interrelate, share data and contribute to the management of the learner experience. By its very nature there is no one definition of an MLE - the tools, processes and services bundled together depend on the institution's vision.

For more information about MLEs, visit our Creating an MLE infoKit. To view the results of a Think Tank on MLE issues see the When Worlds Collide Publication. The FERL website also contains useful resources in this area.