3. INTRODUCTION
Application of various tools of information
technology has opened new vistas for
education and this has lead to a highly
innovational and technology saving concept of
virtual learning classroom.
4. MAJOR COMPONENTS
Administrative information about the course :
prerThe course syllabus
equisites,credits,registration,payments,and
contact information for the instructor
A notice board for currenr information about
the ongoing course
Self –assessment quizzes or analogous device,
normaly scored automatically
5. PURPOSE
Content management creation, storage, access to and
use of learning resources
Curriculum mapping and planning –lesson planning,
assessment and personalisation of the learning
experience
Communication and collaboration-emails
,notice,chat,wikis,blogs
Learner engagement and administration managed
access to learner information and resources and
tracking of progress and achievement
6. JUSTIFICATION
Institutions of higher and further education use
VLEs in order to :
1. Economize on the time of teaching staff ,and
the cost of instruction
2. Provide instruction to student in a flexible
manner to students with varying time and
location constraints
3. Provide for the reuse of common material
among different courses
7. CONTROVERSY
Both supporters and critics of virtual
learning environments recognize the
importance of development of 21st century
skill such as cultural and global awareness
,self direction,creativity,communication,
however ,the controversy lies in whether or
not virtual learning environments are
practical for both teacher and students
8. Virtual learning environment enable many
21st century skills,
1. Self – direction: students are able to work at
their own pace
2. Information and communication technology
literacy
3. Time management
9. Standards
Most VLEs support the Shareable Content Objects
Reference Model (SCORM) as a standard, but there are
no commonly used standards that define how the
learners performance within a course can be
transferred from one VLE to another.
There are also standards for sharing contents such as
those defined by the IMS Global Conortium.
10. Assessment
Educators need bench mark tools to access a virtual
learning environment as a viable means of education.
Walker developed a survey instrument known as a
distance Education learning Environment Survey
(DELES), which is accessible to students anywhere
