A virtual learning environment or VLE is software designed to facilitate lecturers in the management of educational courses for their students. This software can be commercially bought and supported by a supplier or it can be a free Open Source software or even homegrown software, created by an institution.
Essentially, VLE software is a collection of integrated tools that enable the management of online course delivery and access to resources, discussion groups and assessment. Most VLE's can track learners' progress, which can be monitored by both lecturers and learners. While no two educational institutions use their VLE in the same way, they are most often used to supplement face-to-face classroom based teaching and learning, with an on-line element.
In Scotland, the two Scottish RSC's share the support of VLE's though information events and by co-ordinating user group forums. We jointly support Moodle users via the Scottish Moodle User Group (SMUG) and support BlackBoard users through the Scottish Blackboard users Group (Scot-Bug)
If you would like to join any of the VLE user group forums in Scotland, please contact us at support@rsc-sw-scotland.ac.uk
Blackboard and WebCT, providers of enterprise software and services to the education industry have merged and now share the same Blackboard website. Consisting of five software applications bundled in two suites, the Blackboard Academic Suite and the Blackboard Commerce Suite, these products are
licensed on a renewable basis. http://www.blackboard.com/uki/
The Scottish Blackboard Users Group (Scot-Bug) is facilitated jointly by the two Scottish RSCs and chaired and hosted by Scot-BUG members. Please contact support@rsc-sw-scotland.ac.uk if you would like to join the Scot-BUG forum.
Moodle is a free Open Source VLE software package designed using pedagogical principles, to help educators create effective online learning communities. Built with a strong grounding in social constructionism, each participant is encouraged to learn through the building of knowledge and experience, actively with each other. Training materials and a vast amount of Moodle documentation can be found at http://docs.moodle.org/en. If you are thinking of migrating your current VLE to Moodle, this document offers a starting point to get you thinking about the sort of questions you should be ask any potential hosting service.
The Scottish Moodle Users Group (SMUG)is jointly hosted by the two Scottish Regional Support Centres. Please contact support@rsc-sw-scotland.ac.uk for more information or about joining the SMUG forum.
Russell Stannard is a principal lecturer in Multimedia/ICT at the University of Westminster as well as the course leader in the MSc in Interactive Multimedia. He has a regular column in the English Teaching Professional called Webwatcher where he writes about technology and language teaching. He has created a number of very clear and straightforward videos to help teachers incorporate technology into their teaching. This link is for blackboard training: http://www.blackboardtrainingvideos.com./
This infoKit aims to enable tutors to make informed decisions, based on sound educational principles, about the use of technology in their teaching and their students' learning when using a VLE.
http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/InfoKits/effective-use-of-VLEs
There is no VLE that suits all colleges and universities. This paper hopes to suggest how organisations can choose the right system to suit their course and learner profile. This JISC paper on VLE procurement offers suggestions as to best methods for organisations to adopt in helping them choose the right system to best suit their organisations needs and their learner profile.
http://www.jisc.ac.uk
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