What Is Virtual Learning Environment

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

[Report]

[Virtual Learning Environment]

[VLE’s-Blackboard, Moodle & Fronter]

Nishita Bavishi

[23887]

[12/04/2013]

Executive Summary:

In the following report an attempt has been made to highlight the importance of virtual learning experience platforms in today’s world of e learning. This report briefly compares Blackboard, Moodle and Fronter VLE’s. The comparison is basically done from the viewpoint of the user and looking at the statistical features of the above named three platforms of the VLE.

Firstly the report supplies a brief introduction to the virtual learning experience underling its benefits to the institutions and the educational community. Thereafter each of the three discussed VLE platforms, Moodle, Blackboard and Fronter features and advantages are brought to the attention of the readers. After briefly describing the methodology used to collect the data for this report a brief analysis is done of the collected literature. While analyzing the different platforms of the VLE the similarities, differences, advantages and disadvantages of their functional aspects have been performed. Lastly the report closes with a conclusion with the aim to critically review the three VLE’s.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Blackboard 5

Moodle 6

Fronter 7

Methodology 8

Finding & Analyzing 9

Conclusion 10

References 11

Bibliography 12

Appendix 13

Introduction:

What is Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)?

VLE is an online educational platform which is designed to enhance the learning experience for students. It is software where teachers and students can communicate with each other online. They can use it anytime and anywhere. Students can share their work, grades etc with parents. Teachers can create discussion forum on it where students can discuss their problems, can inquire about their work, assignments, deadlines and many more. Class information, learning materials and assignments are normally made available to students via net. Students can use it in class to go through notes by teachers and can also download assignments to their computers. Teachers can communicate with students using video or web conferencing. In this modern world VLE has become of great advantage especially to international students as they can now submit their assignments while they are back in home country using such platform. VLE can be said as a constituent of remote learning which can also included in material learning atmosphere. In this cut thought educational market it has become a necessity for educational providers to provide students with latest technology to attract their interests. VLE serves as the best way to help keep students engaged regularly. It increases the efficiency of delivering knowledge over to students using virtual media.

Types of VLE’s

Blackboard or WebCT

Moodle

Desire -To-Learn

Sakai

Fronter

Kaleidos

VLEs are also known as Course Management Systems (CMS) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) are among the other names. VLE’s I am going to discuss in this report are: Blackboard, Moodle and Fronter.

Blackboard

What is it?

It is software where teachers or lecturers add learning resources for students to access it anywhere and anytime online. There are various ways teachers or lecturers can enhance teaching and learning for student such as PowerPoint presentations, audio, video, animations and many more which are formed on different software and added on to the blackboard. It allows students to communicate with their tutors and other students electronically. It allows students and tutors to be part of online group conferences and they can access learning materials such as assignments, Module handbook, lectures notes, past papers, announcements made by their tutors about their course, etc. It Allows student to create their very own identity within the system and letting it grow with them as they go through their academic career. It provides users with a podium for sharing contents and communication.

Advantages:

There are different platforms in blackboard which distinguishes it from the habitual blackboard we used to our learning in past. Blackboard is a way to deliver learning on the run. It provides learning material over to students to help them revise it later on. Blackboard connect is used to deliver messages, alerts, reminders to the users and is an effective way to communicate within the community of the users. Blackboard analytics is a service that can provide statistics required to make important decision. Other platforms of blackboard includes blackboard transact which helps for online payments and smoothes the processing of the finance department. One can make payments, pay library overdue fee etc. Blackboard also provides its user with facility for experience all its advantages on their mobile devices.

Moodle:

What is it?

It stands for M-modular O-object O-oriented D-dynamic L-learning E-environment. It is an online course management system also known as VLE. It is a software package designed using pedagogical Principles. It is intended to hold up a communal constructionist structure of learning and teaching.OSI certified it as open source and freely available. One can be set it up on Linux, Mac, Windows, server operating PHP. It is Well-Suitable with different principles and tools such as SCORM, LAMS, ELGG, OPEN ID and many more.

Advantages:

In order to deploy not much programming knowledge is required. It is a Free open source software which is available to anyone to download and use without any ongoing cost. It can be customized according to user requirement in terms of layout, look and feel. Users can take part in further development of the software. Main reason to use Moodle is that it works brilliant in collaborative activities like group activities, discussions etc. It is easier to navigate which means you don’t have to click as often. Extra tools are available such as glossary, poll, lesson, and journal. It keeps record of student activity and informs which area of the course is liked.

Fronter

What is Fronter?

Fronter is a VLE which is used around the world by thousand of schools. It is a digital school building hand in hand with physical school building with no substitutes. It is a structure of virtual rooms. It can be set up by learning institutions with unlimited no of subject virtual rooms, staff virtual rooms, content areas and shared collaborative spaces. It is a platform for collaboration and learning by setting up the virtual rooms, furnishing them with correct tools and by providing access to various users.

Advantages:

For teachers- they can publish learning contents, Make individual learning plans, Student work.

For Students – they can access learning contents, take test and hand in homework.

For Administration – They can publish messages, conduct votes & surveys and manage shared documents storage.

For Parents – They can excess chill portfolio and learning plan, check grades and attendance records and receive information from schools.

Methodology:

The following analysis has been done using a number of sources. An attempt has been made to critically analyse the literature of the three different VLE platforms such as Moodle, Blackboard and Frontier. Personal Interviews with the users of the above three platforms of the VLE have been done. Also personal experience of using the VLE has been highlighted in the report. Also reports of the three VLE platforms have been used to understand their respective functions and features.

Finally it can be stated that using the above discussed methods an effort has been made to compare their functions, features, advantages and disadvantages.

Findings and Analysis

In this modern era there is a great use of technology. This increase in use of latest technologies has been seen in the educational environment where institutions have adapted with e learning systems. ( Hippe, Z, Juliusz Lech Kulikowski, Teresa Mroczek,2012) states that Moodle is an open source platform for E-learning which can use a great number to plug INS to enhance its productivity depending upon the institution needs and requirements. On the similar way blackboard also supports a number of add ons. It is worth noting that as Moodle is an open source platform of VLE it is free software while on the other hand black being commercially developed comes with a price.

Communication: In blackboard it is sourced in the form of Announcements, Discussions forums while in Moodle it is in form of new forum and discussion forums and Fronter it is in the form of Discussion forum which allows teachers and students to discuss learning material together.

File sharing: In Blackboard it is sourced in form of Digital Drop Box while in Moodle it is in form of upload file and Fronter in form of shared documents where teachers and students upload learning assessments and assignments.

Design: Looking at the design part it can be said that Fronter is very simple in terms of notion of rooms and corridors while Moodle is an advanced model which can be used to perform almost everything. In comparison with Fronter blackboard is complex yet very powerful form of VLE.

Few of the similarities between Moodle and Blackboard is they provide chat options Emails, Calendar options.

Differences:

Pricing: The major difference between Moodle and blackboard and frontier is of pricing. While Moodle is an open source platform and so is cheap on the other hand being commercially developed blackboard is far more expensive.

Platform Structure: Looking at the design perspective Moodle uses a linear form of structure while blackboard uses a hierarchy of folders and sub folders and Fronter uses simple structure of rooms and corridors.

Conclusions:

Despite the advantages of the VLE (Joaquim Filipe, José Cordeiro, 2011) states that neither the above discussed platforms does not have features that enables people with visual impairments to use it. Such VLE platforms do not have the facility to help people with visual impairments.

Well analyzing the different VLE platforms it can be said that they are all course management system which uses different ways to deliver the information to the users in their own respective way. Its superiority depends upon the needs and requirements of the institutions, users and the educational community. As discussed above there are certain VLE platforms which are much expensive than others and therefore can be mainly afforded by big university as it requires large capital as in case of blackboard VLE. We have also looked at these VLE platforms from the faculty perspective and it can be stated that Moodle provides a lot of room for personalizing the platform and offers a wide range of administrative power to the faculty. They can assign tasks, create new groups and provide easy feedback on assignments to the students. Features like alerting the institution about bad educational progress of students add more benefits to it. Considering from the point of view of parents Fronter allows them to monitor their child educational progress.

Finally to conclude it can be said these different VLE platforms provide more or similar same features but in a different way. The superiority of these depends on the requirements, current situations, budgets and many other factors such as users and faculty demands.

As being a student and having used blackboard it would always be my preference as I personally feel it is much more advanced and provides all the necessary tools to make e learning very easy.

References

weller,M (2007). Virtual Learning Environments: Using, Choosing and Developing your VLE. Oxon: Routledge. p4-29.

Gillespie,H ;Boulton,H ; Hramiak,A ; Williamson,R (2007). Learning and Teaching with Virtual Learning Environments. Exeter: Learning Matters Ltd. p1-64.

Online Resource Centres. (2013). Learn about Virtual Learning Environment/Course Management System content. Available: http://global.oup.com/uk/orc/learnvle/#Why. Last accessed 9th April 2013.

https:// blackboard.com/International/EMEA/Overview.aspx?lang=en-us. Last accessed 8th April 2013

https://moodle.org/about/. Last accessed 9th April 2013

https:// http://uk.fronter.info/. Last accessed 9th April 2013

Bibliography:

Hippe, Z, Juliusz Lech Kulikowski, Teresa Mroczek, Human-computer Systems Interaction: Backgrounds and Applications 2.Part 2. Verlag Berlin Heidelberg: Springer.2012

Filipe, Joaquim; José Cordeiro. Web Information Systems and Technologies: 7th International Conference. Heidelberg Dordrecht London New York .2011