Managed learning environment

A virtual learning environment (also known by its acronym, VLE; hereinafter, VLE) is a web-based ecosystem that supports learning activities such as assessment, collaboration, communication, e-portfolio building, hands-on training, learning path tracking, on-the-job training, etc.

Presumably, VLE shall be bigger than a learning management system (LMS), which usually deals with formal education only, as well as course management system, which shall support standalone courses, but, in the real world, all of those terms are used interchangeably.

They can be accessed both on and off-campus, meaning that they can support students' learning outside the lecture hall 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This enables institutions to teach not only traditional full-time students but also those who cannot regularly visit the campus due to geographic or time restrictions, e.g. those on distance learning courses, doing evening classes, or workers studying part-time.

There are different types of VLE, which all work slightly differently but ultimately perform the same function and can deliver the same learning materials. A Higher Education institution is likely to have a licence for a VLE that fits into any one of the following three categories:

? off-the-shelf, such as Blackboard

? open source (often free to use and adapt but support is charged for), such as Moodle

? bespoke (developed by institutions for their own individual needs)

VLEs are also known as Course Management Systems (CMS) and Learning Management Systems (LMS), among other names.

There are some international standards associated with VLEs which help to make content and assessments interoperable (i.e. they can be used in different types of VLE). The standard for content is called 'Sharable Content Object Reference Model' (SCORM) and the standard for assessments is called 'Question and Test Interoperability' (QTI).