I’ve been doing some research for a client about VLEs or Virtual Learning Environments recently and thought I’d share my findings.
BTW This has nothing to do with wearing a huge head set and going off into fantasy worlds. Though virtual reality can be part of training (but that’s another story)..
What is a VLE? Let’s start with the basics. As so often happens in the world of online learning, there are many definitions, so at the risk of sounding completely egotistical, I’m going to give you mine! A VLE is just like a traditional learning environment (classroom, training centre or whatever) but it’s virtual!! Quite simple really. Learning is provided where the participant and trainer are not in the same physical space. It allows synchronous learning so recreating the live learning experience. VLEs are much more common in the world of education- schools, colleges and universities – than in the corporate world but that’s possibly changing.
Probably the best known as a VLE is Blackboard and they have a new system called Blackboard Collaborate http://uk.blackboard.com/corporate/index.aspx
It’s basically a web conferencing system (like GotoMeeting) but it has an interactive whiteboard and other tools to enable synchronous learning. I think there’s a limit of 5 people live on screen per session though which will rule it out for bigger groups [I’m prepared to be corrected on that but sorry to say their website isn’t very clear on this point.]
Adobe Connect has been around longer and seems to offer more in my opinion. http://www.adobe.com/products/adobeconnect/learning.html It brings together live classroom interactivity even when the student is watching a recording to recreate the experience of being ‘live’ in the learning space. It also has an LMS and other elements.
However, you don’t need to opt for one system. It’s like all aspects of blended learning, you start with your learning objectives and your students’ needs and work out from there. So the VL “environment” can be created in a whole host of ways which might be preferable to meet those needs rather than trying to find one system that does everything a company needs.
For example you could hold live Zoom sessions for online discussion/exercises (synchronous) and back that up with a learning platform (asynchronous) like Learndash, Mindflash and a myriad others on offer. This is quite an interesting comparison article http://www.pcmag.com/roundup/345257/the-best-online-learning-platforms-for-business
It’s pretty much a case of “you pays your money and you takes your choice”. Prices vary from free to very expensive.
Anyone out there using VLEs? What system(s) do you use? How effective are they?
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