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ABSTRACT Shaiffadzillah Omarali Current trends and tempos on using internet-based virtual environments for education Imagine an online learner from Fiji, taking a graduate degree in Australia, with his programme lecturer carrying out lessons from Canada. How is learning performed, when considering time zones, geography and even learning culture differences would constrain interaction? Although distance education via post and telecommunication did enable interaction, virtual learning environments (VLEs) enhance interaction further by providing organised spaces for them to occur in an orderly manner. This paper looks at the many forms of VLEs used in education, from the elaborate systems such as Blackboard, Microsoft Edu and GoogleApps being used by universities, to those used on a classroom scale, such as Ning and Wiki. In addition, the use of common Web2.0 components in the construction of Personalised Learning Environments (PLEs) is juxtaposed against the use of a standalone VLE. Consequently, the significance of several synchronous and asynchronous computer-based communication affordances provided by both VLEs and PLEs, from text-based to video-based, will be elaborated. The accumulation of this

Abstract : Current Trends and Tempos on Using Internet-based Virtual Environments for Education

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Page 1: Abstract : Current Trends and Tempos on Using Internet-based Virtual Environments for Education

ABSTRACT

Shaiffadzillah Omarali

Current trends and tempos on using internet-based virtual environments for education

Imagine an online learner from Fiji, taking a graduate degree in Australia, with his programme

lecturer carrying out lessons from Canada. How is learning performed, when considering time

zones, geography and even learning culture differences would constrain interaction? Although

distance education via post and telecommunication did enable interaction, virtual learning

environments (VLEs) enhance interaction further by providing organised spaces for them to

occur in an orderly manner. This paper looks at the many forms of VLEs used in education, from

the elaborate systems such as Blackboard, Microsoft Edu and GoogleApps being used by

universities, to those used on a classroom scale, such as Ning and Wiki. In addition, the use of

common Web2.0 components in the construction of Personalised Learning Environments (PLEs)

is juxtaposed against the use of a standalone VLE. Consequently, the significance of several

synchronous and asynchronous computer-based communication affordances provided by both

VLEs and PLEs, from text-based to video-based, will be elaborated. The accumulation of this

information is presented as a dossier from where the best practices of using web affordances

could guide educators in making the decisions required for their needs.

Keyword: VLE, PLE, CMS, KMS, Web2.0, Community of Practice