Today I heard about Moodle, a free Virtual Learning Environment (or VLE.) The VLE that most people in the UK have heard of is Blackboard, but Moodle is free. Naturally I turned straight to the relevant Wikipedia article on the subject to get the definitive low-down.
Interestingly, in most of the world VLE's seem to be being referred to as Learning Management Systems (LMS's). Virtual learning environments are used in educational institutions to allow instructors to manage their courses and exchange information with students for a course, and Moodle describes itself as "a software package for producing internet based courses and websites." The modules allow for chat, resources, wikis, multiple choice quizes etc and there are facilities for students to upload their homework. Your system is maintained by a systems administrator (e.g. by you,) and the administrator can allocate different types of users different access rights.
I have always wanted to have a go administering a VLE so this sounds like the perfect way to experiment!
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