An Introduction to Virtual Learning Enviroments

In this paper we briefly introduce virtual learning environments, which have become integral to online learning (or e-learning) in higher education around the world. We describe what they are, the functionality they provide and the kinds of benefits they offer universities, with particular reference to the subject of economics. We also touch on some considerations concerning the e-learning software itself, setting their development in a historical perspective. In our analysis we draw especially on practices in the UK with illustrations from WebLearn, the virtual learning environment used by the University of Oxford.