Introduction to Computing
The progress of Virtual Learning Environment has totally changed the training and learning system. VLE provides progressive developing and learning enhancement functionalities that are being offered to provide a reliable and secure approach in learning, which takes place in a virtual classroom environment. Although the VLE has not yet established its greater importance of convenient learning and its appearance is still in a development phase various schools and other learning organizations already considers VLE as an opportunity that will allow learners to take self-assessment projects and access academically prescribed materials through the internet at a fraction of a cost. VLE is a learning system which is a set of numerous internet programs such as web pages, email, conversation boards and discussion forums, text and interactive video, distributed journal, online social areas, evaluation, control and monitoring tools that help instructors, students, mother, father and others who are concerned in knowledge or information process by helping and helping the educational submission and developing control.
The early concept of Virtual Learning Environment constitutes an objective that includes an interactive cooperation between instructors and students in the use of web applications and the Internet in general to store and retrieve instructional materials. This objective was developed to become a primary tool for communication in the learning process through the integration of functions such as e-mail, text messaging and chat. The furtherance of technological development in the virtual community allowed VLE to flourish particularly when Voice Over IP technology was introduced, thus allowing Virtual Learning to evolve into an alternative learning platform. Efficient specifications and specialized specifications modified and many other terms and features get added into this basic VLE. There are several concepts such as Learning Management System, Studying Support Program and Internet Learning Center that was created to enable support and mediating processes to take place in a none face-to-face interaction.
OLAT
The growth of Online Learning and Training was commenced by the University of Zurich in 1999. It is an open LMS. It serves the need of college organizations and colleges. OLAT is free software that integrates virtual learning. OLAT is also available in several languages and can provide different functions for web based learning and training. Using the software, the school can provide interactive and intuitive platform for learning simulation. The school can also implement the use of media such as live chat for effective teaching and discussion. Using OLAT, the instructor can provide the instruction materials in a folder, discuss in the discussion forum, communicate via email or chat, and collect the work in an E-portfolio. Online conversation can be established in a forum. OLAT organizes the user in a group and different roles within it. Since OLAT is an open-source software, some needs of the institution cannot be provided unlike the proprietary software will do. Modifications of the software can’t be easily done by the software user. OLAT aims for sharing knowledge throughout the world. However, there are some disadvantages that the online learning and training has. If there is no instructor's presence, hence the pupil's studying style is one where student like human attention from his instructors, then online education and studying may not be suitable for this student. Online learning and training also requires new Skills and technologies, so if the learner is not really good at computers, or not too much of new technologies, then it may not be as effective or her. Another disadvantage of online learning and training is the absence social interaction. Get –together among students may not be present because they normally communicate via chat, or emails.
Blackboard Vista
Blackboard Vista is another type of proprietary software that can be bought by different academic institutions. It is a virtual learning environment that delivers learning through the internet. It is a web based software platform that used by some academic institutions to provide quality education. Even it is ready-made software, several options upon installation is there for customization of the software. It provides two types of views, the instructor view and the student view. The two different views show how the two different users can access the software. The software is only limited on course organization wherein assignments and grades can only be created, searched and used within the software platform. Further customization upon assignment and grades is the unique characteristics the software has. It is very useful and it has a lot of features that a student can use. A student will have the ability to use any product to enhance your Blackboard Web pages which may consists of PowerPoint, Word, also FrontPage and even Macromedia Dreamweaver. However, with all many advantages that you can get from Blackboard Vista, there are also some disadvantages that a student may experience with this Virtual Learning Environment. Sometimes, the web pages in the Blackboard environment will not allow you to access it directly if you’re not in the Blackboard environment. Users should first login. For an instance, a student has an article that you want other people to view online.
They will not be allowed if the work is placed within the student’s Blackboard course. In addition, sometimes the session has timed out while typing a discussion post, assignment or assessment answers. The reason behind is the areas for inputting type in characters uses a Java Applet to allow typing in text. Blackboard Vista will be timed out after 15 minutes if there is no activity that is being detected, so if the user is writing a long page of paragraphs or putting an answer in either of the fields provided, then the user may be timed out. There might have some challenges for delivering content formats. For instance, PDF is potentially slow to download, display, and print; large file size requires special software to create and view documents, and for document files, they are not fully secure and may no display or print as intended. An additional disadvantage is that long PowerPoint presentations can take several minutes to download. Depending on their operating system, users accessing these files may be prompted by their browser to save the file to their computer for opening or the file may open directly. PowerPoint presentations can also be converted into HTML and PDFs. This makes them more accessible although the process of saving PowerPoint files to html is somewhat complicated, especially for longer documents.
Moodle
Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment is the meaning for its acronym, Moodle. It is another example of an open source LMS or Learning Management System. It had become very famous among teachers globally as a system for making online websites for their learners. The focus of Moodle project is to give educators the best tool and manage learning. Moodle is free. It has registration but it is optional. Many institutions use it as their platform to fully conduct online courses. The software is available at relatively low cost. Moodle is also easy to implement among instructor and students. Even though it is used by small and medium size universities the system might not work efficiently to large size universities. Moodle has functions that allow it to range to very large deployments and tens of a large number of learners, yet it can also be used for a primary school or knowledge and learning enthusiast.
Many of Moodle customers really like to use the exercise segments (such as forums, directories and wikis) to develop highly collaborative areas of studying around their topic (in the public constructionist tradition), while others want to use Moodle as a way to provide material to learners (such as conventional SCORM packages) and evaluate studying using projects or tests. However, there are some challenges that the student and educators may encounter with the use of Moodle that you must be in knowledge of, because nothing in this world can be as perfect. The lack of complete development, Moodle customers regularly grumble about the problems they experience with custom remaking. In order to execute effective personalization, you should need to know how to system and have some type of information when it comes to programming. Another thing is, customers mostly see the deficiency of hr capabilities as a bad. The system is intended to provide course material, but it would be better if the hr system was involved to help learners and employees effectively connect with those who provide assistance in research. Evaluation capabilities are restricted in Moodle, and there are some space problems too.
The relationship between the computer hardware and software is basically, hardware means the physical parts of a system. If it is audible and can be touched, then it is hardware. Hardware would be the computer and it's parts and cables, the monitor, the printer, some electronic parts inside the computer unit, the art where you can put the CDs in, the hard drive which stores the data of the computer, or even the central processing unit or the CPU tower itself are good examples of hardwares of computers. Software means the programs; it includes the operating system, which all of the computer is running on. Microsoft Windows Mozilla Firefox, PowerPoint, or even Microsoft Excel is software. Anything that is stored in the computer that a person needs to have his or her computer to work is an example of software. Software and hardware need one another to operate and works effectively. Hardware is what software operates on. Hardware needs software so the customer can connect with gadgets to create something on a printing device, preserve a computer file to a hard drive, or managing the audio on the soundcard. Think of software as a modulator, of sorts, able to connect what the customer wants or needs to the components so the customer can achieve what she wants or needs. Hardware needs software to give it guidelines. Software is the person's brain telling their hands to write their name.
The mixing of hardware and software gives life to a personal computer. Even though hardware is the actual body of a pc, it is useless, but not if it has software to manage it. Meaning, hardware is like a car with no driver; so both are important to get them working. Software is a set of guidelines that informs the hardware what to do and how to execute the command for activities. In other terms, hardware and software has special needs for each other. If hardware is the brain of a computer system, software is its spirit. Both are complimentary to each other. Computer software includes the physical connectivity and systems needed to save and execute the application or software. In computers, software programs are loaded into Random Access Memory and performed in the CPU. At the minimum level, software includes a machine terminology dedicated to an individual processor. A machine terminology includes groups of binary values representing processor guidelines, which change the condition of the pc from its preceding condition. Software is an ordered series of guidelines for altering the condition of the hardware in a specific series.
Reference
Online Learning and Training [online]. (2013). Available from:
Moodle [online]. (2013). Available from:
Turnitin Blackboard Vista 4, 8, CE6 and CE8 [online]. (2013). Available from:
