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Integrating Educational Technologies

While each of these technologies has its strengths and weaknesses, it is when they are combined that we start to see their true potential. This was one of the driving forces behind the arrival of Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) although it has to be said that few of the commercial products make serious efforts to enable this, focusing more on the administration of learning rather than on the learning itself. VLEs attempt to 'wrap up' the three technologies discussed above into online course objects that are password protected. Usually, the sophistication of the tools within a VLE is less than that of an equivalent stand-alone tool; the trade off is in the ease of use, integration of technologies and single point of authentication. Whether you use a VLE or a combination of stand-alone tools really depends on what you are trying to achieve.

More about virtual learning environments