Implementation of Integrated Virtual Learning Environment Model for Schools with Limited Resources for Online Learning
Chathuri Gunathunga1, K. P. Hewagmage2
1Chathuri Gunathunga, is an Mphill Research Student University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC), Sri Lanka.
2K. P. Hewagmage, Professor, University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC), Sri Lanka.
Manuscript received on February 18, 2015. | Revised Manuscript received on February 28, 2015. | Manuscript published on March 05, 2015. | PP: 15-18 | Volume-5 Issue-1, March 2015. | Retrieval Number: A2506035115/2015©BEIESP
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©The Authors. Published By: Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Abstract: With the advancement of Information Communication Technology in Sri Lanka teachers should take advantage there to upgrade their teaching technique. Students should be allowed to learn any time anywhere and at their own place. Learning Management System (LMS) plays an important role in ICT enabled learning environment in academic institutes. In K12 education, schoolnet is used to connect all secondary educational institutes and learning communities in a country since they follow the national curriculum. However, a single LMS hosted in the schoolnet network cannot integrate all similar learning communities identified with respect to each school, according to our evaluation of schoolnet LMS in Sri Lanka. After gathering and analyzing different requirements of stakeholders, we propose a suitable hierarchical model to integrate school level LMSs to create a loosely couple distributed learning environment. This model facilitates learners to explore the learning space starting from the classroom based interaction and it promotes the collaborative learning of other teachers and students irrespective of their physical location. In a prototype development, we have implemented suitable software architecture for the proposed model using Moodle LMS. It was designed considering the real world K12 educational administration in Sri Lanka. We also present a methodology to extend a LMS to a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) which contains learning resources and activities using the model which implemented.
Keywords: Learning Management System (LMS), eLearning, K12 education, blended learning, ICT enabled learning, Moodle, Virtual Learning Environment.