Learning environment

Definition

• Conceptually speaking, the Learning Environment refers to the whole range of components and activities within which learning happens.

• Technically speaking, a Learning Environment is a Computer System such as a Learning management system, a combination of various educational technologies (including at least one communication module), virtual environments, ...

Functions of a Learning Environment

Sandberg's definition

(adapted by DSchneider)

1. ``Teacher component: Its role is to provide something between loose guidance and direct instruction. It can be a human agent (present or distant), an intelligent agent, instructions like some text books provide, etc. This component provides information from the syllabus to the task level.
2. ``Monitor component: Ensures that something is learned. A role taken by either the human teacher, the learner (self-control) or by some program.
3. ``Fellow learners component: Improves the learning process (some research tries to implement artificial ones).
4. ``Learning material, often Courseware: Contains what has to be learned in a very broad sense (knowing what, knowing how). It can be computational in various ways (exploratory hypertext, lesson and task oriented hypertext, simulation software, task solving environments, etc.).
5. ``External information sources: All kinds of information which is not directly stored in the learning material (e.g. additional material, handbooks, manuals, etc.).
6. ``Tools: Everything which may help the learning process other then the learning material (e.g. calculators, communication software, etc.)
7. ``School [a category we added]: Something that provides a curriculum and does student administration.

References

Sandberg, J. A. (1994). Educational paradigms: issues and trends. In Lewis, R. Mendelsohn, P., (ed.), Lessons from Learning, (IFIP TC3/WG3.3 Working Conference 1993), pages 13--22, Amsterdam. North-Holland.