Ambientes virtuais de aprendizagem: uma análise de três sistemas geradores de ambientes para educação a distância

Abstract

The goal of this article is to contribute to the agenda of Applied Linguistic when it comes to the use of the Internet as a virtual learning environment for the process of distance learning; environments which are generated from learning management systems. We begin our text with a brief literature review trying to define the term “virtual learning environment” in the scope of distance learning. We observe the students’ interfaces available from three learning management system platforms, after a brief description of each of them. Then, we name some of the similarities and differences in the categories we have selected for our analysis. We present the analysis of the characteristics in which the platforms are similar and the ones in which they differ. Finally, we review the definition we have proposed for the term “virtual learning environment” and reflect if the three platforms match our initial premises.