Virtual Campus
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Virtual Campus refers to the
online offerings of a
college or
university where college work is completed either partially or wholly online, often with the assistance of the
teacher,
professor, or
teaching assistant.
The University of Phoenix Online, with more than 100,000 students, is an example of the marriage between the virtual campus and physical campus. Many established and mainstream colleges and universities now offer many courses (or entire degree programs) either partially or wholly online. Other schools notable for their primary online presence include DeVry and Strayer.
Schools use a variety of tools for conducting classes - typically called Learning Management Systems (
LMS) or Course Management Systems (
CMS). CMS may also refer to CONTENT Management Systems. Some notable LMS' include
Moodle,
Sakai,
Serco,
Blackboard,
WebCT,
Angel,
Desire2Learn, and
eCollege. Blackboard and webCT command the lion's share of the commercial market, and Blackboard recently (as of Spring 2006) acquired WebCT.
Online learning has taken up a whole new dimension with the advent of the Internet. Professionals, students, and housewives can all get an education without changing their lifestyles. The virtual campus has allowed people around the world to have access to the same standard of education and thus, allows them to raise their standard of living without being subjected to bias. Whereas, traditionally it was claimed that laws like 'affirmative action' gave minorities a boost the introduction of the Virtual Campus defrauds that argument as the Virtual Campus is for those people who want to improve their lifestyle and never had the chance.
Its globalization at its best. While Fake Diploma Mills are to some extent giving the online degrees a bad reputation its fairly easy for employers and accreditation agencies to validate degrees and the serious students will never be in jeopardy of having their degrees under scrutiny especially if they are gained from recognized colleges.
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Computer-assisted language learning Computer-assisted language learning
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Diploma mill While many distance education programs provide valuable instruction, others offer degrees with little requirements.
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Distance education*
Educational technology (Related:
Learning management system)
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Efficient learning method*
European Association of Distance Teaching Universities*
Online learning (aka E-Learning) (Related:
E-learning glossary)
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M-learning
