Virtual Learning Environments

All the links below go to external websites and open in a new window.

• Blackboard (Academic Suite/'Classic') is a commercial VLE which is widely used in HE and is the system currently used by the Bloomsbury Learning Environment. [Why Birkbeck joined the BLE/Blackboard.]
• Blackboard CE and Vista ('Campus Edition' and 'Vista' flavours) is a commercial VLE which was formerly used at Birkbeck. These variants are based on a former VLE, WebCT, which was acquired by Blackboard Inc.
• Bodington is a free open source virtual learning environment developed by Oxford University.
• Moodle is another free course management system which is currently much discussed in the UK.
• Sakai is another open source option.
• FirstClass offered in earlier versions simply a bulletin board, but it is now a fully fledged VLE.