Virtual Learning Environments in Higher Education “Down Under”

Abstract

The use of VLEs, while not as extensive as in Europe and the U.S.A., is increasing in this part of the world. There is a rapid uptake of communications technologies in the tertiary sector of education but it is uneven and not without criticism (Brabazon, 2003). Watching developments elsewhere from this perspective on the edge of the worlds stage it is difficult not to conclude that technological developments in education are driven by a complex set of forces that include not only the enabling factor of the convergence of the technologies but also the economics of globalization and the politics of techno-capitalism. There is a case to be made that the arrival of the virtual classroom whilst creating a paradigm shift in the ways teaching and learning are delivered also presents a range of opportunities and threats for both the teacher and the learner and offers significant and particular challenges for small local tertiary institutions in small countries.