Academic growth of the internet.

VLEVirtual learning environment known as VLE’s are systems that are normally used in institutions for many people to connect to and support collaborative working. It can be accessed via the internet on any computer anywhere using a URL this makes if flexible for you to use at your own disposal. They normally have a login function so only members that are registered are allowed to view pages and other content. VLE means what it says it is an online learning environment and are mainly used in schools and training courses within businesses. They can offer a lot of services including.

· Chat rooms and forums

· Resources sharing ( file uploads)

· Restrictions and privileges

· Flexible use

Some VLE’s will offer a forum based service where you can chat with other people who are signed up or post for help with something you are struggling with. VLE’s can harbour files within them for people to access from the site this makes the files portable in effect because you can access the VLE’ from any capable device with an internet connection. The VLE can offer privileges for certain people so they can edit and enter parts that others can’t so private collaborative working will be used within a VLE. This has aided the academic growth because it encourages schools and colleges to get a VLE for their pupils and its all online.

Wikis

The word wiki comes from WikiWiki which is a Hawaiian word for quick which is what a good wiki is. A wikis aim is to provide reliable information quickly without much effort. Examples of wiki software include Wikipedia, wiki answers and TWiki which allows users to add, remove and edit web pages through a web browser. Wikis are open source meaning anyone who wants to use the information on them can and they have no copyright on them.

Advantages of wikis are that they are easy to update information to make them more accurate and it allows people to correct mistakes. Almost no previous use of wikis is required to use them effectively.

This has contributed to the academic growth of the internet because it is a massive bank of information and can be put to educational use very effectively.

Digital library

Digital library is a similar to a normal library but you can download the books and store them in a digital format this adds flexibility for you and can be a great archive of information with a small amount of effort.

There are advantages to digital library’s one being the user doesn’t have to go the the library to get the book which saves time. You can use an online library 24/7 so opening times and closing times are no problem for you. The information can be used by more than one person because it is in digital form not just 1 person can use it at any time.

The boundaries for the library are endless they can store millions of books if they wish and can offer a wider variety than the traditional library.

This has aided the academic growth because it can be used cheaply and with great success and can be carried with students anywhere which makes it a valuable and much used resource.

Google scholar

Google scholar is a fast and effective way to find information and literature and can be used to many different things. Google scholar helps the user find digital and real copies of articles and books from publishers, societies and universities.

The searches on Google scholar will return many different formats for the user to choose from this gives variety and different methods of viewing the information.

Google scholar has helped the growth of the internet academically because it can search through masses of information that is not humanly possible to do this makes it a valuable resource and effective means or research and browsing.

Online learning websites

Online learning websites have given great help to people who need to revise and learn by their own means. There are many dedicated websites out there such as BBC bite sized for students to use as a revising resource and help to learn.

This facility brought people online for academic values and has helped as a great resource for learning and revising for schools.