Architecture of Virtual Spaces & the Future of VLEs

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Scott Wilson: Architecture of Virtual Spaces & the Future of VLEs, Scott's Workblog October 6, 2005

Scott Wilson takes us from the theory of artificial and natural spaces to an examination of similar structures in the world of online learning (echoes of what Jay Cross is saying here). "In an LMS, the architecture of virtual space is derived from the model of the institution... In a PLE, the architecture of virtual space is a web of connections centred on the learner." Why, then, do we drift toward the LMS? Because of a fear of the internet, and a desire for control. More...