ABSTRACT
E-learning produces more angst and enthusiasm than can be consumed locally, so it tends to spill over into other areas. One could draw a complex Venn diagram with e-learning intersecting with other topics in education, including lifelong learning, increased educational demand, education in developing countries, the nature of assessment, the role of the academic, commercialization in education, intellectual property and flexibility in education. And then there is the overlap with broader technological developments such as open source software, web services integration techniques, educational technology standards, the semantic web, etc. And underlying all of these activities is the environment in which e-learning takes place, the VLE or LMS (see below for a discussion on terminology). The pedagogical, political, technical and economical arguments that pervade e-learning are all reflected in the choice, deployment and development of a VLE in an organization.
