A Mediated Approach to the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

This paper examines the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in relation to its implication for academic libraries in the 21st century. It sheds light on how technological development has had major impacts in the academic library, with regards to how information is being constructed, transmitted and accessed by library users. In the course of this discourse it was deduced that students constitute a significant percentage of the academic library users. The technological development in the academic sphere has enabled ubiquitous interactions between students and teachers, in which students are enabled to learn and communicate with their teachers from remote locations, thus inducing the notion of VLE. The VLE is regarded as technological-based environment where learners are enabled to access learning outside the classroom. With the aid of VLE students are granted ownership of their learning process, thus ensuring positive learning outcomes. Finally, the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was employed to serve as the theoretical basis of this discourse.