Electronic learning environments: worlds behind screens

In an electronic learning environment learners may find a diversity of resources of a generic nature: books in a library, experiences in a laboratory, videos, techniques, or tools. Electronic learning environments should be well structured and devoted to a certain learning domain and a certain type of learning activities, to allow learners to identify the resources and to contribute to the learning experiences of their peers. In this paper we discuss the categorization of the environments from the metaphor of worlds behind screens, and show how three different types each fit different types of learning context and learning goals.