Uvle
| UVLe (University Virtual Learning Environment) |
Date Updated: 14 April 2020
Overview
The University Virtual Learning Environment (UVLê - uvle.upd.edu.ph) is the online course management system of the University of the Philippines that enables instructors to
- organize their classes around topics, themes, weekly schedules
- upload digitized materials and share them with students
- link relevant materials from other sites
- post announcements that will be sent out automatically to students
- create online forums and wikis for students to participate in
Powered by an open-source application called Moodle, UVLê is maintained and operated by the Interactive Learning Center Diliman (ILC Diliman). The name "UVLê" is a homophonic play of "Oblê" that's a contraction of "Oblation"--a university symbol. UVLê is a platform for students to freely interact or collaborate with their instructors and fellow students. It is constructed with a pedagogy that imbibes self-discovery, self-instruction, "learning by doing" and experimentation. Learn more about Moodle's pedagogy.
User Roles
A user role is a collection of permissions defined for the whole system that you can assign to specific users in specific contexts.
See UVLe User Roles
Plugins
UVLe maintains core and third-party Moodle plugins that allows users to manage and interact with the contents of an UVLe course.
Activities
An activity is a group of features in an UVLe course.
See UVLe Activities
Gamification
The game activity module makes use of questions, quizzes and glossaries to offer a variety of interactive games:
Resources
A resource is an item that a teacher can use to support learning:
See UVLe Resources
Exclusive Features
ILC Diliman develops UVLe exclusive features that are not available in the Moodle Plugins. These features are an innovative implementation in UVLe and are inspired by user requests.
Integration
ILC Diliman integrates other UPD systems to UVLe. These integrations allow UVLe to communicate with other UPD systems and share information to UVLe users.
See UVLe Integration
Design
UVLe undergoes multiple changes since 2008 from the logo design to the website layout. UVLe website is now mobile responsive allowing users to view and experience UVLe on mobile devices.
Logo
The new logo represents UVLê as a link between classroom experience and computing/communication devices (e.g. computers, cellphones, tablets etc.). The logo also resembles an infinity symbol, which represents limitless possibilities in technology-empowered teaching and learning.
Themes
The UVLe theme started with a simple design allowing users to visit UVLe simply to manage or access courses. It was during 2013 when ILC Diliman started integrating seasonal themes to UVLe providing a new look and feel to the website. During 2015, ILC Diliman developed a brand layout of UVLe called UVLeBook. UVLeBook implements layout changes in UVLe such as the iconic 3-column course layout and the dropdown navigation setup. When UVLe 3 was introduced in 2018, UVLe presented a new look and feel to the website diverting to the traditional and UVLeBook theme. UVLe 3 theme is based on the Adaptable theme of Moodle. It is customized to follow the UP Brandbook and to streamline UVLe. Its iconic designs are the slider header promoting features of UVLe, slider navigation setup, and maintains the 3-column course layout.
See UVLe Themes
Mobile
UVLe Mobile App is a mobile learning platform that enables students to access online courses, training online and offline from any devices. UVLe mobile is available at Google Play and App Store.
See UVLe Mobile
History
Initially developed by 3 UPD students, Mr. Aljo Fabro, Reniel Gabas and Ernesto Pile in 2000 with the guidance of the University Computer Center (UPCC), under then Director Roel Ocampo, UVLê pursues UP's tradition of excellence in academic computing. It won the "Best of Student Projects (Institute of Higher Learning)" in the Asia Pacific Information and Communications Technology Awards in Kuala Lumpur, in 2001.
From the initial hosting of 33 "virtual classes" during the first semester of 2001, the old UVLe had since hosted close to 880 classes for 16,953 users as of September 2008. It got to version 2.3.3, with advanced features indicated on its Change Log. Old UVLe's beta release was on Nov 13, 2000. There was an attempt to recode UVLe (see UVLe 3.0 java code on Subversion) but it was never implemented.
While UVLe is now on Moodle code base, it has a long history of technical innovation. (See Old UVLe's changelog.) The pre-Moodle UVLe is heretofore referred to as "old UVLe" and is no longer supported by the UPCC. The current UVLe was launched on October 6, 2008, on the occasion of ILC Diliman's 5th anniversary. ILC Diliman now operates and supports the new UVLe.
UVLe 2.0 was released on April 11, 2011. Versioning with the revitalized UVLe, however, is different from that of the old one with a different code base. Now it closely follows Moodle versioning.
UVLe 2.5 was released on June 2013. A number of features like the Dock and certain plugins are unique to UVLe.
UVLe 2.6.2 was released on April 23, 2014. In this version, the first integration of Big Blue Button for web conferencing (now called BBB Conference) was implemented. UVLe 2.6.4 was released on March 15, 2015.
UVLe 2.7.7 was released on April 6, 2015. This version is an LTS (Long Term Support) version. UVLe 2.7.11 was released on November 14, 2015, UVLe 2.7.18 on March 11, 2017, and UVLe 2.7.20 on August 12, 2017. UVLe accomplished the full releases of Moodle 2.7+.
While UVLe 2.7+ is maintained, ILC Diliman is conducting revamps in the interface and features of UVLe. The UVLe 3.0 Beta was released on September 25, 2017. It was the first beta release of UVLe. The beta version ended on October 15, 2017. Secured UVLe connection was implemented on October 23, 2017 such that login credentials of UVLe users are encrypted in the network.
UVLe 3.1.7 was released on January 12, 2018 as an upgraded version of UVLe 3.0 Beta. It was another LTS version of UVLe. In this version, specialized features were implemented including the UVLe Integration Module which allows course creation in CRS (Computerized Registration System). During this period, UVLe mobile app was already unsupported and unstable. Because of this, UVLe 3 was released as a fully mobile responsive and a progressive web application to provide mobile experience to users.
The UVLe 2.7.20 was released as the Legacy version. The Legacy UVLe was terminated on April 4, 2018. All data from the legacy version was archived.
UVLe 3.1.12 was released on June 30, 2018. System GE common modules were implemented in UVLe.
The current version of UVLe is 3.5.1. There are small changes in the interface and introduction of new features.
Releases
A full list of feature releases of UVLe:
| Version | Release Date |
|---|---|
| Old UVLe (Not Moodle) | Circa 2000 |
| UVLe 1.0 | 10 June 2008 |
| UVLe 2.0 | 11 April 2011 |
| UVLe 2.2.3 | 09 June 2012 |
| UVLe 2.5 | 01 June 2013 |
| UVLe 2.6.2 | 23 April 2014 |
| UVLe 2.6.4 | 15 March 2015 |
| UVLe 2.7.7 | 06 April 2015 |
| UVLe 2.7.11 | 14 November 2015 |
| UVLe 2.7.18 | 11 March 2017 |
| UVLe 2.7.20 (Legacy) | 12 August 2017 |
| UVLe Beta 3.0 (Unreleased) | 25 September 2017 |
| UVLe 3.1.7 | 12 January 2018 |
| UVLe 3.1.12 | 30 June 2018 |
| UVLe 3.5.1 (Current) | 29 September 2019 |
UVLe Training
The UVLe training is intended for teachers who:
- want to start using UVLe for their classes
- want to learn/review common procedures and/or tools in UVLe
See UVLe Training