*） Department of Management, Faculty of Economics, Gakushuin University, Japan

1） There are many similar and related terms, reflecting different purposes and aspects of such systems. These include learning management system (LMS), which is a term that originates in training staff in business, collaborative learning environment (CLE), which emphasize tools to support students in the learning, particularly among students working on joint projects; and course management system, though the use of this term may be deprecated because the abbreviation of CMS is more commonly interpreted as content management system.

2） WebLearn - The University of Oxford VLE: Tools in the New WebLearn, Oxford University Computing Services
online documentation http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/weblearn/index.xml.ID=toolslist

3） MIT Open Courseware: Economics
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/economics/14-02-principles-of-macroeconomics-fall-2009/

4） For a recent discussion of systems relating to the teaching of mathematics through e-learning, particularly for visualisations in economics, refer to Shirota et al (2011); Trafford and Shirota (2011a,2011b).

5） The ever changing VLE landscape is amply depicted in a Wikipedia article: History of virtual learning environments
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_virtual_learning_environments

6） The Open Source Initiative provides a selection of standard OSI-approved licenses, which are used worldwide by individuals and large corporations such as Google.http://www.opensource.org/

7） Moodle.org: open-source community-based tools for learning http://moodle.org/

8） Sakai project | collaboration and learning – for educators by educators http://sakaiproject.org/

9） Blackboard Home. http://www.blackboard.com/

10） Desire2Learn: Innovative Learning Technology by Desire2Learn Incorporated http://www.desire2learn.com/

11） CHEF Information site http://chefproject.org/

12） Tetra Project http://www.tetraproject.org/

13） Sakai Project: Small Private Four–year Institutions http://sakaiproject.org/content/small-private-four-year-institutions