About E-Learning
E-learning is the use of electronic educational technology in learning and teaching, using modern tools such as computers. Students can control their own progress through the courseware, while teachers are available to provide support. As a teacher-led training it defers from self-access learning where practice is assisted with resources such as books or educational CD-ROMs.

E-learning is based on interaction between students and teachers and among students, likewise learning in traditional classroom. E-seminars take place in a virtual “classroom” through a computer as the teacher and students are not in the same physical location. It is ideal for asynchronous or synchronous interactions or personalized courses.

Asynchronous learning allows both students and teachers to follow the curriculum anywhere and at any time and be able to engage in the exchange of ideas or information with each other.

Synchronous learning allows students and teachers not sharing the same physical location to interact in a virtual classroom (through the Internet, LAN). Synchronous learning includes online real-time live teacher instruction and feedback, audio and video conferences where everyone is online and working collaboratively at the same time.

Personalized courses combine educational resources like books, CD-ROMs, sound and video applications. Students can use these resources anywhere and at any time. Students with personalized courses are not in direct contact with other students or their teacher.

About the Blackboard Learning System – Vista Enterprise License platform
The Blackboard Learning System – Vista Enterprise License platform ranks first globally for Academic Enterprise Systems (AES). It is an innovative solution that delivers distance learning and offers a full suite of e-learning solutions to academic enterprises and helps them reform traditionally delivered lessons and seminars into new virtual, electronic lessons.

The Blackboard Learning System – Vista Enterprise License platform advances the creation of an e-learning system that adopts and embraces the complete pre-existing structure of the University of the Aegean by providing a multiple prism e-learning platform that combines all the tools that are required for the creation, management and renewal of teaching courses as well as the interconnection with the existing computerization of the University.

Offered services

• Communication: chat, whiteboard, discussion board, course mail, "who's online" instant chat tool
• Learning: οffers tools for the centralized management of exercises for individuals or groups, based on default criteria and the special characteristic of students.
• Monitoring skills and knowledge: the Blackboard Learning System – Vista Enterprise License platform embeds quizzes, self-tests, surveys and questions (multiple choice tests) in an easy-to-use interface which connects to a database. The questions and the answers are automatically added to this distributed database allowing the reuse of the content.
• Dynamic Data Management: the Blackboard Learning System – Vista Enterprise License platform collects learning data at academic enterprise level and gives access to teaching material while supervises its distribution. Teachers have access to an integrated program to inspect on the progress of students, grading and in general manage grades, courses, workshops and students.
• Personalized e-Learning Portal: the Blackboard Learning System – Vista Enterprise License platform has developed myWebCT, a fully personalized web page with links to all the WebCT courses in which students are enrolled. It can be adjusted to the identity of the academic enterprise and position as an operational academic portal.

The main services that the Blackboard Learning System – Vista Enterprise License platform offers for the management of materials are: Drag-and-drop Content Acquisition, Sharable Media Library, Interactive Course Map, HTML Editor with Spell Check, Equation Editor Search Capabilities

Mission and goals
The University of the Aegean utilizes the new e-learning service called 'Plato©' to upgrade the teaching procedure with new technologies, ideas and methods and to expand the offering of technical resources for academic studying. At the same time, it minimizes barriers to communication in geographic distance among the islands hosting the different Units (Schools and Departments) of the University of the Aegean, by replacing or supplementing the physical presence of teachers in flexible ways.

This new e-service, which is available to the academic community of the University of the Aegean, enables the execution of courses especially adjusted to the study programs of the Units (Schools and Departments), postgraduate programs and the inter-departmental study programs using the Blackboard Learning System – Vista Enterprise License platform. The University of the Aegean Library purchased this e-platform to actualize the e-reserves service in the frameworks of the EPEAEK II (Operational Program "Education and Primary Vocational Training") “Upgrading the Library of the University of the Aegean”, which is co-funded by European Union (75%) and National Funds (25%).