The virtual environment overlaps with the physical environment

Virtual learning environments do not only integrate a variety of software tools but also integrate all the physical tools that can be found in a classroom. Of course, there exist some ‘pure’ virtual environments, designed for curricula that are completely at distance (Students never go to the school, never meet, ...). But, most virtual learning environments include:
• A variety of non-computerised learning resources: concrete manipulation tools, instruments, books, ....
• A variety of interactions that are not computer-mediated: face-to-face discussion among students, lectures by the teacher, group discussions,..., plus traditional media such as letters, TV, phone and fax.
• A variety of activities that are not computer-based: field trips, role playing, ..

We will not enter here into the debate on what is virtual and what is not, on where the physical environment stops and where the virtual one starts. It is an interesting philosophical issue, more complex that the simple difference between computerised and non-computerised elements. In the practice however there is no need to draw a boundary between physical and virtual worlds, the key is to integrate them, not to separate them. The
continuity between physical and virtual objects becomes clear now that hybrid tools appear  that connect computers with physical artefacts:
• Boards on which students move blocks whose positions are known by the computers
(as in chess games).These are physical objects, but coupled with a representation in the virtual space that can be used for interactions which are not possible in the physical world: computing all combinations of the elements assembled on the table, recording all the steps in assembling pieces, detecting where the current state of the artefact has already been reached before, ...
• Single-display systems: several students interact live in front of same screen but with different mice. While their actions are performed in the virtual space, most of their interactions occur in the physical world: the students not only talk to each other, but touch and even push each other.