Abstract: A desire to customise and personalise learning experiences, combined with the rise of a number of new tool integration technologies has led to a move away from monolithic Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs; a.k.a. Learning Management Systems, ‘LMSs’) towards more open and Distributed Learning Environments (DLEs). The various DLE architectures can have very different properties, however, and choosing between them can be difficult.The Open Group’s ArchiMate standard may help in that regard. It was designed to facilitate communication about architectures between all stakeholders in an organisation. It is a visual language that aims to help conversations about IT systems, business processes, organisational structure and strategy. This paper will present a number of DLE patterns that illustrate the range of possible architectures. Both the potential of these patterns as well as the utility of the ArchiMate language in explicating them will be evaluated.

Key words: enterprise architecture, VLE, DLE, LMS, learning technology