THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND TECHNOLOGY IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A LITERATURE REVIEW OF THE ASCENSION OF VIRTUAL LEARNING

The main focus of the paper is on the subject of entrepreneurship as it is a necessity for global economic growth as well as virtual learning that has become a fast growing trend in the education sector. This paper therefore explores the use of technology in the teaching of Entrepreneurship in higher education. It examines the rise of virtual learning and how it is beneficial to the institutes of higher education. It has been observed (Pasquinelli. E; 2010) that there is an extremely low representation of university entrepreneurship educational programmes in the internet. The general cause for concern in entrepreneurship teaching has been in the shifting of focus of 'what to teach' to the element of 'how to teach' and this is how virtual learning has been viewed as the best way to accomplish entrepreneurial teaching successfully. As Rudnicka. P (2009) states, there is a low correlation of traditional education methods with the development of entrepreneurial traits and attributes. Thus there is a need for institutes of higher education to shift to more interactive learning approaches. Virtual learning environment (VLE) being a set of teaching and learning tools designed to enhance a students' learning experience by including computers and the internet in the learning experience (Holyoke. M; 2011). Virtual learning allows for education to be tailored for individual students more effectively making the learning process beneficial for them. The paper is based on reviews of literature and relevant discourses around the subject of using virtual learning to teach entrepreneurship. The purpose of the study is to analyze how virtual learning assists in the teaching of entrepreneurship in order to bring awareness and recommendations to institutes of higher education that have entrepreneurship or have a desire to introduce it in their curriculum, with the hope of seeing entrepreneurship education programmes increased on the internet.