The authors point out that today's learners are different from learners previous generations and as such, have different needs. Connectivist theory helps to serve as a roadmap for these learners needs. The authors offer a framework to the reader in which to to help build student's personalized learning environments (PLE). They conclude that it is the role of the educator to select the tools and resources that best enable students to maximize their learning potential.

The authors offer a brief look at connectivism in relation to distance and blended learning in higher education. They point out the the landscape is changing from a knowledge transmission to a knowledge acquisition system and that connectivist theory is a guide to help in this transition. They also offer a counterpoint in that the way a good number of online courses are conducted is in a knowledge delivery system that dissociates the learner. They point out the instructor interaction is mandatory to counteract the dissociation that can occur.

The authors review the literature over the last 10 years of Personal Learning Environments (PLE) to come up with an idea or the roles that teachers play within these environments as well as the skills needed to be successful in these roles. They have put forth 5 broad areas that teachers must take on in order to be successful in facilitating student PLEs: Planning and Design, Instruction and Learning, Communication and Interaction, Management and Administration, Use of Technology.

The authors postulate that within connectivist communities, the roles that people take (lurker, leader, expert, etc.) have as much or more to do with personality traits than the desire for engagement or ability levels of the participant. They use massive open open courses (MOOCs) as a testing ground and Personality and Self-determination theory as the prisms through which to view learner interactions within these communities.

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