Group items tagged

The present and future of Personal Learning Environments (PLE) - 9 comments This post is recast from an assignment I completed about four months ago in a Masters Degree course entitled Innovative Practice and Emerging ICT, in which I investigated what PLEs are meant to be and where they might be going. It was originally part of a class wiki. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Towards a Definition 3. Driving Forces 4. Developments to Date 5. Barriers 6. Future Potential 7. References 8. Web Links Introduction A definition for the term Personal Learning Environment (PLE), remains elusive. Conception about what should constitute a PLE depends on the perspective of the commentator. For example, the priorities for a PLE are different for a tertiary student, a university administrator, an instructor, a working professional, or an adult who persues an eclectic path of lifelong learning. Metaphorically, an individual may engage in a learning process that is either more acquisitional or participatory (Sfard, 1998). There are inconsistencies across these positions about what a PLE should do. But whether constructively and defensively, interest in PLE appears to be growing. At the time of writing this introduction (August 2006), no particular product or service exists that can definitively be categorised as a PLE, although some prototypical work is in progress. An inclusive, authoritative account about PLEs does not yet exist. Only a handful of articles have appeared in the academic and public press about PLEs since the term gained currency in 2004. This article has been compiled after tracking recent conversations in the blogosphere and following social bookmarks.

An interesting post, summarizing a twitter conversion seeking a definition of PLN v PLE, that was the background to Alec Couros' definition of PLN on Page 124 of his paper (used as a Week 1 Reading): "personal learning networks are the sum of all the social capital and connections that result in the development and facilitation of a personal learning environment." (Couros, 2010)

"A definition for the term Personal Learning Environment (PLE), remains elusive. Conception about what should constitute a PLE depends on the perspective of the commentator. For example, the priorities for a PLE are different for a tertiary student, a university administrator, an instructor, a working professional, or an adult who persues an eclectic path of lifelong learning. Metaphorically, an individual may engage in a learning process that is either more acquisitional or participatory (Sfard, 1998). There are inconsistencies across these positions about what a PLE should do. But whether constructively and defensively, interest in PLE appears to be growing. At the time of writing this introduction (August 2006), no particular product or service exists that can definitively be categorised as a PLE, although some prototypical work is in progress. An inclusive, authoritative account about PLEs does not yet exist. Only a handful of articles have appeared in the academic and public press about PLEs since the term gained currency in 2004. This article has been compiled after tracking recent conversations in the blogosphere and following social bookmarks. "

good slideshare presentation on PLE's

"The Personal Learning Environment concept is relatively new and is often used interchangeably with Personal Learning Network. The earliest reference is attributed to George Siemens in his 2004 paper, Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age. Downes and Attwell have also popularised the concept with Downes describing the PLE as "a tool that allows for a learner (or anyone) to engage in a distributed environment consisting of a network of people, services and resources" (2006, p23). Semantically, a personal learning environment and a personal learning network differ, with a network referring to connections and the interaction between them, and an environment referring to a broader definition that includes more passive tools and settings. The network and its broader socially constructed environment are interdependent, constantly shaping each other and unable to be separated."

One of the several thoughtful summaries of the Week 1 topic PLEs versus PLNS, The author summarises the PLE/PLN conversation as: # People being accountable in their own learning # People connecting and forming communities # People using online tools, as well as others # Personal knowledge and learning growing and expanding # A life-long portfolio of learning Apart from the need for on-line tools (I think we could and did have a PLE/PLN using traditional human contact and pre-web technology), I can largely accept these definitions.

Post that adopts Viplax Baxi's description of a PLE as Learning Operating System (LearnOS) and attempts to align Downes' PLE functions with traditional OS functions. Also discusses the problem of recall ... which is an issue for me too, and one that I try to tackle by bookmarking everything.

Will Richardson raises the bar for educators to start doing some educating and equip students with critical literacy skills as in 'The Definition of 21st Century Literacies Adopted by the NCTE Executive Committee February 15, 2008.