What is a PLE?

• A Personal Learning Environment (PLE) is a facility for an individual to aggregate, manipulate and share digital artefacts of their on-going learning experiences.

• The PLE follows a learner-centric approach, allowing the use of lightweight services and tools that belong to and are controlled by individual learners.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hanspoldoja/4098840001 http://www.flickr.com/photos/petahopkins/2157928982

What is the PLE?

Learning has changed!

It is not the development of technology per se which poses such a challenge to education systems and educational institutions…

…but the changing ways in which people are using technologies to communicate and to learn and the accompanying social effect of such use

• A refusal to engage in these issues risks school becoming increasingly irrelevant to the everyday lives of many young people

The Idea of the PLE…

http://www.cetis.ac.uk/members/ple/resources/edf.ppt

changes in the way in which we learn and develop new competences is a challenge to our traditional subject organisation

The ‘pedagogy’ behind the PLE – if it could be still called that – is that it offers a portal to the world, through which learners can explore and create, according to their own interests and directions, interacting at all times with their friends and community

Personal Learning Environment Example

http://reload.ces.strath.ac.uk/plex/

Introducing the concept of PLEs

Personal Learning Environments (PLE) are systems that help learners take control of and manage their own learning.

This includes providing support for learners to set their own learning goals, manage their learning; managing both content and process

communicate with others in the process of learning

and thereby achieve learning goals.

PLE: Definition

A PLE is :

A concept (based on Web 2.0 and social network) rather than specific software

A group of techniques and a variety of tools:

to gather information explore/develop relationships between

pieces of information browser-based (potentially)

PLEs are not another substantiation of educational technology but a new approach to learning

PLE DiagramS

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PLE characteristics• Supporting learners in planning and controlling their learning journey

• Setting their own learning goals• Monitoring their progress towards achieving these goals

• Managing their learning – both content and process• Enabling learners to aggregate resources and personalise their learning

environment• Providing recommendations to learners about resources and other learners

(‘study-buddies’)

• Collaborating with others in the process of learning• Providing support to learners for community building and collaborative activities• A shared learning experience instead of a lone study

PLE characteristics

• Supporting learners in planning and controlling their learning journey• Setting their own learning goals

• Monitoring their progress towards achieving these goals

• Managing their learning – both content and process• Enabling learners to aggregate resources and personalise their

learning environment

• Providing recommendations to learners about resources and other learners (‘study-buddies’)

• Collaborating with others in the process of learning• Providing support to learners for community building and

collaborative activities

• A shared learning experience instead of a lone study

Learning has changed!Web 2.0

PLE are based on the idea that learning will take place in different contexts and situations and will not be provided by a single learning provider

PLE Diagram S

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LMS/CMS

In order to understand what a PLE is, let’s first analyze what a Course Management System (CMS) is.

A Course Management System (CMS) is a web-based platform for delivering, tracking and managing courses online.

Examples: Moodle, Sakai, Dokeos, ATutor, WebCT, BlackBoard, Desire2Learn

LMS/CMS Characteristics

Manage users, roles, courses, instructors, and facilities and generate reports

Course calendar Learning Path Student messaging and notifications Assessment/testing capable of handling student pre/post

testing Display scores and transcripts Grading of coursework Web-based or blended course delivery

Source: Wikipedia

LMS/CMS Tools A CMS provides a collection of tools such as:

assessment (particularly of types that can be marked automatically, such as multiple choice),

communication, uploading of content, return of students' work, peer assessment, administration of student groups, collecting and organizing student grades, questionnaires, tracking tools, etc. New features in these systems include wikis, blogs, RSS, e-

portfolios and 3D virtual learning spaces.

Source: Wikipedia

An example of a CMS

Connectivism

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• Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.

• A learner can exponentially improve their own learning by plugging into an existing network.

• Knowing where to find information is more important than knowing information.

George Siemens, Connectivism: A learning theory for today’s learnerhttp://connectivism.ca/about.html

Connectivism

Profound innovations in technology tend to be reflected

in older paradigms

Online Learning at the Crossroads

• On the one hand – we have developed tools and systems intended to support traditional classroom based learning

• On the other hand – we could (should?) be developing tools and systems to support immersive learning

• We should be developing for dynamic, immersive, living systems…

• Add tools/services• Connect to data, information, knowledge

• Create artifacts

Personal Learning

Environment

• Connect to peers, educators, family and friends

• Share thoughts, ideas, resources, artifacts

Personal Learning Network • Connect to

professionals and experts via professional organizations and networks

• Collaborate• Contribute

Professional Learning Network

Professional Network Organizing

LMS, Social network, Start page

Development of Professional Learning Network

Social-oriented applications and professional networks - new opportunities for learners and educators

Widgets and apps everywhere!

Social search widget: Binocs

• The Binocs widget allows search for a variety of content formats (e.g. videos, presentations) and content repositories (e.g. YouTube, SlideShare, Wikipedia).

• Search results are ranked according to users’ ratings.

Web logs

Google is the most used e-learning application

Building your PLE in iGoogle

iGoogle allows anyone with a Google account to assemble their own collection of widgets.

Game Based Learning

Types: Branching, Spreadsheet, Game, Lab…

http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/website/view.cgi?dbs=Article&key=1116274375

PLEs building laid the foundations of some main ideas: (1) learning is an ongoing process and tools to

support this learning are needed(2) the role of the individual in self-organizing

learning is important(3) learning can take place in different contexts

and situations and cannot be provided by a single learning provider.

Attwell Graham

Building PLE on start pagesPersonal Learning Environment

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Searcher

Assemblator

Learner Researcher

Innovatorof data, information, knowledge

of subject matter, technologies, how to learn

Create

Share

Commu-nicate Connect

RSS feeds, links

Search engines

Blogs, wikis

Feel and look

Social book-

marking

Images/

AV

Chat/AV conference

Email, forum

Facebook/ Twitter/

Ning

To-do list, notes,

comments

calendar

Design learning strategy

Plan activities

Perform activities

Document results, analyze

Share results, evaluate

Choose technology/ application

Arrange environment

Extend/modify environment

Share environment/ collaborate

Search

Gather Aggre-gate

Productivity improvement

Customi-zation

Compo-nents, panels,

tabs, widgets

widgets

Goals, needs,

interests, motivation, problems

Blog, wiki

Learning resources

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We can get an idea of what the PLE looks like by drilling down into the pieces…

Model- conceptual frameworks

- wiki (wiki API, RSS)- concept maps (SVG, mapping format)- gliffy (SVG?)

- reference frameworks- Wikipedia- video / 2L 3D representation – embedded

spaces

Demonstrate- reference examples

- code library- image samples

- thought processes- show experts at work (Chaos Manor)

- application- case studies- stories

The question is, how can we connect the learner with the community at work?

Practice- scaffolded practice- game interfaces- sandboxes

- job aids- flash cards- cheat sheets

- games and simulations- mod kits- mmorpgs

The question is, how can we enable access to multiple environments that support various activities?

Reflection- guided reflection- forms-based input- presentations and seminars

- journaling- blogs, wikis

- communities- discussion, sharing

The question is, how can we assist people to see themselves, their practice, in a mirror?

Choice – Identity - Creativity- simulated or actual environments that present tasks or problems- OpenID, authentication, feature or profile development- Portfolios & creative libraries

People talk about ‘motivation’ – but the real issue here is

ownership

PLEs are not another substantiation of educational technology but a new approach to learning.

A response to pedagogic approaches which require that learner’s e-learning systems need to be under the control of the learners themselves.

PLE are based on the idea that learning will take place in different contexts and situations and will not be provided by a single learning provider

The idea of a Personal Learning Environment recognises that learning is continuing and seeks to provide tools to support that learning

Source: Graham Attwell

Conclusion

Conclusion cont.:• A model for PLE building is proposed

• The modified Rogers’ model for competence development lifecycle in a learning network is used in order to be examined the main phases in competence progress of each student

• Social networks contribute to the processes by which learners meet and communicate, and pool, share, learn about and reuse their resources, knowledge and competencies

• PLE building is found to be a core for PLN and PfLN deployment

• The transition from PLE to PfLN is an important step that supports students to become self-organized and life-long learners

Reference list

• Attwell, G. (2013, February 07). Personal Learning Environments. Retrieved March 06, 2013, from Slide Share: www.slideshare.net

• Downes, S. (2007, April 18). The Future Of Online Learning And Personal Learning Environments. Retrieved March 19, 2013, from Slide Share: www.slideshare.net

• Ivanova, M. (2009, April 09-10). From Personal Learning Environment Building to Professional Learning Network Forming. Retrieved March 06, 2013, from Slide Share: www.slideshare.net

• Mikroyannidi, D. A. (2011, March 23). Build Your Personal Learning Environment. Retrieved March 6, 2013, from Slidesshare: www.slideshare.net

• Scapin, R. (2009, July 04). Personal learning environments.Retrieved March 6, 2013, from Slideshare: www.slideshare.net