Personal Learning

Environments
BY:
Leanette Kolnik
Michelle Macauley
Rachel Ryan
Steven Yasukawa

What are Personal Learning Environments (PLEs)?

Image from:
https://onlinelearninginsig
hts.files.wordpress.com

Personal Learning Environments:

Scholarly Definition
"PLEs are made up of a collection of loosely coupled tools, including
Web 2.0 technologies, used for working, learning, reflection and
collaboration with others. PLEs can be seen as the spaces in which
people interact and communicate and whose ultimate result is
learning and the development of collective know-how." (Attwell 2010)
Key words of this definition:
space= your website or blog
collection of tools= Web 2.0 tools or links
collective know-how=sharing information with classmates and
colleagues

A Working Definition
A Personal Learning Environment is a concept, an idea-not a
specific product or site. A PLE consists of the tools and
connections that YOU find useful to meet your educational needs,
and the way that you share them with others.
Thus, it is hard to say EXACLTY what a PLE is, because it will
differ from one individual to another.
However, here are some general guidelines and resources for
exploring the concept of Personal Learning Environments

PLEs vs PLNs:
Terms for Connecting and Collaborating
PLN: PROFESSIONAL LEARNING NETWORK: What is it?
-According to Tom Whitby on edutopia,:
"A PLN is a tool that uses social media and technology to collect, communicate,
and collaborate and create with connected colleagues anywhere at anytime.
Participating educators, worldwide, make requests and share resources."
SOUND LIKE A PLE? It should!
Note: joining edutopia.org is also a good option for starting your own PLN/PLE! You
can connect and share (through Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest as well) as a part of
www.edutopia.org
For more info. on PLNs:
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-do-i-get-a-pln-tom-whitby

How to Create a PLE

According to Connie Malamed at elearningcoach.com:
"Because it is personalized, everyone's PLE will be unique"-it's all about
creating a space that meets YOUR needs!
PLEs can "emerge organically" or you can use a model for creating one-most
resources suggest use of a model to give you some structure/focus when
beginning to build your PLE.
The following link will take you to the elearningcoach.com page which outlines
4 basic models for PLEs:
A Generic Model
Collecting-Reflecting-Connecting-Publishing Model
The Four C's Model
Gathering-Processing-Acting Model
http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning2-0/designing-personal-learning-enviro

A Social Media Example:

from Social Media for Educators, in The
Super Book of Web Tools for Educators

Steven Anderson (technology integration specialist) outlines how he got

started on Twitter, and used it to build a PLN :

After using Twitter for a few months, Steven found Twitter4Teachers:

https://twitter.com/search?q=twitter4teachers&src=typd

He began to communicate and collaborate w/ teachers across the country,

and across the globe.

He explains that the use of Social Media can "exponentially expand the
possibilities" for learning and growing as an educator, become less isolated,
and avoid finding yourself "in a rut".

Steven can be found at @web20classroom on Twitter.

Steven Anderson's steps for

"Getting Started"
1. Join Twitter and think about how you might use it
2. visit Twitter4Teachers and add your information
3. "Grow your network" by adding comments and questions
4. try Educator's PLN Ning or http://www.classroom20.com, where groups of
teachers engage in longer discussions
5. Grow a following ; Steven suggests checking out some Twitter chats, for
example: #edchat Tuesdays at 12p.m. EST and 7 p.m. EST.
One important note: as Anderson explains, "PLN's existed long before
social media. The teachers that you collaborate with in your building
and district are a PLN." (Anderson 70)
For more information on Twitter, or using social media, read Social
Media for Educators in The Super Book of Web Tools for Educators
(Week 4 Read/Study)

EDUC-614W-27 as a Model
an important aspect of PLE/PLN adoption is the fact that the concept is
using technology to do what teachers have always done: seek
information and collaborate...Let's take this course, for example:
A side-by side comparison to one of the PLE models from
ConnieMalamed:
Coursework for EDUC
614:
The Four C's Model

EDUC-614W-27 as a Model
Coursework for EDUC
614:

The Four C's Model

Collect
Communicate
Create
Collaborate

Articles, blogs, websites and web

2.0 tools gathered by
participants
Weekly Discussion Boards allow
students to share their research,
as well as comment and reflect
on findings of others
Our Websites and powerpoints
group collaboration on current
project!

EDUC-614W-27 as a Model
Coursework for EDUC
614:

The Four C's Model

The next steps:

Continue to collect and learn
Share this new insight on "integrating technology" with
colleagues in our own districts and beyond through our new
websites, blogs, or social media.

Creating your PLE

The best advice found here

included a closing thought:
"Start small"! It will take
time, and creating a PLE is
an ongoing process

https://onlinelearninginsights.wor
dpress.com/2013/01/05/how-to-creat
e-a-personal-learning-environmentto-stay-relevant-in-2013/

How can PLEs apply to education?

PLE Educational Goal - Have students shift from just collecting
information to acquiring, disseminating, and collaborating with
information that has been found.
Students start with a framework of study and gradually
incorporate their own resources.
Below is an example of how one student uses a PLE in her
Science classroom.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEls3tq5wIY

Pros/Cons of a PLE in education

Pros
Teaches Responsibility.
Metacognition plays a major role in learning.
Students reflect and have deeper engagement.
Cons
Students have no self-reflection.
Students lack the ability to recognize authority over opinion.

What should teachers know about

implementing PLEs for student use?
The role of teacher = facilitator ---> guides active learning processes and
activities.
In turn, this facilitation creates authentic, self-directed learning for students.
The teacher must scaffold the implementation of PLEs for student use.
Start as the demonstrator, explainer, and corrector as students become familiar
with, select, evaluate, and share various Web 2.0 tools and reliable sources.
Create a framework for students to work in.
Transition to the facilitator who coaches students to adapt their PLEs and
manage content with the desired outcomes in mind. Encourage and create
opportunities for collaboration and communication.
Student = creator of learning = authentic learning
Teacher = coach

Teacher Control in a PLE

Even in a PLE, a teacher should share the role of navgator of
learning by providing opportunities for students to:
share online learning resources
work in study groups
work on specific assignments
demonstrate knowledge on specific assessments
see and respond to teacher feedback (Tomberg, 2013).

Teacher Control in a PLE

Therefore, teachers should control
tools, services, and data
specific learning activities
keep students' grades private
monitor students activities
including homework submissions
observing student statements and replies to each other
assess a single students progress by bundling it into a class book
(Tomberg et al., 2013)

What should teachers know about

implementing PLEs for student use?

http://edtechpost.wikispaces.com/PLE+Diagrams#delgado

What should teachers know about

implementing PLEs for student use?

http://edtechpost.wikispaces.com/PLE+Diagrams#delgado

What should teachers know about

PLEs for professional use?
PLEs = a form of life-long learning
Life-long leaning as an adult is focused on the development of a network between people and
institutions. and professional and personal development. According to Debbie Morrison, a
blogger of Online Learning Insights:
PLEs provide teachers a framework to:
expand knowledge in teaching & instructional methods that are and will be appropriate
and relevant for the digital era.
PLEs will:
help teachers stay relevant in his or her field
provide an opportunity to learn how to use tools that will enhance instructional methods
and adapt to the changing paradigm.
help teachers adapt and respond appropriately and with knowledge and understanding to
ever changing tools, devices, and applications that are changing our culture and society.

What should teachers know about

PLEs for professional use?

http://edtechpost.wikispaces.com/PLE+Diagrams#delgado

References
7 Things you should know about personal learning environments. (2009, May).
Retrieved from educause: https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7049.pdf
Anderson, S., Bellow, A., Byrne, R., Couros, G., Ferlazzo, L., Kolbert, L., . . .
Rosenthal Tolisano, S. Social Media for Educators, Super Book of Web Tools for
Educators.
Accessed from
http://dmlcentral.net/sites/default/files/resource_files/_final_edits__super_book_of
_web_tools_for_educators.pdf
.
Attwell, G. (2007) Personal learning environments--the future of elearning. Lifelong
Learning, V2 pg. 1-8.
Conradie, P.W. (2014). Supporting self-directed learning by connectivism and
personal learning environments. International Journal of Information and Education
Technology, 4(3), 254-259.

References Continued
Hicks, A. & Sinkinson, C. (2015). Critical Connections: Personal learning
environments and Information literacy. Research in Learning Technology, 23.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/ritv23.21193.

How to Create a Personal Learning Environment to Stay Relevant in 2013.

(2013, January 5) Retrieved 2015 June 13 from
https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/how-to-create-a-pers
onal-learning-environment-to-stay-relevant-in-2013/

Malamed, D. Models For Designing Your Personal Learning Environment. The

eLearning Coach. Retrieved 2015, June 13 from
http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning2-0/designing-personal-learning-envir
onment/
Morrison, D. (2015, June 8). Need-to-Know-News: Micro-Credentialing

References Continued
Morrison, D. (2013). One Essential Resolution for Educators in 2013 A Personal
Learning Environment. Retrieved June 11, 2015, from
https://onlinelearninginsights.wordpress.com/2013/01/01/one-essentialresolution-for-educators-in-2013-a-personal-learning-environment/ .
PLE Diagrams. Retrieved June 11, 2015, from
http://edtechpost.wikispaces.com/PLEDiagrams#delgado .
Tomberg, V., Laanpere, M., Ley, T., & Normak, P. (2013). Sustaining teacher
control in a blog-based personal learning environment. The International Review
of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 14(3), 109-133.
Whitby, T. (2013, November 18). How do I get a pln. Edutopia. Accessed from
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/how-do-i-get-a-pln-tom-whitby