The Personal Learning Environment

p-Learning or e-Information?

Rita Kop

Key Themes

Learning environment or learning place?

Learning environment or learning place?

Educational Challenges

Educational Challenges

Well-designed Personal Learning Environment

Well-designed Personal Learning Environment

Conclusions

Conclusions

The learning environment

Other influences on learning

Essence of a Personal Learning Environment

‘1.To liberate access to resources …

2. To liberate the sharing of skills… 3. To liberate the critical and

creative resources of people...4. To liberate the individual… by

providing him with the opportunity to draw on the experience of his peers and to entrust himself to the teacher, guide, adviser or healer of his choice’

Illich, 1971, p.103

A personal or a social place?

A place that ‘hosts the regular, voluntary, informal and happily anticipated gatherings of Individuals beyond the realms of home and work’ Oldenburg, 1989

‘I engage in dialogue because I recognise the social and not merely the individualistic character of knowing’. Freire,1999

‘How can Personal Learning Environments be reconciled with the social nature of learning?’ Attwell, 2009

ChallengesGroups – Networks – Collectives: Presence

ChallengesLearner autonomy

Learner Control

Conative

Algorithmic

Semiotic

Types of social interaction

Confidence Initiative Motivation

Learningactivity Sequencing Pacing

Resource selection

Text-hypertext MultimediaSearch

approaches

Economic

Perceived value of knowledge

Cost-benefitratio

Opportunity costalternatives

Value assessmentand recognition

Life contextSocial

environment

MonitoringEvaluation

Bouchard, 2008, p123

Informal versus formal learning

Traditional formal education: •Institution in control •Passivity •Critical experts •Knowledge is spoon-fed •Artificial situation •Knowledge validated by quality systems •Qualification driven •Human contact •Higher order thinking?•Qualification

Internet-based informal learning: •Learner in control •Activity, participation and interaction •(Critical) experts ?•Knowledge needs to be distilled from information found on Internet •Embedded in real life •Self-assessment or peer- validation of knowledge •Interest driven •Human contact via messages •Deep or shallow thinking? •Qualification?

Design of the new learning experiences

‘Our “audiences” aren’t audiences at all, but rather creators, and our job is not to lecture but to enable. With this new approach comes not only design challenges but the joy of reconnecting people to each other’.Michael Wesch, 2008

Designing a Personal Learning Environment

• Design usability issues:• Simplicity – learnability

-memorability• Accessibility• Relevance

Design dimensions to experience:

Personal learning:• Learner choice and control• Creation and expression• Aggregation • Link to (challenging) knowledge bank• People

‘Design is the processof evoking meaning’

Shedroff, 2009, p4.

Engaging learning experiences

From e-Information to p-Learning

Model of PLE based learningFeeling

Reflecting

Understanding

Reviewing

Adapted from JISC model of learning using e-portfolios (2009)

Aggregating

Aggregating

Feeling

Frederika.Kop@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

Rita Kop