by Ellie Shane, Sara Mora, Dave Stuart, Mario Uribe
Editor: Tatiana Lozada
Overview
In order to leverage the overwhelming amount of information and resources provided by the internet in the digital age, users need to take advantage of creating a personal learning environment to add order and structure to their digital experience. Personal learning environments allow users to design their learning experiences around their individual needs and enhance their overall learning experiences. Users should also take the opportunity to utilize an open network learning environment to further enhance and personalize their learning. Through the use of open network learning environments and personal learning environments, users can link important resources and content, create content and learning materials, and share information with a learning community. This chapter seeks to introduce learners to personal learning environments and how to create these environments. It also seeks to, introduce learners to open network learning environments, and the instructional model of connectivism as well as how it relates to open network learning environments. Additionally, the chapter includes activities to practice new skills, required readings and suggested readings, teaching resources, references, and a glossary..
Chapter Learning Objectives:
We live in a world where information is ubiquitous and needs only to be located. Because of this, the goal of a learner has shifted from a need to collect information to a need to draw connections from it - to acquire it, disseminate it, and collaborate in it use (Educause, 2009, p. 2). Personal learning environments (PLEs) help learners accomplish these goals by allowing learners to connect and manage the various people, resources, and tools that help them learn (Tu, 2014, p. 14). Put another way, PLEs allow learners to immerse themselves in a learning environment that includes the tools, people, and resources that they find personally useful.
PLE creation and management gained popularity as the use of Web 2.0 tools have become more prevalent in online learning. Web 2.0 tools - which allow for more creative, interactive, and collaborative learning - are notoriously simple and focus on doing a few things well, rather than many things poorly. The simplistic nature of many Web 2.0 tools means that multiple tools are often required to adequately support a learner. The PLE framework allows for this and is the place where learners can effectively manage and connect the various tools that support their learning.
Tools are just one aspect of a PLE; another is more social. Social networks have made it possible for people who live a world apart to connect and interact with one another as if they were neighbors. In education, social networks can be used to establish learner-to-learner and even learner-to-expert connections. Social networks, then, are an important part of any effective PLE because they allow for learners to use others as tools for discovery and can help expand their learning experiences beyond course and campus boundaries (Educause, 2009, p. 2).
The third, and final, aspect of PLE relates to content. Traditionally in online learning, content is controlled and managed by the instructor. Within a PLE, content is curated by the learner. This curation process requires that learners include multiple content sources (i.e. news sites, blogs, podcasts, wikis, etc.) in their PLE.
If it isn’t obvious, connecting the various tools, people, and resources required for successful learning can be tricky. Managing web-accounts, keeping in contact with important people, and checking the web for new and updated content could be a full time job for any learner. With PLE, though, all of these tools, people, and resources are united via a desktop application or a web-based service of the learners choosing. Netvibes, Symbaloo, iGoogle, and Google Chrome Apps and Extensions are just some of the services that could be used to create a PLE. In the end, PLEs exist to help resolve the potential negative impacts of integrating multiple Web 2.0 tools, social networks, and content sources into one learning environment (Tu, 2014, p. 14). The benefits of PLE extend beyond organizational, however, as PLEs can help learners achieve effective open network communication, interaction, and collaboration (p. 14).
Now that we know what a PLE is and what it’s purpose is, let's take a moment and see how we would set one up. One thing to keep in mind when working with a Personal Learning Environment is that it is Personal. “Technological innovation and advancements have brought about massive societal change” (Veletsianos, 2010). What might work for you might not work well for another student and so on. Think of a PLE as a personal homepage that you can customize to fit your learning needs at a specific point in time. There are a couple of things to consider when creating your PLE.
The platform for a PLE is the first choice that needs to be made, the platform is the location that we will store all of our personalizations. Platforms that have been used extensively in the education world include iGoogle and Symbaloo just to name a few. Once a PLE platform is chosen, most of the work is done as the rest is combining our platform with the online tools that we are already using. Veletsianos (2016) explains that with the advancements of technology there are a myriad of sources that are available for us to use and are constantly growing (p. 3). The beauty of a PLE is that nothing is concrete, there is no need to ask anyone to make any changes as you are in charge. Once you realize that a Web 2.0 tool is worth adding, you add it yourself. If you see that a tool you have added is no longer in use, you simply remove it.
An open network learning environment (ONLE) is directly linked to a personal learning environment (PLE). Without open access to content information, network resources, media resources, and web 2.0 tools, learners would be limited in their ability to design and personalize their personal learning environment. As the abundance of online resources continues to expand, information overload is bound to occur. Creating and sustaining a personal learning environment that emphasizes linkage through an open network learning environment is critical for learners to get the most out of their learning.
Tu et al. (2014) stated that an “ONLE is a digital environment that empowers learners to participate in creative endeavors, conduct social networking, organize and reorganize social contents, and manage social acts by connecting people, resources, and tools by integrating Web 2.0 tools to design environments that are totally transparent, or open to public view” (p. 15). This organic networks of connections sets users up to become creators of information, juxtaposed against the traditional role of learners as consumers of information. Traditional online education is usually carried out through an learning management system (LMS) and is taught using the instructivist approach, which encourages learners to “download” their education. Instead, an open network learning environment challenges learners to locate, analyze, create, share, and discuss information and resources in order to construct knowledge on a topic and enhance the learning community’s understanding of a topic.
In order for learners to manage their way through the vast resources found in our modern, networked world, bridges, or links, need to be established between key content resources, media resources, and web 2.0 tools and learners personal learning environments. ONLE bridges are critical for learners to create the most productive and effective PLE. A PLE emphasizes for learners to create their own learning environment and encourages learners to aggregate tools and resources that are useful to them in one, easy to access, place. In order to achieve this, learners should utilize the open network linkage design model (ONLDM), which supports effective PLE and ONLE integration. Specifically, ONLDM “links and connects multiple network resources, network learners, and Web 2.0 tools in ONLE to allow learners, instructors, and other ONLE stakeholders to construct and share their PLEs within a human network” (Tu, 2014, 17). Through using ONLDM effectively, the “linkage architecture can resolve the issues of learning different tools, multiple authentications, visit ing multiple sites, and tools to improve the effectiveness of PLE and ONLE” (Tu, 2014, 17).
As noted by Tu et al. (2014), there are seven main forms of linkage in the open network linkage design model, all of which can be used by learners to improve access to information and to their learning community. They are as follows:
Overall, what should be noted is that users can take advantage of all types of linkage offered in an ONLE learning experience to benefit their individual needs, construct their knowledge and understanding of a topic, and to share content resources, information, and tools with a learning community.
What is connectivism?
Connectivism is the learning theory that shows that knowledge is connected and ever changing. It states that learning takes place when you can connect different pieces of information to your prior knowledge or to new knowledge. It involves connecting to others and their opinions. Connectivism encourages lifelong learning while utilizing the network of social media platforms. No longer does learning involve a one way interaction between instructors and learners. Learning has now become a social connected process that allows learners to gain insights from others and expand on those ideas, thanks to technology. Dr. George Siemans and Stephen Downs are accredited with developing the connectivism learning theory. They realized that the process of learning was starting to shift when they started blogging in the late 90s and early 00s. This theory is revolutionizing the education world.
Learners are connecting with other people to build their knowledge. This has been made possible through the widespread use of technology and social media. Devices are becoming more affordable and more convenient. Therefore, people are connecting themselves to others and creating networks with like-minded individuals that are interested in the same topics or learning goals.
How does connectivism connect to ONLE?
Connectivism goes hand in hand with ONLE, Open Network Learning Environments. One of the main objectives of ONLE is to use open networks to help learners create an environment that allows them to construct their own learning by navigating throughout the internet. Connectivism uses the same principles to connect knowledge and people, with similar goals, using social media. Connectivism allows learners to build their knowledge by interacting with the other people and knowledge. Both ONLE and Connectivism strive to create personalized learning for each learner. Open Educational Resources are essential for both Connectivism and ONLEs to survive. OER refers to the educational resources that are available on the internet without a cost to the reader. Connectivism could be used in conjunction with ONLE. The learning theory has many similarities to the open network learning environment.
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