PLE/N Eric J. Schiff | AAD 610

PLEs are scenarios 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, both content and process  communicate with others in the process of learning Working, learning and playing through Personal Learning Environments Slideshare Presentation by Graham Attwell

PLE/Ns represents the integration of a number of "Web 2.o" technologies like blogs, Wikis, Diigo, RSS feeds, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Vimeo, other Media Apps, etc.— around the independent learner. PLE/Ns puts the individual learner at the center, connecting him or her to both information and to communities to: "... provide personal spaces, which belong to and are controlled by the user, [and also provide] a social context by offering means to connect with other personal spaces for effective knowledge sharing and collaborative knowledge creation” (1)

Stephen Downes describes the PLE as: "... one node in a web of content, connected to other nodes and content creation services used by other students. It becomes, not an institutional or corporate application, but a personal learning center, where content is reused and remixed according to the student's own needs and interests. It becomes, indeed, not a single application, but a collection of interoperating applications—an environment rather than a system". Stephen Downes Website – Relevant posts, presentation archive, and more.

Additional representations and narratives are hereAdditional representations and narratives are here, and on the PLE assignment page.PLE assignment page

Using the term "Social Learning 2.0," Anderson and Dron reinforce the emphasis on community, conceptualizing it in terms of "groups," "networks" and "collectives" (2007) and thereby achieve learning goals. (2) Social learning may be defined as a change in understanding that goes beyond the individual to become situated within wider social units or communities of practice through social interactions between actors within social networks. (3)

Social Media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Vine, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Vimeo, Youtube, Yelp, etc., play an increasingly active and viable role in PLE/Ns. Participation in these channels opens multiple learning opportunities, as well as facilitates communication and collaboration through social networking.

Understanding ones PLE/N in the context of an organization’s structure and work holds tremendous value. Relationships include:  Setting and meeting team goals, expectations and outcomes  Research and Development strategies and methodologies  Creating effective (social) marketing strategies and methodologies Social Network Technologies for Learning – Stephen Dowens (Slideshare)

 (1) Cahtti, A, "Personal Environments Loosely Joined", Mohamed Amine Chatti's ongoing research on Technology Enhanced Learning blog, 2 Jan 2007, inspected on 10 Oct 2010 (1) Cahtti, A, "Personal Environments Loosely Joined", Mohamed Amine Chatti's ongoing research on Technology Enhanced Learning blog, 2 Jan 2007, inspected on 10 Oct 2010  (2) Anderson, T, "On Groups, Networks and Collectives", Virtual Canuck Blog, April 30, 2007, inspected on October 10, 2010 (2) Anderson, T, "On Groups, Networks and Collectives", Virtual Canuck Blog, April 30, 2007, inspected on October 10, 2010  (3) Reed, M. S., A. C. Evely, G. Cundill, I. Fazey, J. Glass, A. Laing, J. Newig, B. Parrish, C. Prell, C. Raymond, and L. C. Stringer What is social learning? Ecology and Society 15(4): r1. [online] URL: