As a control freak one would have assumed I would have stumbled upon the notion that I am in control of my own formal learning–or at least the manner in which I synthesize information. But for some reason this escaped me until several years ago. I suppose I’ve tried to control it to some degree by choosing certain classes, deciding to show up, amount of preparation, and the manner in which I take notes. But truly taking learning into my own hands wasn’t even something I considered. Was I conditioned that way? Probably, but only because I’ve not had a lot of exposure to methods that have challenged traditional styles of teaching–the sage on the stage. But looking back I can see that in the classes where I was asked to take more control through group work, project-based work, reflection, etc. that I probably walked out with a greater sense of accomplishment and knowledge.
Up to this point my PLE consisted of a digital notebook and scribbles in the margins of textbooks and journal articles. My PLE was limited in scope to me and my instructor and, in most cases, only lasted 14 weeks. Very rarely the environment expanded to include a few classmates, but it never ventured outside of those boundaries. Collaboration with peers from other schools? Unheard of! Feedback from someone outside of the university employed in my field of study? Never! A suggestion from a stranger? Impossible . . . until now.
I’m starting to see that if I truly want to know something, I am not limited to the information provided by my instructor or the text (or what’s in the LMS). I can take the ideas presented in class and expand those with others in class, students in the department, other university’s departments, other instructors, and people across the world. The power of my personal network is no longer constrained nor is the size of my network. Furthermore, ideas can grow and become refined over time. Once the semester is over the ideas and questions persist and can be built upon as long as I keep my environment open. I’m feeling smarter already!
Even more exciting is that text and what’s found at my university’s library or even the LMS are not the only things contributing to my learning. I can add triggers such as images, videos, and podcasts to my collection–things that may potentially increase knowledge or at least make acquisition a little easier. I’m only limited by time.
My PLE may be fairly easily adapted as an ePortfolio to illustrate what I’ve learned to present for assessment or to potential employers. (No worries, Jon!)
Scott Leslie has compiled an extensive list of PLE diagrams. What I find lovely is that these illustrations are as unique to each individual as the PLE itself should be. It can be as simple or extensive as you choose. One of my favorite depictions comes from D’Arcy Norman:
I also found this video from Graham Attwell to be somewhat helpful (plus I enjoyed his accent):
Within my PLE I can act as a consumer or a producer so while learning from others, others may be learning from me. For instance, in terms of blogs, as a consumer I read other producers’ blogs. I hopefully will also produce my own that will be able to consume feedback from readers and even incorporate what I’ve learned from other blogs. Wikis can be used similarly to blogs in that I can produce and consume. I may add to a wiki or start my own. As a consumer I can use images/audio/video resources for research, I can include those in blog postings (a “reproducer” if you will), I can even produce my own and share them with consumers. I can mashup all of these in any number of configurations to enhance my own learning while possibly contributing to the learning of others.
And sooner than you could say “web 1.0″ there it was–Rich Site Summary (or Really Simple Syndication, whichever you prefer). RSS for short. Because that’s what we like to do–shorten things. And that’s exactly what RSS does–shortens all the hunting and pecking we used to do to find the information that interests us. And it brings it all together on ONE SCREEN. And it’s fresh. And you can categorize and tag all this to your heart’s content. You essentially create your own personal portal to the Internet, bringing to you all the things you want to read and very nearly nothing you don’t.
