PLE Conference Proceedings

The PLE Conference proceedings

Luís Pedro, Carlos Santos, Sara Almeida — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

No abstract available.

Using SymbalooEDU as a PLE Organizer in Higher Education

Victoria Marin, Jesús Salinas, Bárbara De Benito — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This paper presents a case study related to the use of personal learning environments (PLE) in higher education. In this study, SymbalooEDU, a self- management tool was used. This tool allows students and teachers to organize their bookmarks, RSS and widgets in a visual way, using tabs and blocks with colours and different space distribution. Although it can be used for different purposes, its use as a PLE organizer seems to be interesting. This study aims to find out whether personal learning environments powered by institutions are meaningful and useful for students and lecturers to learn; what students do with this tool at a personal and academic level and what type of elements they include; and whether this kind of tools facilitate merging formal and informal learning. The data were gathered through questionnaires, interviews and observation, and results and conclusions are drawn up from these data.

Steps to reflect on the personal learning environment. Improving the learning process?

Mª Jesús Gallego Arrufat, Vanesa Gámiz Sánchez — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The work that we describe here is a work in progress that we are carrying out in the University of Granada. The main objective of this work is thinking about learning processes that occur in current society and especially in the framework of Higher Education, trying to analyze the tools that compose the Personal Learning Environment of each student. In this research we try to relate the tools in the students’ PLE with the stages of learning in the theory of learning of Gagné. This knowledge could guide us towards the improving of our teaching processes and students learning.

Introducing personal learning environments to informal learners: lessons learned from the openlearn case study

Alexander Mikroyannidis, Teresa Connolly — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) hold the potential to address the needs of informal learners for multi-sourced content and easily customisable learning environments. This paper presents the lessons learned from a case study regarding the use of widget-based PLEs by informal learners for finding and evaluating Open Educational Resources (OER). The lessons learned from this case study have allowed the authors to detect some of the obstacles for the successful adoption of PLEs by informal learners, as well as to identify ways for overcoming these obstacles.

Developing work based personal learning environments in small and medium enterprises

Graham Attwell, Ludger Deitmer — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This paper is based on a literature review and interviews with employers and trainers in the north German building and construction trades. The work was undertaken in preparing a project application, Learning Layers, for the European Research Programme. The paper looks at the development of High Performance Work Systems to support innovation in Small and Medium enterprises. It discusses the potential of Personal Learning environments to support informal and work based learning. The paper goes on to look at the characteristics and organisation of the building and construction industry and at education and training in the sector. It outlines an approach to developing the use of PLEs based on a series of layers to support informal interactions with people across enterprises, supports creation, maturing and interaction with learning materials as boundary objects and a layer that situates and scaffolds learning support into the physical workplace and captures people’s interactions with physical artefacts inviting them to share their experiences.

Enhancing self regulated learning skills for improved ple use: a problem based learning approach

Arunangsu Chatterjee, Mahrukh Mirza — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Traditionally web-based learning management systems reflect a lack of sufficiently personalised support for learning. The new generation of person- alized open learning environments can be seen as an attempt to fill this void. However, literature suggests that PLEs even though pedagogically desirable pose immense challenges for learners and they require support, guidance, and pedagogical interventions to make the best possible use of associated technolo- gies to fulfil their learning goals. This paper examines how problem-based learning can be used to enhance self-regulatory skills among learners resulting in improved adoption of PLEs.

Sapo Campus Schools as a disruptive innovation tool: could it be the educational Ba?

Fátima Pais, Carlos Santos, Luís Pedro — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sapo Campus, a project developed by the University of Aveiro, SAPO and TMN within the labs.sapo.pt/ua program, is a web 2.0 service plat- form specifically designed for Higher Education. Some time after implementing SAPO Campus at the University of Aveiro, the team responsible for the project accepted the challenge of adapting it to educational settings beyond Higher Ed- ucation institutions. The institutional adoption of the Sapo Campus Schools (SCS) platform, in which openness, sharing, integration, innovation and person- alization converge, will prompt changes in the school setting, not only in the way people relate to one another, but also in the teaching and learning process. Considering the epistemological principles that underlie the use of technology in the teaching and learning process is as important as it is necessary. In this set- ting, two equally relevant issues related to the adoption of SCS emerge: tech- nology and knowledge. As a result, it becomes necessary to study how knowledge is generated within SCS, from individual, collective and organiza- tional perspectives. If, sensus lato, one can assume an immediate change for schools joining the SCS platform, one cannot infer that the impacts it generates are indeed innovation. Based on these propositions, this paper aims at 1nalyzing SCS, identifying the elements that aspire to reach the knowledge creation Ba, and provide a way to a disruptive innovation.

Pedagogical practices, personal learning environments and the future of eLearning

Rui Páscoa, Sérgio Lagoa, João Brogueira, José Mota — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Historically, elearning has adopted the most common pedagogical models in Distance Education and it has been gaining increasing importance, as Higher Education Institutions are offering more and more online degrees. However there is a gap between theory and practice. What are the actual pedagogical models followed by the teachers online? Do they follow the theoretical models or do they adopt a mix of different models? What is the role of the services and tools available in the pedagogical practices, namely the Personal Learning Environments (PLEs)? How are Higher Education Institutions adapting themselves and which are the future trends for elearning? This paper tries to shed some light on these questions based on two interviews: one to Prof. Graham Attwell and the other to Prof. José Lagarto. Showing some skepticism about the adoption of elearning by Universities, the interviewees consider that PLEs are indeed capable of bringing a quality increase in the learning process. They also consider it is necessary to adopt several pedagogical models in elearning.

The impact of culture on personalization of learning environments: some theoretical insights

Mahrukh Mirza, Arunangsu Chatterjee — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In an increasingly competitive environment, universities around the world are opening their doors for international students due to economical and legislative (e.g. Bologna Agreement) considerations. This process of Interna- tionalisation and Globalisation has made the Universities increasingly multicul- tural. There are two current trends in higher education: an increase in the use of open and personalised online learning technologies, and a significant interna- tionalisation of the student cohorts. Therefore, the barriers associated with the cultural differences in learning environments and specifically emerging learning environments (e.g. PLEs) become more and more important with the increasing globalisation of education. In this paper the authors explore the impact of vari- ous cultural aspects on learning within open and personalized learning environ- ments instigating future pedagogical and technological debate.

Psychological ownership and personal learning environments: do sense of ownership and control really matter?

Ilona Buchem — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

New power relations and the shift in control have been some of the key topics driving the discussion about Personal Learning Environments (PLE). This paper explores the role of sense of ownership and control in use of technology- enhanced learning environments. The paper is rooted in the theory of psychological ownership and reports on empirical findings from a joint study conducted at universities in Berlin and Augsburg (Germany). The study encompasses the results of an online survey with 50 students from three different university courses, exploring multiple relationships between ownership, control and learning in context of web-based ePortfolios. The results of the study indicate that control of intangible elements of ePortfolio, such as control of content or personal data, is more related to the feeling of ownership of one’s ePortfolio than control of tangible elements, such as technical tools. Based on the example of web-based ePortfolios, the paper argues that the perception of a learning environment as a Personal Learning Environment is related to perceived ownership of intangible elements.

PLE-based ePortfolios: towards empowering student teachers’ PLEs through ePortfolio processes

Gemma Tur Ferrer, Santos Urbina Ramírez — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In this article, according to Cambridge, we try to argue building the networked self improve and empower the construction of eportfolios at the same time that they involve empowering the construction of each student’s personal learning environment. As Barrett says, we posit that Web 2.0 tools are suitable tools for the creation of artefacts in the first step of the construction of eportfoli- os. As stated by Shepherd and Skrabut, we try to argue as well, that these tools that encourage networking and empowering students’ PLE, contribute to eport- folio sustainability. Finally, we argue that eportfolios and PLEs have also their main processes in common. We analyse the use of Web 2.0 tools for the creation of artefacts in our eportfo- lio case study. Although we cannot prove our students’ eportfolio sustainability, at this point of our on-going project of eportfolios in Teacher Education, at the University of the Balearic Islands, Ibiza headquarters, we can still analyse our students’ beliefs in the role of technology in their learning and in their teacher identity, which is still in construction. As we said last year, during the first school year of implementation, there was a large group of students with a nega- tive attitude towards technology, although we can now say that most of them have evolved considerably. Some of them still think that technology fails to en- rich their own learning process but in spite of this fact, all of them appreciate that the introduction of technology will have a positive effect on their teaching in the future.

Analysis of personal learning networks in support of teachers presence optimization

Malinka Ivanova, Gabriela Grosseck, Carmen Holotescu — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The activities of teachers in social networks have a certain place in their personal advancement and professional progress. Studying the organization of Personal Learning Networks (PLN) could support the optimization of teachers’ efficacy and productivity. For this purpose, an analysis is performed after a literature review and taking into consideration the opinion of the international educational society including teachers from Primary schools, High schools and universities. The received data shows very different PLN structures consisting of preferred and favorite social networking sites, online authoring tools, search engines, software for communication and collaboration, socially-oriented learning management systems. Most often used and very popular among teachers are the social networks Facebook and Twitter that are studied in detail in the form of friends number, reasons for adding/excluding someone from friends’ list, frequency and directions for usage, influence on personal efficacy, impact on teaching practice. All gathered data and performed analysis result in a created model for social teachers’ presence optimization.

Future teachers looking for their PLEs: the personalized learning process behind it all

Linda Castañeda, Jordi Adell — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

This paper reports the results of a naturalistic study obtained from a teaching experience in higher education with first year students of the Primary School Teacher degree. In this study we want to analyse how they are organiz- ing their activity for learning (reading, reflecting and sharing knowledge) and how those learning processes are integrated on their PLE. In order to achieve that, they have been reflecting about the learning basic "components" of their course activity: reading (in a multimedia way, or not only by text), doing (reflecting and creating cognitive artifacts), and sharing (discuss- ing, showing, and providing and receiving feedback from and to a community of reference), they have made relationships between those components and techno- logical tools, if there is any, and using those they have created mind maps for representing their PLEs. The idea is try to understand how are PLE organized and perceived by learners but not starting from the technological point of view but from the learning processes perspective.

“Tips for making a movie”, a learning object for autonomous learning

Clarissa Rodrigues, Lia Oliveira, Sérgio Ferreira — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The paper accounts for a developmental research in the area of courseware production for personal, and self-directed learning. A complete learning object was developed in the context of a master program in Technology and Digital Art. The aim is to make this course available through an online platform, using existing social networks to add social learning features. It is considered by the authors to be a kind of Personal Learning Environment, with a specific purpose.

First time building of a PLE in an ICT post graduation course: main functions and tools

João Paz — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In this paper we start by developing a model of the main functions of a Personal Learning Environment after a literature review. This model is then used to identify the most represented PLE functions and tools in the students' first time diagramming of a PLE in an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Post Graduation Course. The results show some of the prevalent learning patterns associated with e-learning 2.0, with an emphasis on communication and collaboration function/tools although further research is needed to confirm the conclusions.

Building personal learning networks through event- based social media: a case study of the SMiLE project

Lisa Harris, Graeme Earl, Nicole Beale, Chris Phethean, Tom Brughmans — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

In this paper we report on early findings of our SMiLE project which is evaluating how effective various online social networking channels can be in supporting how people network and learn from a major ‘live’ conference. The event took place at the University of Southampton in March 2012. We consider the dynamics of the relation- ship between ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ communities in the development of personal learning networks, for example how social networking impacts upon participants’ interaction and engagement before, during and after the event as the community of practice de- velops. Assessing the impact of social networking activity on ‘real world’ outcomes has historically been a difficult task, but we argue that recent developments in social network visualisation and analysis now enable valuable insights to be generated for the benefit of both event organisers and attendees seeking to build their subject knowledge and extend their networks. We begin with a brief review of networking theory and the emerging role of the online backchannel at ‘live’ events, before describing the approach we took to the col- lection and analysis of social media data from the CAA Conference. We then discuss the implications of our findings for people looking to build learning networks through the increasingly blurred boundaries of ‘real’ and ‘virtual’ networks. We conclude by highlighting some lessons learned and possible directions for future research. Our findings also have relevance to the PLE conference itself – which this year has the added dynamic of two face to face locations for the conference operating at the same time to pose new multi-channel communication and learning challenges for partici- pants.

Sharing personal learning environments for widget based systems using a widget marketplace

Daniel Dahrendorf, Diana Dikke, Nils Faltin — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Presently, there are multiple web and mobile application stores on the market providing various tools and supporting creation of mashup spaces. However, only some of them concentrate on offering learning tools and necessary guidance in constructing Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) by the users. This paper represents a marketplace focusing on educational applications and their categorisation according to functionalities, learning phases they sup- port, and learning domains the tools refer to. The represented approach aims at assisting users in selecting applications supporting their particular learning goals and needs. Besides interoperability and technical issues, the actual use of the technology and further research questions are discussed.

Just4me: functional requirements to support informal self-directed learning in a personal ubiquitous environment

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The aim of this paper is to present the results of the first phase of a project called Just4me. The project proposes the design, and development and pilot test of a technological platform that supports a ubiquitous personal learning environment (PLE) designed for lifelong learners across different professional, social and training contexts. In this paper, we define functional requirements that might support informal self-directed learning also taking into account mobility factors (related with ubiquitous learning) from the standpoint of a practitioner in any field.

Building a shared personal learning environment with Sapo Campus

Luis Pedro, Carlos Santos, Sara Almeida, Tim Koch-Grünberg — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

SAPO Campus (SC) is an institutionally supported platform of integrated Web 2.0 services that allows its users to publish and share content in a safe environment. However, more than a space where people publish their content to, this platform allows its users to build the roots of their own PLE within the SC community. The implementation of these principles resulted in the idea of a Shared PLE (ShaPLE). Starting with SAPO Campus' base features some new sharing features were added to the platform, which we can broadly classify as platform and user driven. These two driven sources will contribute to an integrated digital curation mechanism that will allow users to have a more relevant learning experience. This paper describes and specifies the solutions developed in order to support the creation of a ShaPLE, and reflect upon the impact the development of this concept might have in the field of PLEs.

Drupal as a social hub for personal learning

Tobias Hölterhof, Axel Nattland, Michael Kerres — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

A Personal Learning Environment (PLE) focuses on the personal need of a learner. It refers to informal and self-directed learning and integrates different resources and services in a single environment. But learning can also be considers as a social activity. From the perspective of a formal master pro- gram, the article discusses the relation between social and personal aspects of learning and describes the design of a technological platform that connects the different PLEs of the students. Instead of using a traditional Learning Manage- ment Systems (LMS) for managing the program, the platform acts as a “social hub” between the PLEs to perform formal learning scenarios and to build a so- cial space.

Designing and implementing PLEs in a secondary school using Web2.0 tools

Ebrahim Rahimi, Jan van den Berg, Wim Veen — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Although current and upcoming web technologies offer all kinds of new opportunities to support student-centered learning, there does not exist yet a clear roadmap to integrate these technologies into teaching and learning pro- cesses. In this paper a model is introduced in order to develop Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) consisting of Web2.0 tools and to integrate them into teaching and learning processes. Next to this, an example implementation in the context of a secondary school is described. Two questions framed this study. First, how do students integrate PLE tools into their learning activities? Second, what is the students and teacher’s perception of the PLE project? Results show, among others, that web2.0 tools should be thoroughly integrated with active teaching and learning methods in order to realize a student-centered learning environment. It was also concluded that students need enough time and teacher’s facilitation in order to get learning and pedagogical value out of PLEs tools and to be able to truly integrate them into their learning activities.

Online Learning Communities: from personal to social learning environments

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Online Learning Communities have great potential in sharing experiences and creating a collective knowledge based on the interaction among members. This paper presents some our experience and conclusions of using PLE to mixing personal profiles with community building as a mean to exchange experiences from different stakeholders involved in learning activities. These results were applied in two different communities to promote the virtual mobility (Movinter), innovation and quality on Learning (Hextlearn). In these scenarios we explain the goals, the stakeholders and the results we achieved. The strategy chosen was based on social learning environments where each user has their own space, using PLE/PLN.

Building identity in an institutionally supported personal learning environment: the case of SAPO Campus

Mónica Aresta, Luís Pedro, Carlos Santos, António Moreira — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Social media is changing the way individuals learn, collaborate and express themselves, fostering the construction of an identity and reputation available to almost everyone. More than Curriculum Vitae, the construction of an online identity may reveal the sum of the learners’ skills and experiences. Introducing online identity as a concept that reflects the path of the learner’s personal, academic and professional lives, this paper presents the results of a case study developed at University of Aveiro, aiming to analyse how a group of thirteen students build identity in both open social online platforms and a platform provided by their Education Institution. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, questionnaires and observation. Although still in progress, the study revealed the presence of two different online identity profiles (context-driven and user driven online identities), and the student’s awareness about their own online identity and reputation as learners and as professionals.

Sapo Campus Schools: network learning, teaching and people

Fátima Pais, Carlos Santos, Luís Pedro — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Sapo Campus is an integrated web 2.0 service platform designed to be used in Higher Education (Santos & Pedro, 2009). Having implemented it some years ago, the team responsible for developing the platform decided it was time to face a new challenge: to redesign the platform in a way it could be used in other school levels, thus creating Sapo Campus Schools (SCS). In this setting, and despite the fact that some of the demands and problems are the same as those found in Higher Education institutions, the adoption of web 2.0 technologies raises new questions and challenges. The institutional adoption of SCS, a platform that is defined by its openness and is all about sharing, integration, innovation and personalization, is expected to prompt changes in schools. This is the background for the current research project that aims at: Monitor the schools that take part in the Sapo Campus Schools project and analyse the impact it has on the teaching and learning process, as well as on the way students/teachers relate to this technology. Bearing this in mind, two research questions were drawn up, one focusing on the impact in three key areas: institution, teachers and students, and the other on the interactions taking place within SCS. The on-going literary review directly includes subjects related to Personal Learning Environments (Attwell, 2007; Downes, 2010;Hongyu et al., 2010; Kompen et al., 2009; Qian, 2010), web 2.0 (O'Reilly, 2007; Richardson, 2006), learning networks and all the related conceptual body. Also important, stemming from the impact studies, are the issues concerning innovation processes and knowledge (Christensen et al., 2010; Drucker, 2002; Nonaka & Takehuchi, 1991; Nonaka & Von Krogh, 2009). Two groups of schools, chosen for specific and distinctive reasons, will take part in the study. In the first group (G1), which is made up by two schools with different surroundings (urban and rural setting), the research will be more interventional. As for the second group (G2), schools are yet to be chosen and will be selected from those that decide to join SCE. Methodologically, this research stands on extremes, assuming both a positivist and a critical paradigm. This approach, that sets out to combine two apparently opposing issues: depth and width, intersects two different methodological procedures: action research and survey. Regarding G1, action research will make it possible to understand the process more broadly, ranging from the administration and management levels to the classrooms. In G2 the focus will be on the adoption contexts, understanding the processes behind them, relating them amongst themselves and to the situation in G1, using the same research techniques and tools. Because it involves more schools, in this group research will be more longitudinal through the application of a longitudinal survey. Methodologically, it is important to point out that the data collect in both settings will be crossed taking into account the role and presence of the researchers, different in each group. As for the nature of the study it will be mixed, combining qualitative and quantitative methods. The techniques and data collection tools are also varied and were chosen keeping in mind the research questions: surveys (questionnaires and interviews), documental analysis (SCS’s access data e literature review), as well as the researcher’s diary. Insofar, the data collected makes it possible to draw a first profile of SCE’s users, noting that these are all preliminary results based on the experimental use of the platform. Impact wise it is expected that this project will add on to the skills related to digital and information literacy, key 21^st century skills. On the other hand, the project is in line with what Attwell (2007) entitles new content ecology, being that all SCS users are potential prosumers. From a product development’s standpoint, this project can provide information that reflects the schools’ opinions and helps redesign the platform, creating constructive synergies between users and developers.

Diverse knowledge practices through personal learning environments – a theoretical framework

Sabine Reisas — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The paper discusses the relevance of facilitating knowledge practices and personal learning environments in higher education. It describes the practice-oriented view of personal learning environments and defines knowledge practices as a socio-cultural practice. The focus in this paper lies on the main theoretical key concepts which the research of facilitating knowledge practices and personal learning environments is based on. It outlines the settings of the re- search and the used qualitative methods to explore implicit and explicit practices and the existing personal learning environments of students.