e-Learning Ecologies MOOC’s Updates

Personalised e-Learning through intelligent Personal Learning Environments

Personal Learning Environments or PLEs have in some way attempted to address the needs and concerns of e-learnersby integrating two aspects within such environments, namely, a network and a portfolio ... both of which are personal. A Personal Learning Network or PLN brings together al the learner's contacts, sources, memberships, and any other medium which is employed for educational purposes. On the other hand a Personal Learning Portfolio represents the academic record of a learner by recording all the educational achievements and experiences of a specific student. 

As shown in the image by Steve Wheeler both the PLN and PLP form part of the PLE thereby providing an integrated environment that takes into consideration both the student's previous academic history and the personal sources, media and providers that fuel the same student's academic needs and interests.

Over and above this how can such an environment be rendered intelligent? And why the need to be intelligent? 

The fact that the learner's needs evolve over time is enough to ensure that an intelligent PLE accommodates the changing academic variables. The PLP is the most obvious of both components as a learning profile needs to evolve over time and thereby a up-to-date PLP needs to be generated. But even the PLN evolves over time and thereby an element of intelligence is required to ensure that the latest sources and information providers are guaranteed.

  • Jeanet Oosterhuis
  • Matthew Montebello
  • Jeanet Oosterhuis
  • Alison Jepsen