Personal Learning Environments - the future of eLearning?

Summary This paper explores some of the ideas behind the Personal Learning Environment and considers why PLEs might be useful or indeed central to learning in the future. This is not so much a technical question as an educational one, although changing technologies are key drivers in educational change. The paper starts by looking at the changing face of education and goes on to consider the different ways in which the so-called ‘net generation’ is using technology for learning. It goes on to consider some of the pressures for change in the present education systems. The idea of a Personal Learning Environment recognises that learning is ongoing and seeks to provide tools to support that learning. It also recognises the role of the individual in organising his or her own learning. Moreover, the pressures for a PLE are based on the idea that learning will take place in different contexts and situations and will not be provided by a single learning provider. Linked to this is an increasing recognition of the importance of informal learning. The paper also looks at changing technology, especially the emergence of ubiquitous computing and the development of social software.