VLE to PLE – The next generation of digital learning environment. [1678] Members : Annual Conference 2017

Group Admins

Public Group Active 4 years, 11 months ago

Tue, Sep 5 2017, 1:30pm – 2:50pm

Authors: Simon Thomson, and Lawrie Phipps

Room: Library Rm (1)

Theme: Empowerment in Learning Technology

Type: 40-minute session

Description

“What should the next generation of digital learning environments do?” – This was a question posed by Jisc (2016) earlier this year as part of their #codesign initiative (Phipps, 2016).

One proposal was a shift from institutionally owned technology to a more individualised approach (Thomson, 2016).

Dabbagh & Kitsantas (2012) identified that these environments provide a “potentially promising pedagogical approach for both integrating formal and informal learning” (p. 1) and yet most institutions have not been able to make effective use of these formal and informal spaces together. More recently Isaksson, Naeve, Lefrère, & Wild (2017) report that “Current research and development have yet to fully realize the visions of PLEs” (p. 80) and that is despite the emergence of the PLE over 10 years ago.

At Leeds Beckett University we are exploring the development of a PLE “space” through a HEFCE funded research project into Personalised User Learning & Social Environments (PULSE). This project explores the development of a hub for connecting students’ existing spaces with institutional spaces and empowering students to take ownership of their “content” within and beyond their learning.

The difference here is that we do not seek to develop an entirely new learning platform, but just an architecture through which to connect existing spaces. PULSE will develop a “proof of concept” hub from which further development can be undertaken. It is anticipated that some of this work will help inform developments being undertaken by Jisc as part of their #codesign activity.

Within the session we will outline the concepts of the approach, gain an overview of the “hub” and draw upon the experiences of staff and students involved in its use. We will also provide an opportunity to discuss the concept of a personalised connected learning spaces, the role of the institution in the development and management of the “hub” and the changing models of ownership and use polls to gain participant insights.

The attendees will be asked to actively participate through the use of electronic polling and commentary tools. A series of questions will be posed as part of the session to ascertain opinions and experiences. In addition, open text polls will be used to allow attendees to share ideas for future digital environments.

References

Dabbagh, N., & Kitsantas, A. (2012). Personal Learning Environments, social media, and self-regulated learning: A natural formula for connecting formal and informal learning. Internet and Higher Education, 15(1), 3–8. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2011.06.002

Isaksson, E., Naeve, A., Lefrère, P., & Wild, F. (2017). Towards a Reference Architecture for Smart and Personal Learning Environments. In E. Popescu, Kinshuk, M. K. Khribi, R. Huang, M. Jemni, N.-S. Chen, & D. G. Sampson (Eds.), Innovations in Smart Learning (pp. 79–88). Singapore: Springer Singapore. http://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-2419-1_13

Jisc. (2016). What should the next generation of digital learning environments do? | Jisc. Retrieved March 16, 2017, from https://www.jisc.ac.uk/rd/get-involved/what-should-the-next-generation-of-digital-learning-environments-do

Phipps, L. (2016). #Codesign16: The story so far – Next Gen Digital Learning Environments – lawrie : converged. Retrieved March 16, 2017, from http://lawriephipps.co.uk/?p=8388

Thomson, S. (2016). An edtech future without more edtech. | Digisim. Retrieved March 16, 2017, from http://blog.digis.im/tools/an-edtech-future-without-edtech/

Go Back