Comparing PLEs to Gain Understanding

After viewing numerous PLE models from around the world on edtechpost-PLE Diagrams, I noticed some interesting similarities between them.


Personally I found that a lot of PLEs on the list only included technology that the creator already acquired, rather than e-tools that they needed to learn. 

Also, many of the authors didn't explain how they were going to use this new knowledge or with whom they wanted to connect! 

My goal will be to include this type of information in my PLE in order to motivate myself to achieve my learning goals.

It seems that many creators employed images, especially e-learning tool icons, to provide the viewer with a quick informative visual cue. 

I think that I will use the same strategy in my PLE!

While I recognize the importance of connectors in the PLE to connect concepts, tools, and communities to each other, I found it was difficult to distinguish connections that looked 'tangled up'. 

An example of this confusion, is Jared Stein's PLE.



Below, I have selected three PLEs that I believe will help me create my own PLE because they demonstrate learning as an interconnected cycle.

Example 1: Joyce Seitzinger 

I selected this PLE because I can relate to the author's simplistic structure and clear message. 

In my opinion, her PLE consists of technological connections which act as an internal component of her PLN. Thus, her PLN allows her to use the tools within her PLE to communicate and share with the people inside her PLN. 

Therefore, one virtual environment cannot exist without the other.

Example 2: Dallas McPheeters- PLN

Unfortunately, Dallas McPheeters has moved his website to iCloud and I cannot access it unless I sign up...

I admire his creativity in using the precipitation cycle as a symbolic means to describe how his PLN is connected through a continuous system. 

My understanding of his PLN is that e-tools used for communicative purposes cannot exist without the nurturing of peer networks. Again, there is a connected cycle of learning through collaboration.



Example 3: Gabbi Witthaus PLE or VLE?

This last example clearly demonstrated two ideas to me. The first one involves the tools Gabbi wants to develop and the second one is how she wants to utilize these tools in her life. 

I want to incorporate some of this structure into my PLE because it will provide me with direction and remind me why I want to acquire certain e-tools in the first place!




Now that I am well-equipped to create my PLE, I invite you to visit my next blog to see my first draft.

Comments and suggestions are always welcomed!