1. Designing Personal Learning
Environments: Staff and
Student Considerations in a
Digital Landscape
Professor Mike Keppell
Executive Director
Australian Digital Futures Institute
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2. Overview
‣ Horizon trends and challenges
‣ Personal Learning Environments
‣ Spaces
‣ Tools
‣ People
‣ Academic learning spaces
‣ Student learning spaces
‣ ICulture
‣ Disconnecting
‣ Ecological university
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3. Horizon Trends
‣ People expect to be able to work, learn, and
study whenever and wherever they want.
‣ The abundance of resources and
relationships will challenge our educational
identity.
‣ Students want to use their own technology
for learning.
‣ Teaching paradigms across all sectors are
shifting to include online learning, hybrid
learning and collaborative models.
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4. Challenges
n Seamless learning – people expect to be
able to work, learn, and study whenever
and wherever they want.
n Digital literacies – capabilities which fit an
individual for living, learning and working in a
digital society (JISC)
n Personalisation - our learning, teaching,
place of learning, technologies will be
individualised
n Digital scholarship will be the norm.
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5. References
n Johnson, L., Adams, S., Cummins, M., and
Estrada, V. (2012). Technology Outlook for
STEM+ Education 2012-2017: An NMC
Horizon Report Sector Analysis. Austin,
Texas: The New Media Consortium
n Sharples, M., McAndrew, P., Weller, M.,
Ferguson, R., FitzGerald, E., Hirst, T., Mor, Y.,
Gaved, M. and Whitelock, D. (2012).
Innovating Pedagogy 2012: Open
University Innovation Report 1. Milton
Keynes: The Open University.
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6. Personal Learning Environments
Interactions
Spaces Tools
PLE
People
Interactions
Interactions
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8. Personal Learning Spaces
‣ Personal Learning Environments (PLE)
integrate formal and informal learning
spaces
‣ Customised by the individual to suit their
needs and allow them to create their own
identities.
‣ A PLE recognises ongoing learning and the
need for tools to support life-long and life-
wide learning.
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10. Distributed
Learning Spaces
Physical Blended Virtual
Formal Informal Formal Informal
Mobile Personal Academic
Professional
Outdoor
Practice
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11. Distributed Learning
Spaces
n Book Chapter: http://
www.slideshare.net/
mkeppell/distributed-
spaces-for-learning
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18. Connectivism
‣ PLE may also require new ways of learning as
knowledge has changed to networks and
ecologies (Siemens, 2006).
‣ The implications of this change is that
improved lines of communication need to
occur.
‣ “Connectivism is the assertion that learning is
primarily a network-forming process” (p.
15).
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19. Personal Learning Environments
Interactions
Spaces Tools
PLE
People
Interactions
Interactions
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20. Academic Learning Spaces
n Physical, blended or virtual ‘areas’ that:
n enhance academic ‘work’
n that motivate academic ‘work’
n enable networking
n Spaces where academics optimize the
perceived and actual affordances of the
space.
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21. Discursive Spaces
n Intellectual and discursive spaces focus on the
contribution to public discourse in areas such as:
n e.g. presentations, media, advising, translating
research into practical benefits, community
involvement, etc
n MOOCs?
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22. Epistemological Spaces
n Epistemological spaces focus on the
“space available for academics to pursue
their own research interests” (p. 76).
n e.g. labs, libraries, collaborations and
networking with university colleagues
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23. Pedagogical and Curricular Spaces
n Pedagogical and curricular spaces
focus on the spaces available to trial
new pedagogical approaches and
new curricular initiatives.
n e.g. physical and virtual sandpits,
working groups, meetings, etc
n MOOCs?
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26. Ontological Spaces
n Ontological spaces focus on ‘academic being’
which is becoming increasingly multi-faceted
beyond the research, teaching and community
commitments. In fact “the widening of
universities’ ontological spaces may bring
both peril and liberation” (p. 77).
n MOOCs?
n e.g.diverse roles may include: academic staff
developer, professional developer, manager,
administrator, facilitator, teacher, researcher,
evaluator, presenter, writer, editor, consultant,
project manager, change agent and innovator.
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27. Barnett, R. (2011).
Being a university. New
York: Routledge.
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33. Ecological University
n Global connectedness and dependence on
world around them
n Instead of ‘having an impact’ on the world
which can be both positive and negative
ecological universities seek sustainability
n They are self-sustainable in their multiple
levels of interactions.
n They adopt a ‘care for the world’ as
opposed to an ‘impact on the world’
approach (Barnett, 2011).
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34. Ecological University
nNetworked university
nValues and fosters its
networks and their
interconnectedness
nFeels a responsibility
to the well-being of
these networks
(Barnett, 2011).
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35. Conclusions
‣ Importance of documenting our PLE
‣ Pros and cons of PLEs
‣ Balancing the higher purpose
‣ Being able to disconnect
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