PhD Journey
Started: January 2012
End: December 2015?
Area of Study
• eLearning & Learning Technologies in self-directed
work-based learning
• Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) in Continuing
Professional Development
• To understand the digital literacies required for
learners to develop their PLEs.
• … or not
What is a PLE?
• Depends who you talk to (or read)
• A concept or approach and/or a technology/tool
• Found many promoting as concept are just playing
it “lip service” (Fiedler & Väljataga, 2010)
• Concept, but need to recognise other positions
• “Personal Learning Environments are not an
application but rather a new approach to the use
of technologies for learning…. the argument for the
use of Personal Learning environments is not
technical but rather is philosophic, ethical and
pedagogic” (Attwell, 2007).
My PLE
Encompasses
• Personal Learning Network
• Online and offline resources
• Software and online tools
• Computer for access and storage
Literature Being Explored
• Work-based learning
• Adult learning, including informal/formal & selfdirected, online
• Personal learning environments
• Situated learning
o Communities of practice
o Learning groups
o Individual connections
• Critical literacies
Digital Literacies
11 literacies identified by Jenkins et al. (2006)
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Play
Performance
Simulation
Appropriation
Multitasking
Disruptive cognition
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Collective intelligence
Judgment
Transmedia navigation
Networking
Negotiation
Formal or Informal?
• Or non-formal?
• Definitions vary, including whether you can
distinguish between them
• Formal – curriculum, teacher (or other term),
assessment/certification (Hager & Halliday, 2006)
• Informal – not formal
Informal Learning
• Difference between informal & non-formal not clear
• Four organising principles:
o Context: learning that occurs outside of classroom-based formal
educational settings
o Cognisance: intentional/incidental learning
o Experiential: practice and judgement
o Relationship: learning through ‘sitting next to Nellie’, mentoring, team
working
(Lee et al., 2004)
Proposed Study
• Identify how PLEs are being used
• Understand the critical literacies/skills developed by
the participants, and when
• Questionnaire and semi-structured interviews
• Value creation stories
• Mixed Methods (quantitative & qualitative)
Participants
• Individuals identified through employers and
industry organisations
• Insurance, policing, security management,
investigations
• CPD for voluntary designations, promotional exams,
licensing/membership requirements
Next 6 Months
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Lit Review
Pilot Study
Increase hours without interruptions
Complete research modules
Schedule APG
References
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Attwell, G. (2007). Personal learning environments: The future of
eLearning? learningpapers. Retrieved from
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=related:xilNS9aArk4J:scholar.googl
e.com/&hl=en&num=30&as_sdt=0,5
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Lee, T., Fuller, A., Ashton, D., Butler, P., Felstead, A., Unwin, L., & Walters, S. (2004).
Workplace learning: Main themes & perspectives. Learning as Work Research
Paper(2).
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Fiedler, S., & Väljataga, T. (2010). Personal learning environments:
concept or technology? Paper presented at the PLE Conference 2010,
Barcelona. Retrieved from http://pleconference.citilab.eu/wpcontent/uploads/2010/07/ple2010_submission_45.pdf
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Jenkins, H., Clinton, K., Purushotma, R., Robison, A. J., & Weigel, M. (2006).
Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education for
the 21st Century. White paper for the MacArthur Foundation.