Week 8 - Translator

Hello, I am César, the translator for this week! Here are the three concepts we have worked on this week:

Accessing information: The first area of the PLE collects where we extract new information from - This means, our multimedia sources of new knowledge about education. Essentially, it is the combination of blogs, people, newspapers and professionals we follow that help us stay up-to-date with new findings in education. Reading research papers and staying active in social networks are great ways to discover new techniques and theories, as well as finding new digital tools adapted to the classroom.

Reflecting while doing: Expanding our knowledge is not the only aim of the PLE. Reflecting on what we have done and keeping track of our projects with videos, blogs and in social media, we are not only helping the online teaching community grow, but also, re-analysing our own work. By creating multimedia content based in our work, we are able to see our projects from a third-person point of view, making it easier to spot flaws and record our progress.

Sharing personal learning network: As we mentioned, by uploading, archiving and sharing our own research, discoveries and theories, we are supporting the growth of the online learning community. After our work is uploaded, we might start receiving feedback and responses from other professionals. The ability to criticise, analyse and, in general, give feedback to other professionals about the content they upload helps teachers from all around the globe share knowledge and new points of view. The Internet also allows professionals to collaborate with each other, starting new projects together and answering questions.

Centralised/Decentralised information: Centralised information refers to the old way information was stored: In libraries, magazines and, sometimes, conferences. This way, information was shared more slowly, could only be shared by professionals, and became obsolete much faster, since there is no way to update a book. Nowadays, thanks to ICTs, we have transitioned to decentralised information. In this new model, information is scattered around the web in all multimedia formats, and anyone with access to the Internet can upload their content. Therefore, it is harder to find specific information due to the sheer amount of knowledge available.

Learning 2.0: It is the general term to refer to learning integrated with new ICTs, combining user-uploaded content, online tools and new pedagogical techniques. Learning 2.0 allows students to access information more easily, quickly and cheaply.

 

Question - Does every PLE need to be carefully planned and scheduled? Are messy PLEs fine?

 

Everyone thinks differently. For years, we have been trying to decipher how humans think, but it is hard to describe so when sometimes, we feel like we do not even know what is going on inside our minds. Some people think more visually and prefer keeping their options open, letting creativity run free and only sticking to a reduced set of rules, whereas others work better under a more strict schedule. As its own name says, the PLE is personalised, and it does not need to be a perfectly planned set of strategies and rules, nor a shapeless, chaotic mess. It needs to work for you. As long as your PLE allows you to access information, reflect on your work and share your discoveries, it does not matter how simple or cluttered it looks.