This was a really fun opportunity to organize and focus on my Personal Learning Environment!
What did you learn about yourself looking at your PLE?
Looking at my PLE, the first piece that I notice is that it has grown. Thinking back even over the summer there are more tools and connection sites on this graphic than before. I believe that participation in this class has been a part of that growth as well as trying to branch out more through Twitter and Google+. The biggest connection that I am excited about is the information that comes from Graphite by Common Sense media. I have only scratched the surface of the information and resources offered through this site.
Within my image, I put a quote by Helen Keller, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” Obviously she was not speaking about technology or PLE’s, but I wanted to bring this quote in particularly because a good PLE is constantly working together. The tools that I use to discover new information are directly connected with those that I use to act on my learning or communicate learning to others. There is a cycle within the PLE that allows for a constant growth as new tech and apps come in and old ones leave.
Comparative Analysis
I found that in comparing my image to my classmates there were many similarities between PLEs, but I did however learn about some different tools and ideas as well!
Danielle Leone’s diagram had some excellent tools and connections within her PLE. As far as communication, we share similar networks (twitter, facebook). Danielle’s explore base of her diagram had different networks such as pintrest and youtube, which I did not have under my “discovering” category, but need to add it in the future!
Tim Stark’s diagram was very similar to my own. We both have similar networks for communication and discovering. He included reddit which is a network that I am not that familiar with. His Productivity category was similar to my acting category, however we each had some different tools outside of Google Drive.
Cassie Faught’s diagram split both personal and professional learning environments. I had not thought about splitting in that way. Cassie had twitter within her personal PLE which is great! I try very hard to keep twitter a strictly professional network. We do however have a similar connection within Edweb.net. This was an excellent network to join and I have really enjoyed the connections that have come from this website.
Courtney Kaul’s diagram had a professional development focus which was excellent. Many of the networks within her Pro-D category I had within my Discovering category. This is really a case of semantics. Both of us are discovering new information that benefits us professionally.
Jill Miller’s PLE diagram is incredible! Like some of the others, Google, twitter, facebook were the beginning of similarities between us. However Jill had many more apps and connections such as Pocket, Library databases, dropbox, and Moodle. I didn’t think to add some of these into my PLE.
Kelsey Ramirez’s diagram offers a simple explanation of the networks she uses. The one that she added that I am kicking myself about is Voice-thread! This is such a valuable tool for collaboration and presentation. Outside of this difference we have very similar personal learning environments.
Closing
This assignment has provided a really clear view into the way that each of us thinks in regards to our personal and professional connections. The PLE is in some ways a living organism, continually growing and changing depending on the information, ideas and strategies that are out there. Though my image says “superhero” I am very sure that some of my classmates PLE’s are much stronger than mine. That being said, I look forward to continue to grow mine in amazing ways!
EdTech Thoughts 