Discussion of PLE's

Excerpt From:

"Growing, Changing, Learning, Creating"

http://growchangelearn.blogspot.com/2007/06/ples-are-power-tools.html

"In this context, PLE's are power tools. They empower the powerless to break out of their boxes. PLE's invites self-directed learning. PLE's become a source of discrepancy and deviation from the "party line". It becomes possible to think for oneself and disagree with the groupthink. Learning from a PLE makes it possible to see patterns of abuse, exploitation and neglect in the workplace. PLE's undermine the imposed, top-down, command & control kind of power. PLE's put distributed and democratized power in the hands of the individual. It counteracts the conformity pressures without confrontations or insurrections. PLE's are politically radical and perfectly natural. "

I really like how Cammy Bean (2007) began this section of her post with "PLE's are power tools." It stuck out to me right away when I read it! It made me want to know why this individual felt so strongly about the utilization of personal learning environments today. It does seem evident that these types of tools provide the student/user with a new sense of personal directed learning without the immense need for a concrete instructor guiding them along the way. These environments do seem to go against the social norms and structure that many were so used to. It's independent nature is depicted as a means of using your own thoughts and learning modes to complete tasks successfully and without the outside distractions that accompany many of the standard workplace classes today. The worker is given the power to determine their own rules at a pace that allows them to be more successful. This may not always happen when being taught in a group like setting where individual "outside of the box" type of thoughts are often discouraged. Overall, even though there are always going to be advantages and disadvantages to any new development, for some, it may be the key to reduce the anxiety of trying to keep up with others that may not encompass the same perspective as themselves.

By: Heather Abbott