Reflection
The process of creating my PLE diagram was challenging at first. Viewing other students’ PLE diagrams, however, was very helpful in the design process of my PLE diagram. I enjoyed seeing photo representations and digital tool representations. Reading Malamed’s (2014) online resource, Models For Designing Your Personal Learning Environment, also helped with how I would structure my diagram.
Two visuals kept coming to mind as I was thinking about how to build my diagram. They were a toolbox and a bicycle. I enjoy both riding and working on my bike. As I began to find, join, and participate in my PLE’s, I felt like I was moving forward in making connections, gathering resources, and coming up with new teaching ideas. The momentum of moving forward made me think more and more about using the bicycle for the frame of my diagram. The toolbox needed to fit in somehow because joining PLE’s represents tool-gathering as well. I decided to use a bike bag as a tool-gathering representation. Each step of my slideshow describes the connection of the parts of a bicycle to my PLE.
I do see similarities in my diagram to others in the sense that I have used the Collecting-Reflecting-Connecting-Publishing Model from Malamed’s (2014) online resource, Models For Designing Your Personal Learning Environment. Other students have also used a variety of PLE models from this article for their PLE Diagram. Each student has built their diagrams differently though creating models out of digital tools and 3-D models. The information is basically the same representing similar online communities. The diagrams created, however, are just as one-of-a-kind as the individual. This represents the uniqueness of PLE’s for each person.
References
Malamed, C. (2014, December 2). Models For Designing Your Personal Learning Environment. The ELearning Coach. http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning2-0/designing-personal-learning-environment/
Amie Heatherton 