BP3_iGoogle Screen Shots

A couple of days ago I started the fourth of twelve courses in the Educational Media Design and Technology Master of Science program offered through Full Sail Online.  One of our assignments for this week is to use iGoogle to build a Personal Learning Environment (PLE).  According to Educause's publication 7 Things You Should Know About Personal Learning Environments, the term PLE "describes the tools, communities, and services that constitute the individual educational platforms learners use to direct their own learning and pursue educational goals."  According to this definition, a Personal Learning Environment should be self-directed and used in ways that fit with my goals and preferences as a learner.  That said, there are a few elements that are required in the assignment, that I wouldn't necessarily choose on my own, like a "to do list" on every page, for example.  But for the most part the idea of using iGoogle as the platform for my Personal Learning Environment is rather interesting.

I am still trying to figure out how to make the best use of iGoogle and am looking forward to seeing how others are using it as the foundation for their PLE.  Here are the screen shots of each of the four pages that I have created so far: Home, FSO, AR and ETC.

Home Screen

FSO Tab

Action Research (AR) Tab

ETC Tab

So far I have incorporated Facebook and Twitter gadgets and a To-Do list, as well as the Google Reader RSS aggregator so that I can have all of the blogs that I follow updated in one place. We were also required to add links to Flickr, Viddler, the FSO course management system, web conferencing site (e.g. Wimba) and Full Sail email. In addition, I have added links to my AR iWeb site, the CBR example web site, the EMDT CBR Social Networking Site, Purdue University's Online Writing Center, the APA's formatting website and the APA Guide to Electronic Resources.

I must admit that as I was updating my iGoogle site I wondered if anyone really needs to have a PLE. But I am sure there are many folks who find it very valuable to have all of these information sources, links and connections organized in one central place. I think I am once again coming up against my digital immigrant status - I want to spend less time online, not more. I want to look for information when I need it - I don't want to have to sort through information that is thrown at me - I want to be in control of the information that I use on a daily basis. To me, that is part of what being a self-directed learner means. I don't want to give CNN, Fortune, BusinessWeek, etc. permission to bombard me 24/7 with stuff that isn't valuable or meaningful. There is so much information out there, that it is too overwhelming for me to have to sort through even a handful of RSS feeds. So I guess right now I am still learning how to find value in this type of resource and am struggling with my accent as a digital immigrant. I will ask my students if any of them use this type of tool to manage their personal learning environment - maybe we can explore its value together. I'd love to hear any comments from others who have realized the personal benefits of a PLE or who are more adept at using iGoogle than I am. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.