Use of an Institutional Personal Learning Environment to support learning actions in Higher Education

Abstract

El uso de un Entorno Personal de Aprendizaje Institucional en apoyo a las acciones de aprendizaje en la Educación SuperiorBy being published by this journal, articles are free to use in educational, research and non commercial environments, with mandatory attribution of authorship.To further information check http://ojs.c3sl.ufpr.br/ojs2/index.php/atoz/about/submissions#copyrightNotice. AbstractIntroduction: This paper presents a pilot experience on the use of an Institutional Personal Learning Environment (iPLE) which aimed to describe the conception, design and development of the iPLE, as well as to determine how users approached the iPLE, and to identify the structure of the Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) designed by students. Method: The iPLE supported graduated students -specialized on research for social sciences and education -of the University Casa Grande (Guayaquil, Ecuador) -in the development of their final master projects and to support other people interested in building and using a PLE. The experiment data sources included academic records, virtual classrooms design, the very PLEs built by the students, statistics of use and access to the iPLE; and a questionnaire held to the participants. Results:The initial results allow the research team to report a favourable acceptance of the iPLE by the students not only as a support for research work, but also to provide a model for the construction of PLEs. In addition, the questionnaire shows that the users of the iPLE rated the environment as having high usability and felt a high grade of satisfaction. Conclusions: The conclusions point out different lines of research related to iPLEs, such as use an iPLE as portfolio of evidence and interaction among students, peers and teachers is the customization of an iPLE by using technological and teaching learning resources.

Personal learning environments and personal learning networks for language teachers’ professional development

“…The two case studies demonstrate ways in which teachers can use PLEs/ PLNs for supporting their own and their students' learning, as well as for creating professional development opportunities within their own teaching and educational contexts. In agreement with the literature concerned with PLEs and PLNs, our case studies describe how these are used for: accessing resources suitable for the specific needs of the user (Pérez Cascante et al, 2016); increasing students' motivation (Dabbagh, Kitsantas, Freih, & Fake, 2015); searching, aggregating, creating, and sharing content (Saadatmand & Kumpulainen, 2013); encouraging students to make their learning personally relevant; increasing students' collaboration and independence (Castañeda & Soto, 2010); assisting students in reflecting on the learning process (Arrufat & Sánchez, 2012); and engaging in online communities (Saadatmand & Kumpulainen, 2013).…”

Digital transformation in German higher education: student and teacher perceptions and usage of digital media

“…However, students may not be prepared to use digital tools for learning and they may ask for guidance and support (Kuhn, 2017;Kühn Hildebrandt, 2019). Thus, pedagogical interventions within study programs that combine the LMS and commonly used tools by students, that go beyond passive ways of teaching and learning and encourage self-regulated learning techniques, are also necessary, and may be a good strategy towards that aim (e.g., Dabbagh & Kitsantas, 2012;Marín, Negre, & Pérez Garcias, 2014;Pérez Cascante, Salinas, & Marín, 2016).…”

The use of Web 2.0 tools in English language learning: A systematic review

“…Since these students acquire digital literacy at an early age, they prefer educational techniques that cater to their technological habits (Koumachi, 2019). Therefore, these students have high expectations of technology-rich learning environments that encourage student-centered, collaborative, reflective, and knowledge-based learning (Cascante et al, 2016).…”