My Personal Learning Environment


Like most people, I strive to grow in a positive manner both personally and professionally.  I thought of a tree, which encompasses life, growth, change, and at times adaptations.  I displayed all the platforms and tools I utilize regularly on different branches, but also in a fashion that showed they blended together and they support one another by transferring knowledge or ideas to each other.   Something I realized about myself is that I rely heavily on Google applications in all sectors of my professional and personal life.  Now looking back at my diagram, I probably should have had my Google applications represented in the tree trunk given that they are my main learning support.  Also, I realized that social networking sites are mainly used for personal reasons, but I am realizing the benefits of leveraging these in a professional manner. 

Our assignment to join and actually participate in online communities this week was a great challenge for me.  I would say I am more of a lurker in professional communities and some personal communities.  However, this assignment and other assignments in the MET program have challenged me and have helped me grow. 

In making my diagram, I had a hard time categorizing some of my applications and tools.  I noticed I use several tools in more than one way.  For example, YouTube is used for exploration of content and ideas as well as creation; same goes with Schoology, which I use for some professional development with my job but also am creating content for online courses.

After visiting my classmates’ PLE diagrams, I found we have a lot of similarities with the categories we set up as well as the online tools and applications that we use.  The main categories we all displayed were: Create, Learn, Collaborate, Communicate, and Collection.  I also added in Exploration for the things that I use to discover new ideas and content.  The main communities and tools I noticed myself and classmates use were: Google Drive, Diigo, YouTube, Moodle, Scoop It, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.  After viewing some other diagrams I realized that I forgot to incorporate some tools that I employ on a regular basis and also learned of other things that my classmates are using on a regular basis, like Reddit.  Overall, it was a good exercise to reflect on my own personal learning environment and also view others’ perspectives of theirs to see similarities and think about things I maybe should look into.   My goal is to continue to operate a PLE that encourages me to grow and change in a positive light.

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