Stephen is Serious!

Okay, I just finished watching Stephen Downes's Personal Learning Environment and my head is still spinning. I was okay and following along (with much effort) in the beginning and then he lost me once he started to explain the 6 attributes the environment must include. It sounded like he was speaking a different language. It was foreign to me. I heard words in reference to the computer that I have never heard of like aggregators, scaffolding, interface, recommender systems, and repositories. Stephen's PLE was nothing like the 7th grade PLE that I understood pretty well. I will try my best to discuss what I was able to gather and take with me. The PLE is basically learning through a community. Learning through a community has no limits where traditional learning does. Real learning can only happen through collaboration with your peers and exploring on our own. A fact would be simple, where as a fact in a network with associated information is complex. Stephen says that the way to evaluate one's learning is by observing their performance. The more they contribute and participate, the more they are learning. According to Stephen, they are becoming engaged, and more comfortable in the particular environment (field of study). The PLE in a way lends itself to the Constructivist theory, "social support for student achievement". It allows all of the 5E's to flourish. Reference my blog for more information on Constructivism. The PLE is a wonderful learning tool that allows a student to explore content in a world with no limits.


Reading his "Nine Rules for Good Technology" was a completely different experience. It was completely relatable. He made real world connections that I could understand. When he spoke to Rule #2- Good Technology is Always On, he supported this rule with an example of using an overhead projector. I cannot tell you how many times there was a problem with my projector or how many times I left my classroom to help a colleague in need. It was real examples like those that allowed me to understand what good technology was.
My friend and I were having a conversation about the MAC. She was telling me how much easier it is to use than a PC and in the back of my head, I was thinking "good technology". I agreed with a lot of what the article stated, like Rule # 6-Good Technology Doesn't Require Parts; CD Roms and separate applications are used from PCs, phones, and navigations. You would hope that everything was already installed and ready to go, but most of the time it isn't. I also like the article because I think that now I won't waste my time on bad technology. School districts often by programs and software for us to try, but now I know if it's not good technology, I'll just move on.