What is a PLE?

In the last few days there has been lots of posts flying around about PLEs. Some of the subject matter has reflected on whether the content of PLEs including blogs is actually the intellectual property of a company….that is if you are blogging on company time. With that in mind did the P even stand for Personal?

Okay, so I read all these posts and I think I get it all, but maybe not. I need to rewind and try to find some info on what the heck a PLE really is. Then I find I need to know what a PKM is and some kind of new whale species called (I joke, I kind of like the sound of it) a p-Whale (PWLE).

So PKM (Personal Knowledge Management) I found nicely from Knowledgeboard via Tony Karrer as:

“PKM is a conceptual framework to organize and integrate information that we, as individuals, feel is important so that it becomes part of our personal knowledge base. It provides a strategy for transforming what might be random pieces of
information into something that can be systematically applied and that expands our personal knowledge.”

(Look I finally figured out how to create a block quote…neat)

A PWLE (Personal Work and Learning Environment) (pronounced p-Whale, a tentative term from Tony, but is cool, catchy and will probably stick) I also found on Tony’s blog.

orking backwards to my original question what really is a PLE? I’ve got the general idea that it currently seems to be more of a concept then one simple thing. It is different for different people and is a collection of learning pieces, tools and experiences. Anything that assists or furthers you in learning is actually a part of your PLE. There doesn’t seem to be one particular tool or formula that would be right for every person.

I found a diagram by Jeremy Hiebert that “works” for me in helping to visualize the whole idea. It’s from Feb. 2006, so maybe there is something better that I haven’t stumbled on yet.

It’s really interesting to see a concept/tool being discussed and developed. I’ve never experienced anything like this and to read around through various posts discussing the notion is fascinating. One person comes up with one idea, another gives it a name, someone else draws a diagram. I’m excited to see where the topic will be in a year from now.

If I’ve misunderstood the terms I’d love to be corrected or pointed in a better direction (even if that is 1.0 of me).

Comments 0

  1. Tracy,
    Thanks so much for this post. I have been saving every reference about PLEs just so I could catch up and join in the discussion someday…

    I was partly avoiding the topic because I feel like I can only fully take on one new concept at a time. I’ve got the blog going, RSS feeds, and now the Wiki (at work). I’m trying to talk these up at work and don’t want to overwhelm them (or myself)!

    Your post was just enough of a revisit to get me started. I really want to create my own diagram like Michele Martin did here and then rethink it like she discusses here.

    I really like Jeremy Hiebert’s diagram that you linked to. I will be interesting to see if anyone else points to something newer…

    Cheers!

  2. Thanks for your comments and additional links Angela. They’re extremely helpful for me as well trying to get into the thick of it all and understand a little more the true potential of all these things as well. I do have Michelle’s blog referenced as well, but have not gone back to look at it as much as I should have.

    I look forward to hearing about how your wiki progresses as well at work. The one I set up yesterday for the Mgt. Team is still flying today. Yeah something worked.

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