Thursday, November 10, 2011

Symbaloo as a PLE

A year ago, I couldn't have even told you what Symbaloo was or explain the purpose of a PLE.  Both are now common vernacular in my classroom.  Every student in my classroom has their own Symbaloo PLE.  A personal learning environment (PLE) is simply a

"system that helps learners take control of and manage their own learning. This includes providing support for learners to set their own learning goals, manage their learning, manage both content and process, and communicate with others in the process of learning."

While I'm sure there are many variations on the definition of a PLE, I prefer this definition in that it integrates learning goals and the management of those goals.  Constant planning, monitoring, and evaluating of activities are characteristics of successful self-directed learners (Cennamo, Ross, & Rogers, 2002). A PLE provides students with the tools to do just that and as well as sharing what they are doing with others. 

A PLE gives students power over how they learn.  While I create and provide webmixes for all of my classes, students can add resources and tools that fit their individual learning goals and needs. The following student-created YouTube video demonstrates the power of a personal learning environment.
Symbaloo is by no means the only platform that can be used to create personal learning environments.  It's simply what fit my purposes best.  My students love it and create their own webmixes based on personal interests to meet the needs of their informal learning goals.  The following slide show by Graham Attwell shows the importance of web 2.0 tools as part of personal learning environments.

3 comments:

  1. Great to hear you are using Symbaloo with your students. Thank you for sharing, let us know if you ever have any questions.

    http://www.symbalooedu.com/symbaloolove/

    Daniela
    Team Symbaloo
    edu [at] symbaloo.com

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  2. Wow! How do people find these things? I really need to make a social bookmarking of all these wonderful tools. Your use of Symbaloo, Slideshare, and even Blogger seem to come easily to you. I'm guessing you have had much practice.

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  3. It's not so much practice as countless hours of trial, error, and exploration on Saturday and Sunday mornings before my family wakes up. It's definitely a time sacrifice, but one that is well worth it in the long run. The integration of the technologies I talk about have undoubtedly enhanced and enriched my students education as well as my teaching experience. While there is certainly a lot of front-loading involved, once that is done, it's smooth sailing. There are days I almost feel guilty as there isn't much for me to do as my students are all engaged and do not need my assistanace. I guess (or at least I hope) that means I have done my job well.

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