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Personal Learning Environments
Unleashing the Power of Web 2.0
6/1/2008
Digication. Jeffrey Yan, a former educator and the cofounder of ePortfolio systems provider Digication, believes that Web 2.0 could be nudging the ePortfolio back toward its original purpose. "ePortfolios were originally intended to showcase student work and use that system as a student-centric learning model," Yan says. "So, the concept [of the ePortfolio] isn't that far from the personal learning environment. Yet, in the last several years, many ePortfolio technology companies have focused purely on assessment and accountability. The result is a kind of numbers-churning application, which doesn't have much to do with student learning. But call them what you want-- next-generation ePortfolios, ePortfolios 2.0, or PLEs-- I absolutely agree with this direction, and I'm starting to see educators beginning to see the value in it, too. I think we're getting back to what is so intrinsically useful about ePortfolios." In fact, Yan says that the evolution of his company's flagship product, Digication ePortfolio, has been directly influenced by at least one Web 2.0 trend: social networking. "Web 2.0 is about building communities. Flickr, for instance, isn't just about making slide shows; it's about building a community of photographers who share and celebrate each other's work. We, too, focus on creating learning communities."
Desire2Learn. John Baker, CEO and founder of eLearning solutions provider Desire2Learn, sees Web 2.0 as a source of inspiration for the capabilities included in his company's first ePortfolio product, Desire2Learn ePortfolio, launched this past March. "Web 2.0 is having a big impact on [our] technology, behind the scenes," he discloses. "In terms of things like Ajax, the UI controls around tagging, and folksonomies, all of that is being embedded in our products." Ajax (short for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML), for example, uses browser technology to deliver web pages that function and feel more like desktop applications. Like Yan, Baker declares that his company, too, is focusing on "harnessing the power of the social network." In fact, according to the Desire2Learn CEO, the company views the launch of its new ePortfolio system as the launch of a social learning platform. However he terms it, the release does indeed come with a social networking feature, and what the company calls "Web 2.0 standard interface components," including a dashboard, tagging tools, and an in-line help feature (in-line help systems provide pop-up help information right on the page, next to the area where it is most applicable).
As for the advent of the PLE, "Many people are talking about a shift from a formal learning environment to a personal learning environment," Baker acknowledges, "but I don't think that's the case. Personal, formal, and social learning have always been a part of the overall learning experience, and they're not going away. I think what we're seeing now is people building tools and technologies that reflect-- and improve on-- what's happening in the real world."
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