Personal learning environments based on web 2.0 services in higher education

Abstract

The emergence of Web 2.0 has not only changed the available Web technologies, but also the way people communicate and relate to one another; technology is continuously impacting society and the behaviour of individuals. The growing ubiquity of Web access, and the variety of devices that allow us to interact with it, have made it possible for learners to choose the tools and services that better adapt to their needs, providing a means of personalizing the learning experience. In this paper, we report the results of research on learner-created Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) based on Web 2.0 services, in the context of higher education, as both a means of transforming learning and teaching processes, and as preparation for the learners’ future professional lives in a dynamic environment with a heavy digital and technological influence. The methodology used was Design-Based Research, by carrying out an intervention in practice settings in a subject at higher education level; this intervention and its successive iterations allowed for a continuous process of data collection and analysis, which was in turn used to modify and create new interventions. The original pilot test and successive iterations ran from 2009 to 2012, with a second round of data collection carried out between 2014 and 2016. The analysis of the data provided evidence of PLEs as tools for learning and acquiring skills, strengthening social interactions, and improvement in the organization and management of content and learning resources; it also helped identify obstacles and barriers, and possible solutions. The main outcome of this research is presented as a set of guidelines for using PLEs as tools for supporting formal learning, either by teachers or by the learners themselves.