Use of Personal Learning Environments in English Learning: An Example of Anadolu University Open Education Faculty

Abstract

Internet paved the way for educational technologies which have gradually gained importance in the field of education and has passed the learning responsibility to the student. Succeeding this phase, Personal Learning Environments has gained a significance to support students’ active role of in organizing their own learning within online platforms. Personal Learning Environments are platforms where learning is structured personally, planned and archived for life. These environments created with Web 2.0 tools support Open and Distance Learning with a structure that allows the design of individualized syllabi and encourages online participation, individual and group activities. In this study, Personal Learning Environments created by distance learners studying off-campus to learn English as a foreign language were examined. In this regard, the main purpose of the study was to seek the opinions of field experts and distance learners on how Personal Learning Environments within the context of open and distance learning could be developed in an effective, efficient and attractive way. This study was structured within the development cycles of design-based research. The participants of the study, which was carried out in the 2016-2017 Fall Term (March-September 2017), were distance learners and field experts. Qualitative data were collected and analyzed in the design-based research process. At the end of the research, a design framework for Personal Learning Environments was proposed. According to the data obtained depending on the research questions, a Personal Learning Environment is an environment that supports the personal learning experience in the context of open and distance learning, ensures the adoption of the designed environment and meets the general expectation for learning English. However, due to individual differences in learning, each Personal Learning Environment should be evaluated individually as it is created for individual learning needs.

Keywords

• open and distance learning
• personal learning
• personal learning environment
• English as a foreign language
• web 2.0

İngilizce Öğrenmede Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamlarının Kullanımı: Anadolu Üniversitesi Açıköğretim Fakültesi Örneği

Abstract

İnternet, eğitim alanında giderek önem kazanan eğitim teknolojilerinin önünü açarak, öğrenme sorumluluğunu öğrenciye bırakmıştır. Bu sürecin devamında, Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamları, öğrencilerin çevrimiçi platformlarda kendi öğrenmelerini organize etmelerinde aktif rollerini desteklemek adına önem kazanmıştır. Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamları, öğrenmenin kişisel boyutta yapılandırıldığı, planlandığı, paylaşıldığı ve yaşam boyu arşivlendiği platformlardır. Web 2.0 araçlarıyla oluşturulan bu ortamlar bireyselleştirilmiş izlencelerin tasarımına izin veren ve çevrimiçi katılımlı, bireysel ve grup etkinliklerini teşvik eden yapısıyla Açık ve Uzaktan Öğrenmeyi desteklemektedir. Bu çalışmada, kampüs dışında eğitim gören uzaktan öğrenenlerin yabancı dil olarak İngilizce öğrenmelerine yönelik oluşturdukları Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamları incelenmiştir. Bu bağlamda, bu çalışmanın temel amacı açık ve uzaktan öğrenme çerçevesinde Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamlarının İngilizce öğrenmede nasıl etkili, verimli ve çekici şekilde geliştirilebileceğine yönelik alan uzmanlarının ve uzaktan öğrenenlerin görüşlerini almaktır. Çalışma, tasarım tabanlı araştırmanın geliştirme döngüleri çerçevesinde yapılandırılmıştır. 2016-2017 Güz Döneminde (Mart-Eylül 2017) gerçekleştirilmiş olan araştırmanın katılımcılarını uzaktan öğrenenler ve alan uzmanları oluşturmaktadır. Tasarım tabanlı araştırma sürecinde nitel veriler toplanmış ve analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma sonunda, Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamlarına ilişkin bir tasarım çerçevesi önerisinde bulunulmuştur. Araştırma sorularına bağlı olarak ulaşılan verilere göre, Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamı, açık ve uzaktan öğrenme bağlamında kişisel öğrenme deneyimini destekleyen, tasarlanan ortamın benimsenmesini sağlayan ve İngilizce öğrenmeye yönelik genel beklentiyi karşılayan bir ortamdır. Ancak, öğrenmedeki bireysel farklılıklar nedeniyle her bir Kişisel Öğrenme Ortamı bireysel öğrenme gereksinime yönelik olarak oluşturulduğundan kişiye özgü olarak değerlendirilmelidir.

Keywords

• açık ve uzaktan öğrenme
• kişisel öğrenme
• kişisel öğrenme ortamı
• yabancı dil olarak İngilizce öğrenimi
• web 2.0

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