Social Software, Personal Learning Environments and Lifelong Competence Development

By Stephen Downes - Stephen's Web. Graham Attwell[Edit][Delete]: Social Software, Personal Learning Environments and Lifelong Competence Development, The Wales Wide Web [Edit][Delete] December 11, 2006
Good paper that looks at the links between competencies and the personal learning environment (PLE). Attwell notes that while there has been a hostile reaction from the education community to social networking applications, research about SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) shows that people actually learn informally and socially, in communities of practice. Informal learning isn't just some uncredentialed version of formal learning, which is why recognition has been difficult. It is closely tied to practice, and practice varies from community to community. More...