Personal Learning Environment
My PLE is composed of four basic components: place, social network, traditional media and digital media and technology. I do learn significantly from the digital world within which I work but it is vital that my learning be filtered or supplemented by place, social interaction and traditional media. This allows me to reinforce my digital sphere with learning that exists in a more physical or tangible realm. I am a very visual learner and how I learn is an organic synthesis of all of these areas. It is not enough for me to read and understand digitally. My method of taking notes or studying is a good example of this as I must be able to write, draw and highlight the information, reiterating it in my own way, in order to completely understand. I learn through place from museums, education environments and campuses (Montana State University and University of Oregon), libraries, cafes and social spaces, home and nature. Nature is especially important for me as it is the environment in which I am able to reconcile my self with all that I have learned and in essence ready my self to continue learning. I learn through social networks through interactions with friends, family, strangers in social settings, educators, mentors, peers and colleagues. I am still very dependent on traditional media, including books, magazines, newspaper, radio, television and journals. My professional life has forced me to engage much more on a digital level and now I spend a considerable amount of time using technology, audio and video media, digital communication tools such as texting and email, social media and web. I don’t really use digital media much for purposes outside of my career. Mostly I use email applications, Google calendar, Microsoft Office, the Adobe Suite, WordPress, Google Docs and Basecamp. My personal time is generally spent learning in a more tangible way through creating artwork, reading, playing guitar, or being in nature.
