PLE 2014 - The 5th Personal Learning Environments Conference 2014

PLE 2014 ? the 5th International Conference on Personal Learning Environments ? will take place in Tallinn, Estonia, from July 16th to 18th with a preceding “pacific” event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from June 25th to 27th.
The PLE Conference intends to create an engaging, conversational, and innovative meeting space for researchers and practitioners to exchange ideas, experiences, and research around PLE related themes.
The conference invites contributions in the format of “academic papers” or “alternative session proposals”. However, authors of both types of contributions will be asked to communicate their research and ideas within session formats that look to avoid the traditional 15 min presentation.
Conference theme
Beyond formal: emergent practices for living, learning and working
The 5th Edition of the PLE conference aims to move beyond discussions about definitions to explore emergent practices for living, learning and working in relation to PLEs and the new understandings and underlying needs that arise around these practices in our contemporary society. Delegates are invited to submit their ideas, research and/or practice under the topics listed below.
Topics include (but are not limited to)…
PLEs for managing life transitions
PLE and formal learning contexts: conflicts and confluences
PLE theoretical frameworks
PLE in early childhood and the family
PLE as literacy
PLE and portfolios
PLE and PLNs (Personal Learning Networks)
PLE and creative practice
PLEs in formal contexts (Schools, Vocational, Higher Education)
PLES in Lifelong Learning
The social PLE
Personal Learning and assessment
Digital footprints and identities
Ownership and agency
Emergent pedagogies and approaches
Innovative work-based learning and practices
PLEs and technologies
Personal learning and the creative economy
Future challenges in the PLE context
Invited types of contribution
We invite two main types of contribution: “academic papers” and “alternative session proposals”.
The PLE Conference has integrated both traditional and innovative formats since 2010, providing opportunities to present and publish high quality research in ways that stimulate creative collaboration and idea generation.
The academic communication process has two different branches. Publication, and presentation. The PLE Conference treats written submissions of academic work and the presentation of it as two totally different practices. For this reason the submission of full research papers is aimed to lead to publication in a refereed journal. However, research papers are also expected to be presented in dynamic and innovative ways to ensure that the conference is a lively and engaging space for interaction around the research that is presented.
The PLE 2014 Conference therefore welcomes two main kinds of submission:
a) the submission of full “academic papers” and
b) “alternative session proposals”. The latter may include a variety of types of interaction, such as workshops, poster sessions and demonstrations, installations, debates, cafe and pecha kucha sessions, etc. These must be presented with clear objectives and expected outcomes, and should be centred around research and practical experience.
In short, the PLE conference is especially looking for originality and relevance of ideas in both form and content. What we wish to encourage are interactive and engaging ways of exploring the research field together.