Lesson 2: The Browser as Personal Learning Environment

THINK
What arrangements do you make to try and ensure that you can do any of your work during the day? Think about work that requires you to access your files, information and particular programs and needs you to make your own arrangements so you can do that work (or not) at any computer.

I think USB memory sticks can be the most convenient measure to do any of works. Also, some online work folders, for example Google Space, Yahoo! Photos, and so on, can help us to do our works anytime when we are with computers.


EXPLORE
View a couple of these screen shot tours showing how different users have developed a personal work environment in Firefox (FF). Take notes on at least two (2) features that look interesting.

1. In #1, I found interesting that the terms can link to other web sites, in this case; the last week's one, only with clicking them. It is useful especially when we, readers don't have much ideas about those.

2. In #1, being compared with #2, it contains many people's website without photos. Even though it provises readers whose websites those are, this actually might not be helpful since readers cannot easily imagine what those are about, or look like..

3. In #1, I did not have an idea about the word "iGoogle", so that I checked what it is.
"iGoogle" is our own personalized Google page, originally being found in 2005, and renamed in 2007. Its features include the capability to add web feeds, data formats used for providing users with frequently updated content. Also, we can add photos, news, weather, and stuff from across to our page. Moreover, it is currently available in many localized versions of Globle, in 42 languages, and in over 70 country domain names.


EXPLAIN
1. What are the main skills needed to use your PLE?
Firstly, we should have the skill of English enough to read and understand it, since most of the download homepages for those add-ons are in English.
Secondly, the basic skill of using computer, and in order to make PLE more useful, the skill to master it are needed.
Thirdly, the skill which is needed is to categorize what we actually look for, and find what we disire,

2. What are the affordances of your PLE (what does it make possible, what does it impede)?
With my PLE, I have Google Toolbar, Pronouce, Inline Definitions, Java Quick Started, Zotero, Delicious, Fire Gestures and Speed Dial.The process we can get those add-ons is very easy. With just going to the homepage, and choosing the add-on we want to download make us possible to use them.
Sometimes, several add-ons have similar functions. If we download both of those, it might not useful, and make a computer heavy.


3. How can your PLE be used to network professionally and connect you to learning resources?
When we find something we don't understand through learning new things, we can use several add-ons. For example, when we read the article and find the terms which are not familiar to us, we can highlight those words, and do the right-click. With "Pronounce" and "Inline Definitions", we can get basic information for those terms, and even more, we can search more in Google with "Search in Google".

4. What skills and understandings have you learned from creating a PLE that may promote your development as an effective learner in the digital age?
I have learned a lot of functions about PLE so far. Until I took this course, even though I can use a computer and make documents without problems, I did not know any more of the computer. In this growing digital age, computer is very effective tool to learn and make a progress. We can search about anything anytime anywhere with our PLE. Moreover, with some add-ons, we may be able to expand our curiosity since they enables us to check other things concurrently, in other words, we can easily go to other pages related to the contents. Making full of PLE makes us to be more clever!