A Case Study on the Perceptions of Educators on the Penetration of Personal Learning Environments in Typical Education

Personal Learning Environments (PLEs) help students manage and take control of their own learning. As such, the PLE promotes self-regulation in learning and allows learners to aggregate, manipulate and share digital artefacts within a flexible and versatile online space. This paper presents a case study in Greece, concerning an investigation about the penetration of PLEs in typical education. In particular, this case study aims at investigating the perceptions of educators about PLEs and their challenges in incorporating PLEs in their teaching practices. The findings are commented on the pros and cons of PLEs and the opportunities that they offer to the modern classroom. According to the results of the present research, most respondents are generally aware of the PLE concept and its advantages

Reconciling Culture and Digital Literacy in the United Arab Emirates

For a number of years, there has been a concerted effort by the United Arab Emirates to take a prominent role in introducing e-business initiatives throughout the Gulf region, and this effort has translated into widespread access of internet technology for its own citizens. The country, in setting out to become a hub for foreign and domestic companies, realized that to achieve these goals it must provide appropriate e-business frameworks and infrastructures, which it has successfully done. Although, while not the only means of acquiring digital literacy, regular exposure to the internet does contribute to gaining these necessary 21st century skills. It might be expected that with such widespread access to the internet the population would contribute to becoming digitally competent. Using an ethnographic case study methodology, this paper investigates issues contributing to what might be a new form of digital divide; cultural issues which limit the acquisition of such digital skills