My PLE:how things have changed in 10 years

I'm interrupting my rearward looking introspections to do a bit of up to date posting and consider my PLE (or Personal Learning Environment). This is the acquired collection of tools and services that we use outside the confines of institutional provision. Mostly these tools are freely available on the web, feature rich and easy to use. There can be a contention between PLE's and institutionally controlled systems which may less functional and flexible, but do supply the consistency and uniformity required for collaborative work and assessment purposes.

We are asked to consider how our own practice and use of technologies has changed over the last 10 years or so. The technologies in my PLE above have revolutionised my life whilst I have been in South Africa - when we arrived I had access to email and internet browsers on a dial up modem and that was about it. I was amused to see how complex my PLE is already - and there are still tons of tools I have yet to explore. It has definitely become the richer for joining H800!

I don't know where I would be without the technology any more. It enables me to continously stay in touch with what's going on in the UK, to keep in touch with family and friends, to professionally develop, to network, be a part of online events, and to have fun.

A lovely Highveld Day

Today is a typical Highveld winter day. We don't tend to get rain in winter in Johannesburg, so the skies are clear. It's cold in the mornings and evenings, but warms up during the day. The houses are cold because they're built for the summertime heat; no such thing as central heating!

Everywhere you go you see bare trees silhoutted against the blue sky. It is beautiful but by the end of winter, you get desperate for some rain. Everywhere gets really dusty and dry. Finally in September or October the storms start again.