A MOOC is a massive open online course. Today starts PLENK2010 a MOOC facilitated by George Siemens, Stephen Downes, Dave Cormier and Rita Kop. Research is being funding by the National Research Council of Canada’s PLE research project. Three other research projects will also be involved in this course.
My first MOOC was CCK08 on Connectivism by the same facilitators as PLENK2010. I have particapted in at least 3 more, CCK09, Social Media and Critical Literacies. Although I may not have participated in the discussions, I always read the material and read many blogs. These type of classes are very interesting, and bring people from over the world to discuss learning.
PLENK2010 is about Personal Learning Networks. A PLE is and could replace or enhance a Learning Management System (LMS) and other traditional online learning components. This course will involve a Wiki, Newsletter, Moodle Discussion Forum, and two weekly Elluminate sessions. Participants can also break off into their own groups such as the PLENK2010 group in Second Life.
I have created my own PLE and it has evolved though the last couple of years. I use Netvibes for RSS feeds. I stated using Netvibes when I was teaching because I could have a public site for students and a private site for my own personal information. I now use twitter to also find information, but my list of people whom I follow changes. I also have a blog. All of these are now availabe on my computers, iPhone and iPad. Every PLE is personal to the user and you may use many different tools.
Sail's Pedagogy 