Title: The value of personal learning environments in teaching: a case study in a social media marketing course

Authors: Kuan-Pin Chiang; Henry Greene

Addresses: Department of Marketing, School of Business, Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain, CT 06050, USA ' Department of Marketing, School of Business, Central Connecticut State University, 1615 Stanley Street, New Britain, CT 06050, USA

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to explore student reactions and opinions on the use of a personal learning environment (PLE) in a social media marketing course. Utilising multiple social media platforms, the course integrates formal and informal learning to foster self-regulated learning. The benefit of incorporating a PLE into a college course is to not only deliver relevant knowledge, but also to develop responsibility and skill in self-learning. Our findings suggest that students prefer teaching and learning activities that focus on individual development of knowledge. Also, students enjoy a learning experience that incorporates social media activities. They favoured group projects; felt that group projects contributed more to personal learning than individual assignments. Furthermore, students appreciate a class pedagogy that requires personal organisation of the learning environment where they can reinforce their understanding and skills of social media content utilising current technology.

Keywords: personal learning environment; PLE; social media; learning assessment; learning efficacy.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTCS.2021.117976

International Journal of Teaching and Case Studies, 2021 Vol.12 No.3, pp.258 - 272

Received: 09 Feb 2021
Accepted: 07 Jun 2021
Published online: 05 Oct 2021 *

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