The primary function of universities is to equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to prosper throughout their professional career. Today, to be successful, students will need to continually enhance their knowledge and skills, in order to address immediate problems and to participate in a process of continuing vocational and professional development. Involving students in managing their own learning in a variety of contexts, such as building their own personal learning environments (PLEs) according to their goals and interests, is one way of developing the skills and motivation that will serve as tools for lifelong learning beyond their formal education.
This paper tracks the process of PLE building by students studying for their bachelor degree in Computer Science and Electronics. It looks at their learning experiences of using the Netvibes home page and discusses the advantages of using Netvibes in the context of instructional strategies and technical solution forming. In addition, it proposes and implements a model for effective communication between the university Learning Management System (LMS) and PLEs. Finally, students’ opinions about the learning done in their PLE are examined through inquiry and discussed. Most students consider PLE building to be a very useful process for learning and personal development.
