Personal Learning Environments (PLE) in the Academic Achievement of University Students

Abstract

The main purpose of this research is to analyze the elements that compose the PLE of pre-service teachers and to determine whether the composition of these environments is related to academic achievement in a course on Information and Communication Technologies in Education. The hypothesis is that a PLE with more components is related to a higher level of performance (higher grade in the course) and thus acts as a predictor of student achievement. A descriptive study is carried out. We analyze the PLE(tools, applications, services, and websites) of 245 university students who are pre-service teachers. The main outcomes and results are: the variability of components is very high, although there is a tendency toward concentration on seven elements and being different according specializations; also the students with a higher number of components in their PLE obtain higher grades. Finally, we draw implications for further research and for improving teachers’ practices.