Using Personal Learning Environments before, during and after the Pandemic: The Case of “e-Me”

Abstract

The rapid developments in early 2020 with the emergence of COVID-19 have led humanity into unexpected situations with significant implications at all levels. In trying to cope with the urgent need for distance education, the Greek educational community has incorporated various platforms and digital tools previously unknown to most teachers and students. This study uses a mixed research method to capture (a) the frequency of use of a Personal Learning Environment called ‘e-me’ by the teachers before, during, and after the quarantine, and (b) the reasons why some teachers did not use this environment during these three periods. A total of 902 Greek teachers from primary and secondary education participated in this research. The results showed an almost universal non-use of ‘e-me’ before the pandemic and universal usage during the pandemic. Moreover, about 40% of these teachers used this personal learning environment after the pandemic. The main reason for not using this learning environment in the three periods is teachers’ familiarity with the interface of another platform. Implications for educational policy and teacher development programs are discussed.

Keywords

• digital platforms
• personal learning platforms
• PLE
• e-me
• distance education
• COVID-19