Changing the rules: from textbooks to PLEs

This article is a pedagogical contribution to the debate about the meaning, usefulness and possible integration of PLEs into formalized education. We assume that PLEs represent a change in the rules of traditional teaching taking place in formal educational contexts. We use the comparison of a solid knowledge taught in textbooks compared PLEs in the context of the liquid culture of cyberspace as a metaphor for learning. The article provides an overview of the features and elements of a PLE in formal education and suggests that the educational objective of PLEs is the formation of digital citizenship. This concept implies that learners must become aware of their digital identity and develop competence in five dimensions for an intelligent use of digital technology and culture. We conclude by referring to PLEs as an educational ideology and its potential evolution from the deschooling theses and educational reform in schools.