Documenting students’ participation in the construction and regulation of their personal learning environment: from teaching practices to an assessment proposal

Abstract

This article contributes to a better understanding of the teaching and learning processes associated with providing students with a computer to help them overcome learning difficulties from the perspective of pedagogical differentiation. The study draws on the concepts of affordance and instrumental genesis to analyse the challenges involved. Testimonies from specialist teachers show that students often play a secondary role in the deployment of standardised tools. Based on this observation, we propose an instrument for assessing the student’s role in managing their Personal Learning Environment (PLE). Although conceptual, this instrument suggests three key dimensions: support for identifying affordances, managing the PLE as a learning objective, and fostering student agency. Finally, we discuss the implications of such an approach for digital deployment in educational contexts.