Learning in the open : quantifying personal learning environments

This thesis explores whether it is possible to quantify personal learning environments by employing the concepts and culture that support the Quantified Self movement. Using an online ethnographic approach, it explores the synergies and opportunities apparent in a technologically mediated learning environment that promotes open learning. This research also asks if technology that promotes open, traceable and structured learning habits can encourage higher educational institutions and professional industries to be more inclined to recognize learning activities that happen within personal learning environments. While the technology can act as an enabler of quantified learning, this research indicates that the barrier between social and formal learning is more cultural than technological.