Sabine Reisas from Kiel University discusses personal and sociomaterial learning entanglements (PSLE). She notes that context is important for understanding learning, as intentions and meanings are embedded in social interactions and negotiations. A sociomaterial view sees humans and artifacts as relationally constituting each other through practice, with learning occurring through participation in social and material relationships. Reisas questions how this sociomaterial perspective could inform research and pedagogical concepts related to personal learning environments.

1. Personal & Sociomaterial Learning
Entanglements (PSLE)
Sabine Reisas, M.A.
Kiel University, Germany
@srmpbi
http://about.me/srmpbi

2. Kiel University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
Department of Media Education/Educational Computer Sciences
Personal & Sociomaterial Learning Entanglements (PSLE)
Sabine Reisas, M.A. (@srmpbi)
How might we (induce dissonance in specific situation
to) challenge students to develop and to reflect on
their personal and sociomaterial learning
entanglements?
In search of challenging interventions
http://1.1.1.2/bmi/2.bp.blogspot.com/-YP4CruiaWOw/UQVP1aOYMYI/AAAAAAAACrc/lJTzNqb2AOo/s640/Drama-Button.png

3. Kiel University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
Department of Media Education/Educational Computer Sciences
Why does context matter?
People`s intention and meaning are embedded
in the context of a learning activity and practices
and therefore an important factor for personal
learning environments (PLEs).
PLEs only seem to be personal, but in a broader
sense of learning it is an ongoing process of
social interactions and negotiations.
Personal & Sociomaterial Learning Entanglements (PSLE)
Sabine Reisas, M.A. (@srmpbi)

4. Kiel University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
Department of Media Education/Educational Computer Sciences
The Role of Context
Personal & Sociomaterial Learning Entanglements (PSLE)
Sabine Reisas, M.A. (@srmpbi)
Tools
Subject Object
Rules Community Div. of Labour
Material
CulturalSocial
Mechanistic View Activity-Theory Model Socio-material View
Context is portrayed
as a container and is
seen as seperated
from the individual.
„Activity itself is the context.“ (Nardi, 2001)
Learning is a social and dynamic process. It
occurs when contradictions induce
uncertainty, questioning, negotiations, etc.
Material and activity are
constitutively entangled.
Learning can`t be separated
from context, but can be
renowned as facilitators of
epistemic processes.

5. Kiel University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
Department of Media Education/Educational Computer Sciences
Practice-oriented Perspective
“Humans are constituted through relations
of materiality –
bodies, clothes, food, devices, tools, which, i
n turn, are produced through human
practices. The distinction of humans and
artifacts, on this view, is analytical only;
these entities relationally entail or enact
each other in practice. As Law puts it (2004:
42; emphasis in original): ‘This is a
thoroughgoing relational materiality.
Materials – and so realities – are treated as
relational products. They do not exist in and
of themselves.’”
(Orlikowski, 2007)
Personal & Sociomaterial Learning Entanglements (PSLE)
Sabine Reisas, M.A. (@srmpbi)
Material
CulturalSocial
Socio-material View
Constitutive
entanglement
(Orlikowski, 2007)

6. Kiel University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
Department of Media Education/Educational Computer Sciences
“Knowing is something that people do together, and it
is done in every mundane activity, in organizations
when people work together, and also in academic
fields. To know is to be able to participate with the
requisite competence in the complex web of
relationships among people, material artefacts and
activities (Gherardi, 2001). Acting as a competent
practitioner is synonymous with knowing how to
connect successfully with the field of practices thus
activated.“
Silvia Gherardi (2009)
Personal & Sociomaterial Learning Entanglements (PSLE)
Sabine Reisas, M.A. (@srmpbi)

7. Kiel University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
Department of Media Education/Educational Computer Sciences
Question for discussion
What does this sociomaterial entanglement mean
for research and pedagogical concept development
within the scope of PLEs?
Personal & Sociomaterial Learning Entanglements (PSLE)
Sabine Reisas, M.A. (@srmpbi)

8. Kiel University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities,
Department of Media Education/Educational Computer Sciences
References
• Engeström, Y. (2007). Activity theory and individual and social transformation. In: Engeström, Y., Miettinen, R., Punamäki, R.-
L-. (eds.) Perspectives on activity theory. (pp. 19-38). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
• Fenwick, T., Edwards, R., Sawchuk, P. (2011): Emerging approaches to educational research: Tracing the sociomaterial.
Routledge, New York. [Kindle Edition]
• Figueiredo, A.D. and Afonso, A.P. (2006). Context and Learning: A Philosophical Framework. In A.D. Figueiredo & A. Afonso
(Eds.). Managing Learning in Virtual Settings: The Role of Context. Hershey, PA, USA: Information Science Publishing (pp. 1-
22).
• Gay, G., Hembrook, H. (2004). Activity-centred design: an ecological approach to designing smart tools and usable
systems.The MIT Press.
• Gherardi, S. (2009). Introduction: The Crutical Power of the 'Practice Lens'. In: Management Learning. Vol. 40(2): 115-128.
• Giest (2006). Lernen - betrachtet aus tätigkeitstheoretischer Perspektive. In: Lernen und neue Medien / Zentrum für
Lehrerbildung, Univ. Potsdam (2006). (LLF-Berichte ; 21). URL: http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2006/835/index.html
• Golsorkhi, D., Rouleau, L., Seidl, D., Vaara, E. (2010). Cambridge Handbook of Strategy as Practice. [Kindle Edition].
• Luckin, R. (2010). Re-designing learning contexts: technology-rich, learner-centered ecologies. Routledge, New York. [Kindle
Edition].
• Nardi, B. (1997). Studying Context: A Comparision of Activity Theory, Situated Action Models, and Distributed Cognition. In:
Nardi, B. (1997). Context and Consciousness: activity theory and human-computer interaction. The MIT Press. (pp. 69-102).
• Orlikowski, W.J. (2007). Sociomaterial Practices: Exploring Technology at Work. Organization Studies 28(9), 1435-1448.
• Reisas, S. (2012). Diverse Knowledge Practices through Personal Learning Environments - A theoretical Framework.
• Wenger, E.: Communities of practice. Learning, meaning, and identity, 16th edn. Learning in doing, Cambridge Univ.
Press, Cambridge 2008.
• Wenger, E., Smith, J.D., White, N. (2012). Digital Habitats: stewarding technology for communities. CPsquare. [Kindle
Edition].
Personal & Sociomaterial Learning Entanglements (PSLE)
Sabine Reisas, M.A. (@srmpbi)