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Since the emergence of the term Personal Learning Environments (PLE) in the academic literature around 2004 in Oxford, PLE have become a field of research that has opened up great opportunities for reflection on many important aspects of education and learning with technology at all levels (Buchem, Attwell & Torres-Kompen, 2011; Gallego & Chavez, 2014). This research includes the study and development of tools, interaction processes among participants, cognitive mechanisms of individual learning, learning in groups, networked learning, lifelong learning, personal learning networks, and organizational learning environments (García-Peñalvo & Conde, 2015). In these years, the discussion also has transcended the traditional boundaries of academia and has been amplified in both the forms and contexts in which it takes place (Attwell, 2007; Attwell, Castañeda & Buchem, 2013). The communities and networks created by the concept and practices of PLE have challenged the norms of formal education in many ways, not only in the reflections on learning, but also in the way in which these reflections are made (Fernandez, 2016).

In this special issue supported by the broad-based PLE Conference community during 2015, we have compiled a picture of the current state of the field. The objective, beyond publication and increasing the academic literature, is to present a collection of papers that allows readers to explore the most interesting topics and practices regarding PLE today, but also to suggest where and how research in the field might progress.