The document discusses the dichotomies between personal learning environments (PLEs) and institutions. It presents results of a survey that asked questions about the relationship between PLEs and institutions. The main barriers to PLEs identified in the survey were institutional barriers, individual barriers, pedagogical barriers, and technological barriers. The debate section notes that cyberinfrastructure and changes in technology and attitudes could help leverage change, and that PLEs are bottom-up strategies that should be embedded within institutions to fill them with educational resources, while institutions provide necessary structure.