Five ways to make learning more personalized:
I think what we call “personalized learning” refers to the learning that gives learners more freedom and choices on locations, time, learning contents and interpersonal relationship.
1. Distance learning can break the restrain of locations.
2. Mobile learning can break the restrain of locations, as well as time. As long as learners have a mobile learning device and internet access (not necessary, since e-books and podcasts can be downloaded in advance), they will be able to learn anytime and anywhere as they want.
3. As for abundant learning contents for learners to choose from, OER is definitely a necessity for meeting such a need. The more prosperous the OER is, the more choices that learners will have, and the more personalized the learning could be.
4. Through using SNS, learners may easily find the person or people they need to ask for an answer or they want to collaborate with.
5. To realize the above means, I think probably schools and policy makers should take the first step to eliminate, reduce or at least revise current assessing standards and criteria in our education system. Without doing this, personalized learning, especially in k-12 level, may never be achieved.
Five predictions of the learning in the future:
1. Mobile learning will gain increasing popularity. Actually, it is gaining more and more popularity now. People are crazy about iPad, iPhon and Kindle currently and the technology is ready to provide more convenient and cheaper internet access. Last week I got an ad. from ATT, which is “Say goodbye to searching for Wi-Fi when you upgrade to DataPro 4GB for just $45 per month and unlock your personal mobile hotspot. You'll be able to connect multiple Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the Internet from wherever you are”.
2. With the more convenient and cheaper access to internet, I think distance learning in rural areas and developed countries will keep developing at a fast pace.
3. E-book will be used by vast majority population, and the interaction and animation features in E-books could be expected to bring more surprises and exiting learning experiences to readers.
4. Think about what will happen if the SixSense technology can be realized in the near future? We will never need an e-reader anymore.
5. How about do an even bolder guess: what will happen if we integrate SixSense technology with Augmented Reality? Learning will be full of fun, full of imagination and possibility!
I agree that schools need to revise current assessment standards and criteria, and not just to make way for more personalized learning and new technologies! Standardized testing is taking up a disproportionate amount of time in our current education system. If the students are not taking a test, then they are being instructed toward the next one. A lot of the personal nature of education went out the window when standardized testing became the way for schools to receive rewards and funding. I am not anti-test, but I am against things like the ISTEP and other such standardized tests because they take the emphasis off of what is important and place it on sameness instead. Not to mention that there are so many things a student can learn that are not tested. A student's small discoveries and victories are minimalized when the student becomes a part of a giant whole, a score that helps or hinders.
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