The personalization of music and video began with playlists. With media providers like Netflix introducing a personalized recommendation system, movie-buffs could finally interact with their favourite content, building a base of videos, brandished with their own personal stamp. Education is now taking a similar path with adaptive systems offering educators and students alike the ability to interact with educational resources, allowing them to build personalized playlists, promoting the importance of forming a connection with the content we consume.
Building Connections
One of the keys to assembling an engaged community of learners is establishing this essential bond between students and the material they learn from. By building a personalized connection with the content they select, students become motivated self-educators, searching for the answers that speak their language. While educators gain the ability to create a personalized curriculum, packed full of resources that correspond to their individual teaching methods, students are being offered new opportunities to connect with their learning. As students, there were always those videos, books or articles that we felt spoke a private language, translating a message that we simply understood. Adaptive technology is making it possible for students to pick and choose from an endless library of resources, to select those that best build this connection.
Personalized Paths
With resources at your fingertips, tailored to your interests, needs, and standards, students and educators can embark on separate personalized paths. For students, these become personalized learning paths, paved with the resources that best translate the message. With Fishtree, educators can view the paths taken by each student, with access to all resources selected, along with key insights into individual progress and performance. With personalized playlists, students pursue their learning paths with tailored resources recommended, all the way to the end.
Adaptive technology is marking a major shift in educational resources, and the way in which students respond to content. Through this personalized approach, learners are encouraged to view educational material in the same way as they would their favourite music or videos, building individualized playlists that they connect with. Educators are also benefitting with the ability to build a nest of personalized lessons that adhere to state standards, learning objectives and grade level. With the influx of educational resources available, personalized playlists for education are bringing one-to-one instruction to every individual, engaging students and motivating educators in an entirely new way.
P.S. If you liked this post, you might want to check out fishtree.com. Start teaching with the 21st century learning platform today… the ideal solution for flipped, blended and mobile learning!
About the author:
Lorna Keane is a teacher of French, English and ESL. She specializes in language teaching and has taught in second and third-level institutions in several countries. She holds a B.A in languages and cultural studies and an M.A in French literature, theory and visual culture. Follow her on Twitter or connect on LinkedIn.
Image credits: Philippe Put / CC BY 2.0
