Personalized Instruction Via Technology

In a review of various studies by Noel Enyedy, an associate professor of education and information studies at the University of California-Los Angeles, it concludes that education technology deployed in the name of personalized instruction yields modest improvements in educational outcomes, at best, in some cases, and none at all in others. 

Based on his findings, Enyedy advises district officials to take several steps when weighing the merits of personalized instruction: 

·       Invest incrementally in technology. 

·       Conduct more research on the effects of personalized learning in K-12.

·       Set clearer definitions about the features of technology, and expectations for personalized instruction in the classroom. 

·       Test and validate software and hardware tools. 

·       Make professional development part of the implementation.

Enyedy, N. (2014). Personalized instruction: New interest, old rhetoric, limited results, and the need for a new direction for computer-mediated learning. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/personalized-instruction

Tech in Learning

The 2011 Speak Up Project results show how K-12 students tap into a wide range of tech tools for personalized learning — both in and out of school. Parents support digital learning to prepare their children for the future. See how technology enables new and customized learning that is socially-based, un-tethered and digitally-rich.

Key findings include:

-       Over 1 in 3 parents would recommend online classes to improve student performance.

-       Roughly half of high school students have used Facebook as a collaborative learning tool.

-       Two thirds of administrators are unlikely to allow personal mobile devices for learning.

-       Two thirds of parents would buy a mobile device for their child if the school used them for learning.

-       Over half of 6th-12th graders Reluctance want to use their own mobile device for school.

Speak Up (2011). Speak Up 2011 national research project. Irvine, CA: https://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/pdfs/Infographic_PersonalizedLearning2012.pdf