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Personalized Learning
Personalized learning may involve the application
of "high technology" or "high touch" (i.e.,
lots of opportunity for human interaction). Here are some examples:
Learner-Driven Learning
- Learner-determined navigational
path through material
- Content adjusted for learner's
bandwidth
- Instructional material
or tests adjusted for learner's familiarity with material
- Learner may pose questions
to program, or to designated human "subject matter expert"
(by telephone, e-mail, or on-line chat), and receive timely response
- Search capability
- Learner may communicate
with other classmates (by telephone, e-mail, or on-line bulletin
boards or chat)
- Help desk support for
technical questions
- Privacy, in cases where
learner not required to take or pass a course—IBM calls it
"safety" (assurance that learner will not be assessed
or tracked)46
—to encourage employees or partners to try new learning offerings
- Learner given meaningful opportunity to
evaluate learning module
Meaningful Measurement of Learner Progress
- Ample questions directed
to learner throughout the course
- Measurement of "learning outcomes",
i.e., measurement of learner's application
of knowledge gained-not rote testing of instructional material
memorized
Below is an example of IsoDynamic's approach to learning
outcomes. IsoDynamic teamed with instructional designers,
editors, and subject matter experts from bigchalk, the Wildlife
Conservation Society (Bronx Zoo), and the Lightbeam Studio to create
"Congo Gorilla Forest" (hosted at bigchalk.com). Congo
Gorilla Forest (CGF) is an exploration of the African Congo River
Basin from the perspectives of a local village boy named Omari,
a gorilla named Julia, and anthropologist Dr. Amy Vedder.
"To Build or Not to Build" is the culminating
activity focused on learning outcomes, or the application and integration
of knowledge and skills acquired through the course. The student
is asked to interact with all three sections of CGF (Omari, Julia,
and Dr. Vedder), and then apply what is learned to decide whether
to build a road through the rainforest. He or she is asked to consider
the impact on construction workers, farmers, hunters, animals, and
the forest before making a final decision. Upon completion of the
exercise, in-class discussions are conducted by the teacher. Click
on the image below to view "To Build or Not to Build".
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