Tuesday, March 10, 2015

How Technology Will Personalize Education

"With the opportunity of online learning coming on,…what we talk about is shifting from this factory model system to a student-centered one that personalizes for each and every child..."
During the National Summit on Education Reform in Washington, Michael Horn, co-founder of the Clayton Christensen Institute and co-author of the new book Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools, discusses with Reason magazine Managing Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward how blended learning joins traditional classroom models with software-based and online learning. Horn believes that customizing education to each student's individual needs is key for both motivation and learning. "One of the big reasons that school is so boring, quite frankly, is that we all have different learning needs at different times—different things turn us on," he states. Blended learning environments can also avoid constraining students with diverse talents or interests. "The reality with online learning is you can learn from anyone, anywhere, and you can get great, talented courses and teachers to come into your classroom, in effect, even if they live across the world." It is also important to give students greater educational choice as they progress to higher grade levels so that they take charge of their own learning moving forward. Finally he describes how blended learning can create a game-based classroom environment that encourages students to help each other achieve educational goals.
-- Watch Disrupting Class TED talk by M. Horn
-- Read about Blended Learning here



No comments: