http://www.imsglobal.org/community/forum/index.cfm?forumid=11 FuseTalk Standard Edition http://www.imsglobal.org/community/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=126&threadid=668 2011-04-12T10:57:35 -05.00 rabel 1 in a separate post it has been my responsibility to issue "the assignment" for those wishing to contribute to the general open knowledge base on "personalized learning."

Personalized learning is in quotes above because, as we discussed in our session in Utrecht in February there is no accepted definition of the term. In fact, large amounts of money have been spent by governments to better pursue personalized learning that have been wasted because pretty much any institution could claim its approach was "personalized."

So, the question becomes "how do we ground truth statements about personalization?" What are the different types of personalization? Can we compare and contrast and come to a better understanding that goes beyond the ongoing "hype" about personalization of education?

Our first attempt is this simple assignment for individuals (presumably teachers) or representatives of institutions that can speak to their approach. Here is the assignment:

Develop a write-up - less than two pages - and post it here - describing "your approach to implementing personalized education." So, the title of the paper should be "Xyz's approach to personalized education." - where Xyz is replaced by a name of an individual or organization.

Now, and this is important, you should structure your paper to address the following items:

1. Explain as briefly as possible your approach to personalization. Linking to online public resources is allowed.

2. In which of the following ways is the educational experience personalized (and how so?)? (a) the educational task is personalized, (b) the educational technique is personalized, (c) the use of time is personalized - such as pacing, (d) the cohort or team involved is personalized, (e) the place is personalized

3. How is the right fit between the individual and the personalization arrived at? How is the plan constructed?

4. How does your approach to personalization support/improve student motivation?

5. What evidence do you have that your approach is working?

6. In what ways does technology support your approach to personalized learning? In what ways could technology better support your approach (what would you like technology to be able to do for you?)

That's it.

To make it worth your while, IMS will profile the top three papers received by December 31, 2011 in a case study write-up and award free registrations to Learning Impact 2012 (expected to be held in Toronto) to those three authors who will be recognized there.

Legal: IMS does not claim any ownership of your write-up - it's yours to do with what you please. Submitting a write-up does not commit you or your organization to anything. We will ask for your approval prior to publishing anything on your paper. You do understand that by submitting to these forums it will be available for public comment and discussion. IMS reserves the right to withdraw the contest and awards if we determine that the number or quality of papers is insufficient.

Please spread the word and post any questions here!

Good luck!

- Rob Abel]]> http://www.imsglobal.org/community/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=126&threadid=644 2011-03-16T20:12:25 -05.00 AndyMcGarry 2
The following people attended:

1. Rob Abel, Chief Executive Officer of IMS

2. Ross Mackenzie, Strategic Development Manager at Open University

3. Dr. Ingo Dahn, CEO of the Knowledge Media at the Universität Koblenz-Landau

4. Adam Cooper Deputy Director of JISC CETIS

5. Young-Sang Cho Bio Principal researcher from the Keris (Korean Education &
Research Information)

6. Morten Dahl, SIKT

7. Charles Severance, IMS GLC Affiliates Coordinator and Clinical Assistant
Professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.

8. Guus Klapper, Director of iDucation & Green Square

9. Andy McGarry, Development and Curriculum Manager, Nisai Group


Introduction

I gave a short introduction on personalised learning explaining the derivation of the term, the academic work carried out and the difficulties of providing a rigid definition.



Different Perspectives

Our discussions highlighted that there many aspects of personalising learning and that the delegates had very different views on the subject. Some delegates were intersted in scaling up so that more students could be registered without depersonalising their learning experience. Some were interested in automated systems that would provide a more personalised access to learning. Others were interested in the resources and how they would meet the learning styles etc. of the learners. It was noted that learners may not be capable of connecting online for long periods (e.g. submariners) and that budget constraints may limit the amount of personalisation possible.


It seemed that some attendees were interested in the process of personalising learning and others in the technology that would enable personalised learning. Perhaps these two strands may develop in parallel through two different workgroups.



Process

The process of personalising learning involves:

ensuring that learners were aware of the relevance of the course(s)
to their goals (personalising the reason for the learning)

identifying and overcoming any barriers to progress and success
(providing personalised assistance to enable learning)

Pedagogical approaches to online learning


Technology


Technology could help to enable personalising learning by:

improving accessibility

improving usability

ensuring that learners had access to material in various media to
match their learning styles (visual, audio and kinaesthetic)

enabling learners to personalise their own learning environments

providing technology that personalises the individual's learning
(automated technology rather than human interaction).

Capturing Various Perspectives of Personalisation

Rob Abel proposed that we ask various practioners to write about the level of personalisation they currently offer and the future goals/challenges for personalised learning that face them and their organisation. Rob has promised to set the task and I will be the first contributor.]]> http://www.imsglobal.org/community/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=126&threadid=644 2011-03-16T19:09:23 -05.00 AndyMcGarry 2
We had a very interesting chat with Bob and Luca providing excellent perspectives on thier experience of the topic. As a precursor to the IMS Utrecht meeting it provided me with a plethora of ideas to develop further.

It would be good to use this forum as a way of continuing the conversations we had online.]]>