Understanding and decoding the growing role of technology in personalised learning
India has over 400 million students in the schoolgoing age. 250 million of them currently go to schools. The typical classroom has one teacher and many students who follow a certain pace of learning every day. What many fail to see, is that each student is unique, with different strengths and weaknesses which defines his or her individual learning ability.
Personalized learning has helped mitigate this concern to a great degree. The growing contributions of technology is a key catalyst in this change.
Today, some e-learning platforms are using advanced technology to personalize the way students learn by analyzing their strengths and weaknesses and offering them tailored content that maximizes their learning efficiency. What is personalized learning and how is it reshaping education? Personalized learning deviates from the traditional methods of classroom learning by offering students a more structured way of studying. It refers to a variety of educational programs, learning experiences, instructional approaches and academic support strategies that address individual learning needs, abilities, strengths and weaknesses of students.
The use of technology has resulted in the creation of adaptive e-learning platforms that combine the above and then tailor them for each student. By using machine learning and artificial intelligence, these platforms analyze user and behavioural data to understand user profiles and predict future responses.
This allows them to offer personalized educational content that maximizes productivity and efficiency. It also puts the onus of self-improvement on students by giving them complete control over their learning. Understands students’ strengths and weaknesses: With personalized learning, students are now given the individual attention they need to alleviate their weaknesses and enhance their strengths. E-learning platforms help them make optimal use of their time and effort to achieve the best results while improving continuously.
Allows them to progress at
own pace: Different students grasp and struggle with different concepts. No two are the same. E-learning platforms help them progress through educational content in a manner that’s most conducive to their growth; without the fear of lagging behind their peers. Gives measurable
progress: Students can set their own academic goals and then go about achieving them in a systematic manner. The use of goalbased learning, with constructive feedback and solutions, keeps them constantly motivated. Provides them with easy
tutoring: Parents enroll their children in tuition classes as it gives them the personal attention they need, along with an in-depth understanding of lessons taught in school. E-learning platforms better this by giving students the answers to their questions and doubts – in an interactive manner – at any time of the day. Offers them the dual role of participant and contributor: Personalized learning allows students to be participants as well as contributors in their own learning process. This empowers them to continue putting in the hard work to gain new knowledge and skills. Assesses their performance regularly: In traditional learning, evaluations take place periodically through exams. E-learning platforms create an environment where students are not only assessed every day, but are also given tailored instructions to keep improving. What are some of the problems addressed by technology in india? The introduction of technology has enhanced the prospects of personalized learning in India. While families in India were solely reliant on the traditional offline learning pedagogies in the past, they have slowly bought into the benefits of e-learning. This has been made possible by solving certain key problems that have plagued the Indian education space. Solving the lack of quality
education: Good quality education is geographically concentrated in India. Many students in rural and remote areas do not have the same access to quality education as their urban counterparts. Technology has brought world-class educational content to these students. Together with personalized learning, it has tailored it to the needs of each unique student in these areas.
Bypassing the insufficiency of teachers, study material and infrastructure: The lack of infrastructure is another matter that affects the way students learn. Without adequate resources and infrastructure, teachers struggle to give students the attention they need. This in turn, demotivates students from attending school regularly. Technology has bypassed these limitations making personalized learning accessible through smartphones. Giving individual attention to many students at once: Whether students are studying in a class or at home, their learning is personalized to their own ability. Technology has made it possible to achieve great progress with many students at once, which was previously impossible due to a lack of time.
For India, that’s poised to have the largest student population in the world by 2025, this is the right time to strengthen the foundation of its future generation.