Response: Personalized Learning Is ‘a Partnership With Students’

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2015/09/response_personalized_learning_is_a_learning_partnership_with_students.html

building relationships with students so I can better connect lessons to their interests, hopes and dreams; providing them with many opportunities for organizational and cognitive choice; and creating situations where they can get positive, as well as critical, feedback in a supportive way from me, their classmates and themselves.

Response: Personalized Learning Is ‘Based On Relationships, Not Algorithms’

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2015/09/response_personalized_learning_is_based_on_relationships_not_algorithms.html

Too often, the notion of “personalized learning” means choice-based programmed rather than truly personalized. This comes from the tech world, where “personalization” is synonymous with user choice. It’s the idea of giving a thumbs up or a thumbs down on Pandora. It’s the idea of having adaptive programs that change based upon one’s personal preferences. It’s the Facebook algorithm that tells you what information is the most relevant to you. It’s about content delivery rather than user creation.

While tech companies promise personalization, they often promote independent, isolated learning. True personalization is interdependent rather than isolated. True personalization is based upon a horizontal relationship rather than a top-down customization. True personalization is based upon a deeply human relationship rather than a program or an algorithm or a set of scripts. True personalization is a mix between personal autonomy and group belonging. It’s a mix between what someone wants and what someone needs. It’s a chance to make, rather than simply a chance to consume.