Personalized Learning: Object, Lesson, Course & School — from EdReformer.com by Tom Vander Ark

There’s lots of talk about personalized learning these days.  It shows up in a lot of school plans, i3 grants, and individual development plans. Wikipedia even has a definition: “Personalized Learning is the tailoring of pedagogy, curriculum and learning support to meet the needs and aspirations of individual learners.”

That’s a good start, but I’d like to add a couple layers to the definition.  Educators often talk about personalization at the lessons level where “accommodations” are made for reading level and English language learners.   Projects have long been a great way to differentiate and leverage student interest.

In a digital learning environment, personalization at the lesson level can be a choice between small group instruction, online tutoring, a simulation or a learning game.  School of One is a good example of targeting lessons by level, interest, and modality.