siliconindia | | November 201819centuries. In fact, it is only over the last couple of hundred years that the factory model has been applied to education too. Although the intentions were noble, there also been negative side effects of this approach. The primary reason for this was that all learners were treated alike. The inherent strengths of the learners, the speed at which they learnt, or their personal interests were hardly considered. Teachers were unable to provide the personal touch because of the number of students in a class. Focus also moved from learning to certification. Personalized learning is:1. Allowing learners to adapt the curriculum to their unique interests.2. The learner decides the pace of learning.3. The pedagogy adopted is learner specific and contextual to a subject.4. Learners do not always have to start at the beginningMaking mass Personalization of Education possibleThe `factory' model is slowly but surely being questioned. The internet has already revolutionized the way people look for information and learn from each other. Wikipedia has given rise to democratization of knowledge. Internet has also created platforms like the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Technology advancement will make current pedagogy look primitive ­ both in terms of learner experience and learning effectiveness.1. How will technology allow learners to adapt the curriculum to their unique interests?It is already possible for learners to design their own curriculum. This is the equivalent of earning credits in university programs from disparate subjects. MOOCs will allow you to pick and choose your subjects of interest. In fact, based on your profile, systems will help you design personalised curriculum by recommending courses that may be of interest to you.2. The learner decides the pace of learningThis is almost a no-brainer. Online courses allow you to learn at your own pace. Even in the `traditional' education systems such as Open Schooling, it is possible to determine one's own pace of learning within reasonable restrictions.3. The pedagogy adopted is learner specific and contextual to a subjectIt is now well proven that people learn differently. Some learn by visuals, others verbal, and yet others by doing. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are new entrants into the world of education. They overcome the barrier of 2-dimensional and static view of a dynamic world offered by the textbooks. It implies that it will become increasingly possible for learners to customize the learning experience based on their preferences and the subject that they wish to learn. 4. Learners do not always have to start at the beginningThe concept of learning paths is picking up ­ especially in continuing adult education. Learning paths are created by keeping a learning objective in mind. The analogy of a path leading to a destination is not accidental. The subjects that a learner would have to cover to understand prehistoric Indian civilization would be different from a learner who wanted to understand post-independence Indian history. This is now very easily possible using curated and customized content. Artificial intelligence will also understands learning preferences, styles and current level of competence and make recommendations of the path you should adopt.Challenges to Mass Customization of Learning1. What will be the social change required to accept the Customization of Learning?2. How will employers truly understand the competence of an individual?3. How does this play out at primary and secondary schooling? Learners will be less mature than adult learners, and not be capable of making the right choices.4. The generic education that is currently accepted as being mandatory at school level is not easily replaceable. How will this be handled?5. Do we really want to replace the social setting of a school with individuals learning from the closed environment of their homes?6. Without supervision, many learners drop out of a program. How do we motivate learners to continue the learning journey until the end?
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