Online Learning and Adaptive Learning Technologies

Adaptive Learning Technologies refer to not only software, but online platforms as well that adjust to individual students’ needs as the learn. So what exactly are they? Are they actually beneficial for our students? How do we incorporate adaptive learning technologies in our teaching?

Technology can be a great tool for classroom management. Utilizing technology will allow more time for teachers to work with students in a small group or one on one. We can then look into adaptive learning technologies as a digital tutor to help support the learning of the individual. Adaptive Learning technologies usually begin with a little practice assessment which checks for student understanding and determines where the student struggles, then adjusts the content to fit the students needs.

Adaptive Learning Technologies are able to adjust to the students needs as they are learning (NMC, 2015). We no longer have to imagine that a program can be designed to adapt to each individual, they are already here. This is the first year that my students have utilized the Scholastics Math 180 program for Response To Intervention, also known as RTI. The program takes the scores of the Scholastic Math Inventory (SMI) and places the students into the appropriate learning level. The SMI is an adaptive test and students are placed in RTI if the scores fall into the bottom 25%. Once the students are placed into RTI, we can utilize three different components for instruction. We can utilize teacher lead activities, which are usually followed up by workbook activities, and computerized learning practice, assessments, and timed math games. This is only one example of adaptive learning technology and school districts are adopting programs such as this all the time. Scholastic also has a Reading Inventory (SRI) and our ELA teachers utilize Read 180 for RTI as well. Some additional programs I have found useful are Khan Academy, IXL.com, MobyMax, Learning Smart, and Dreambox.

Adaptive Learning Technologies benefits students by allowing them to work at their own pace.  I am a big believer in blended learning and having technology that allows the teacher to utilize software that can help monitor the student’s progress helps me to be more efficient. The software programs have algorithms which adjust to each individual's response and the program adapts according the the students response. Studies show that adaptive learning technologies helped improve student learning and boost retention more than 10% (McGraw Hill, 2015).

I have heard many teachers comment on how the feel like technology has become more of a distraction than a learning tool for our students. My response is always the same, technology should only strengthen our instruction by allowing use to take more of a coaching role.  We can give shorter group instruction on content topics and help students practice and master the goals and objective of the lesson. It is important to focus on 1:1 student engagement and self-paced guidance through CCSS (Flemming, 2014)

REFERENCES

Johnson, L., Adams Becker, S., Estrada, V., and Freeman, A. (2015). NMC Horizon
Report: 2015 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Retrieved   
January 23, 2016, from http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2015-nmc-horizon-report-k12-
EN.pdf

Fleming, Brian (2014) Adaptive Learning Technology: What it is, Why it matters.
Retrieved January 23, 2016, from
http://www.eduventures.com/2014/04/adaptive-learning-technology-matters/.

McGraw Hill Education (2015). Adaptive Learning's Next Audience: Struggling K-12
Students. Retrieved January 23, 2016, from
https://www.mheducation.com/ideas/adaptive-learnings-next-audience-
struggling-k-12-stu

Technology is an integral part of of our educational system and innovation is occurring at an incredible speed. Online learning is becoming increasingly popular in today’s education. Innovation in technology is expanding the range of tools and strategies available to present educational learning opportunities to our students. Our focus as teachers, with regards to online education, is creating a more effective learning experience for our students that is easily accessible as well as being flexible for differentiated learning that can be self paced.

Online learning can be both formal and informal when utilizing the web. More and more schools are increasing educational opportunities through the web that include learning modules and resources for new skills to be acquired. A blended learning approach utilizes best practices of face to face teaching with online digital learning. Our goal as educators is to utilize the best teaching practices of traditional face to face teaching methods and online learning environments. Traditional teaching practices, generally whole group lesson instruction, can potentially result in a one size fits all education. With today’s new technology, we can utilize online learning and/or self paced learning. It is clear that technology in our classrooms is evolving and growing and it remains important to understand how to create an effective learning experience for our students that will incorporate traditional best practices with digitized learning components.

References:

Williams, J. K. (2008). The Handbook of Blended Learning: Global Perspectives, Local Designs, by Curtis J. Bonk and Charles R. Graham (Eds.). San Francisco, CA: John Wiley and Sons, 2006. 580 pages, hard cover. Academy of Management Learning & Education,7(1), 132-133. doi:10.5465/amle.2008.31413871