2 Personalisation with tools for learning

Figure 4.5 Learners can adapt online material to suit their own needs.

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A photograph of two hands holding an iPhone that is capturing a picture of a spherical montage of many photographs of faces.

Figure 4.5 Learners can adapt online material to suit their own needs.

Personalisation is the tailoring of digital materials and the environment in which they are delivered to suit the needs and preferences of a range of learners. It links closely to accessibility for learners with disabilities, and you will examine this aspect in more detail in Session 7. This session considers how technology can be used to support the whole range of learners, whatever their needs or preferences.

Online education usually has more opportunities for personalisation than face-to-face delivery, simply because it is easier for learners to use the available technology to modify their learning environment to suit their needs. Consider, for example, how easy it is to dim a computer screen, compared to the difficulties in dimming a classroom environment without inconveniencing other learners.

Asynchronous online learning usually has more opportunities for personalisation than synchronous learning because it gives learners flexibility in terms of when and where they access the learning materials.

Optimising personalisation in online education has two elements:

• designing digital materials that will meet a wide group of needs and preferences using a variety of media and teaching techniques;
• putting control in the hands of each learner, allowing them to adjust the materials to suit themselves.