Effects of Personalized Learning in Elementary Classrooms

1. Craig Deeda, T. M. (2014). Teacher adaptation to personalized learning spaces. Teacher Development, 16.   

The traditional forms of teaching and learning are slowly combining with new methods that found to be more effective for student learning. Personalized learning has become a new concept of learning that schools are trying hard to adapt. It is a learning process involving a wide range of activities that involve a personalized interaction between the student and the teacher. As much as this new form of learning is considered important and stakeholders are finding ways of fully incorporating it in schools, there still exist factors that need good understanding for an effective transition within schools. For a program like this one to be successful, the efforts of the teachers ought to be considered. The article speaks about the adaptability of teachers in the personalized learning spaces. A lot of changes are taking place such as structural changes, and these changes mean that teachers also have to adapt to new knowledge of conducting their teaching activities. There has been a lot of pressure placed on teachers for their need to adapt to the new ideas of teaching.

According to the article personalized learning is bringing changes in schools, and some of them include socio-cultural as well as psychological changes that have altered teaching functions. As systems slowly changes in terms of structure designs, teachers too have to adapt to them. The article is very important in explaining the important of teachers in the development of personalized learning in schools.  It is a new system that is slowly replacing the industrial-era form of teacher and the same way teachers played an important role in the past they still do so in this new form of personalized teaching. Teachers there have to have a smooth way of adapting to the new system in order for the system to be successful in developing positive outcomes from the education system. The article is very effective in explaining structural changes that will have to occur because of the changes in learning attributed to personalized learning.

2. Woloshyn, T. D. (2009). Exploting Teacher Candidate's Experience, Belifs and Attitudes to Technology as an Instructional Learning Tool Following Instruction in a Technology Rich Classroom. Journal of Educational Technology, 12.

 The use of Information, Communication Technology is considered advancement in learning technology. This is because it is an aspect that greatly enhances the aspect of personalized learning whereby the learning experiences of the students is enhanced by using the internet and computer devices. Schools have adopted a wide range of technological devices that are being incorporated into classrooms and are allowing students to have a more personalized approach to their learning and are seen to provide better learning outcomes and one that meets the needs of the competitive world of today. ICT has led to the development of smart classes and electronic classrooms that greatly enhances the learning capabilities of schools.

This article is important for the research because it shows how important teachers are and how they still play a major role in the success of these new structures of learning and for the structures to work effectively teacher's need to be well prepared and have positive attitudes towards ICT and its incorporation in classes as a tool for teaching students. The incorporation of ICT is forcing teachers to learn new methods of teaching that would work efficiently with the new technological structures. However, technology is a factor that is changing very rapidly, faster than teachers can adapt to it this is a factor that is making them less prepared especially candidates for teaching. They feel less prepared. The incorporation of the new technological system needs to take considerations of the attitudes of teachers and find ways to have them well prepared when it comes to the new forms of teaching because they play an important role in the success of the system. This article is very important in the research because it introduces a new aspect of the research which is the importance of ICT in the development of personalized learning in schools. It also speaks about the importance of teachers in the integration of technology in schools as a tool for learning.

3. BOZKURT, A. E. (2015). Understanding an Elementary School Teachers' Journey of Using Technology in the Classroom from Sand Table to Interactive Whiteboard. International Electronic Journal of Elementary Education, 20.  

 Technological integration of ICT in schools and classes is a factor that is in high development and has become accepted and looked forward to. Technology is expected to have a lot of benefits for both students as well as teachers. For students it is expected to transform their learning experience by providing them with a more personalized form of learning thanks to the introduction of computer devices and the use of the internet. It is also expected to boost their participation in class, increase the motivation, increase the effectiveness of interactions that exists between facilitators and students as well as the students themselves, and develops a more sense of responsibility for the students, and also the development and upgrade of the careers of teachers. The use of Interactive White Boards is one of the most popular uses of technology in classrooms and is now used in many schools as a new form of technology.

This article will add a lot of information to the research by explaining how technology has led to the transformation of learning in classes. However, the question lies on how will the integration process occur and who will be responsible for its incorporation in class. The answer to the question is teachers. Teachers have to have a good understanding of the technology, they have to be able to effectively use it in class, and they also have to teach their students the various ways of using.  It is therefore, up to teachers to take up the challenge and responsibility. They have to be open-minded when it comes to the use of the technology and develop positive attitudes towards its use in class. The article is effective in describing the roles of teachers in the integration of ICT in classroom learning. It describes the great responsibility teachers have in understanding it, using it in class and teaching students how to use it.

4. Schaffhauser, D. (2013). USING DATA TO GET TO THE TOP. 6.

 It is quite evident that personalized learning is the future of education. This is thanks to its personalized approach to teaching that analyzing a student’s capabilities and identifies the student’s own specific educational needs and thus helps in maximizing his or her learning productivity and outcomes. The use of technologies had a great effort in achieving the goals of personalized learning in schools. Technology has greatly helped especially in helping track progress of students in class as well as the performance of teachers in order to achieve excellence in teaching.

In this article, a good description is provided of how two schools have been able to improve the performance of its students by the process of tracking their performance. These are schools that have adopted technological advancements in the form of ICT systems that help track the performances of both students and teachers in a continuous process, and this has been able to help facilitators understand their students more regarding their capabilities as well as their learning needs. They have also managed to personalize their learning and get the best out of them. It is an important article that adds to the importance of technology in the process of personalized learning. It describes tracking of student and teacher data as a measure of assessing their performance in school.

5. Hartnett, B. E. (2014). Using a learning management system to personalise learning for primary school students. Journal of Open, Flexible, and Distance Learning, 19.

  The use of Learning Management Systems is considered as a tool that is expected to take advantage of the digitization of the learning process which has great influences in the development of personalized learning in class. It is based on an IT system that enables teachers to teach and student to learn based on the use of various ICT features. They importance of the use of LMS in schools is based on the importance of the use of technology for personalized learning. Technology and innovation have become great driving forces of personalized learning, and they have greatly enhanced the learning as well teaching experiences for both students and teachers.

The article shows how learning Management Systems are expected to help teachers organize themselves, and also help track the performance of students. The article is important for the research by adding a new technological feature that may be very helpful in creating personalized learning in schools. It helps in broadening the knowledge about the digital aspects of education that might be incorporated in schools as management tools for learning. LMS is a technology that can be used for the management of both teachers and students. it can be used to track their performance and also help enhance the learning situations in schools.

 Benefits of Personalized Learning

Literature review

Personalized learning is a new form of learning that incorporates wide ranges of approaches and strategies associated with a more personalized form of learning.  It is a process that takes considerations the specific needs and capabilities of students individually and uses an approach specific to each student. It is a form of learning that is usually seen as an alternative to the traditional forms of learning where teachers were at the center of the learning process and instead puts the student at the core of the process of learning.  It is based on the assumption that every person or student has unique capabilities when it comes to learning. It is a student-centered form of learning that is considered as a new development in education and is expected to increase the performance and outcomes of both students as well as teachers.  It is based on putting more focus on the specific needs of each student rather than that of the entire classroom. It is a system that looks to maximize the capabilities, productivity, and performance of individual students and enhance their academic success. The success of this system of learning falls into the hands of teachers who are expected to implement a wide range of approaches. For the system to be effective in a classroom setting, teachers need to be adequately prepared have enough information about the system and develop positive attitudes towards it in order to facilitate it to students (BOZKURT, 2015). Teachers are expected to analyze each student and keep good track of their systematic progress in class. It is a system that is growing slowly and is gradually replacing the traditional form of learning (Personalized Learning, 2015).

Personalized learning is currently made possible thanks to major advancements in technology exists today. It forms part of educational technology that is considering a revolution in the education center. Technology is now allowing students and their teachers to use computer systems and devices for the learning process. These are factors that are greatly associated with the personalization of the learning process and are also helpful in flipping the classroom and enabling students to develop content on their own before they go to class (Personalized Learning, 2015). The use of computer devices such as laptops, tablets, interactive whiteboards and other technological resources have resulted in the development of classrooms into smart classrooms that have the effective of increasing motivation for students and their personal use of these devices helps create a sense of responsibility whereby they now own the learning process and hence increase their performances in class. The technology also increases their level of participation in class and also enhances the interactions between students and teachers as well as students and other students.  The integration of new educational technologies is, therefore, a very important factor in the process of personalized learning. This is because technology plays a major role as one of the profound tools expected to effectively integrate personalized learning in classrooms. There are also learning system management tools that are simply computer systems developed for the process of tracking and the management of progress of students and the performance of teachers (Personalized Learning, 2015). The use of such technologies gives the students access to unlimited amount of knowledge and information thanks to the internet and helps them prepare them for the real world where the actual technological needs are greater. As for teachers technological use of personalized learning helps in their professional development and makes their teaching efforts in class effective and also maximizes their performance (Hartnett, 2014).

Students within a classroom are usually different with different backgrounds, knowledge, and capabilities.  There preferences and needs are also very different the learning process, therefore, has to make sure that it caters specifically for all and the aspect of one size fits all is ineffective in maximizing the outcomes of all the students equally. In a well-integrated personalized learning system, the different needs of students are usually well analyzed, and the system recognizes how different they are and is, therefore, able to teach them based on specific strengths and weaknesses. Personalized ensures that students are placed in positions that would maximize their capabilities. This it does so by tracking their performances, the interests, and their capabilities and find the best place regarding subjects and courses that suites their capabilities. There has been a lot of misconception associated with confusing digitization and personalized learning. However, digitization is only a tool of personalized learning digitizing classroom content for students has the effect of responding better to them and being accepted more effective than traditional forms of learning. Personalized learning through the use of ICT has become a new aspect of technological advancement. It is a system that is coming with new knowledge and understanding and teachers need to be well prepared for it. The success of the new system greatly depends son teachers because they are the people expected to understand how to use it, incorporate the system in their teaching techniques and teach their students how to use the new form of learning. It is, therefore, important for teachers to have a good understanding of the system and how it used and developed the right attitudes for its incorporation in classrooms.

Personalized learning is not an easy system especially for teachers because compared to the old forms of teaching where one fits all, this new mode of teaching requires more work regarding more time to understand individual needs of students and develop learning activities that best suits each student. It has come as a new challenge for teachers, and most of them are having difficulties adapting to it. However, technology seems to be the solution to these problems because technology comes in with easier ways of reaching all the students and catering for their own personal educational needs. Technology has brought in tracking systems for monitoring and evaluating individual performance, and such systems are assisting teachers to have the capacity of effectively attending to all the students (Schaffhauser, 2013).

 Personalized learning is, therefore, a great tool for the education system. It has the effect of developing a student-driven learning process that puts them at the center of the learning process. They get the chance to own the learning process, and this is a factor that broadens their understanding and greatly boosts their performance because of the high level of motivation.  It is a system based on technology that allows effective audio-visual modes of learning, use of simulations and the use of the internet. All these are factors that are helpful in the retention of information as the deepening of student understanding. It is a system that makes it very easy for teachers because once initiated, it can effectively run on its own and the teacher becomes a facilitator. It allows for differentiated learning whereby students get the time to fully explore their interests and get the chance to work on them the best way possible (The Benefits of Personalized Learning Through Technology, 2017).