We learn in different ways and at different rates, yet most educational institutions are still expecting everyone to learn from an individual’s teaching style, at a prescribed rate, unable to account for all the individual learning needs. Alongside the teacher and their classroom, mobile education allows the learner to engage with a variety of learning materials (akin to a variety of teaching styles), focussing on what they need to improve, at a rate they can understand – it’s personalized. Khan Academy is a leading exemplary platform of mobile education, offering schools the tools to move closer to true personalized learning.
“Khan Academy’s mission is to provide free world-class education for anyone, anywhere.”
“Virtual is not in competition with physical, [rather] that they compliment each other.”
“Ideally, it’s a tool that can be used within a physical classroom, with teachers, to really supercharge the [learning] experience.”
– Sal Khan
Hi Tegan,
Like you, I believe mobile education has a strong potential to bring us towards personalized education. The video shared reminds me of a local private school to Victoria B.C, PSII. It is inquiry based school that does not segregate learners into grades, classes or terms. You can read more about PSII here: https://learningstorm.org/about/whats-different-about-psii/.
Since learning of this school, I have seen and heard of many schools popping up that are also using mobility and technology as a tool towards personalization. These are all private schools and are therefore not available to all. I wonder, if and when, we will ever see a switch in public schools to this emphasis on personalized learning. Will the turning point be advancements in technology? Or great success in the inquiry-based private schools?
Hi Katherine, great thought. I know PSII very well. I worked at Oak Bay and quite a few students have siblings who attend PSII. Their teaching styles and philosophy are quite innovative. Research (and schools) across the globe have demonstrated success through inquiry-based learning yet our public school systems have not moved in that direction. If there is to be a turning point, I think it will be in the advancement of technology – we (BC’s public school system) have proven slow to the change when it comes to following by example so it seems as though the change will have to come to us.