Week 5: Adaptive Learning Technologies

Great job team ALT. I had a baseline understanding of ALT prior to navigating your OER, but feel much more informed regarding this field now. From an EVA perspective, ALT definitely is a lucrative investment area that has tons of potential globally. As education shifts more and more away from the classroom, becomes increasingly personalized, and is made available digitally around the world, ALT can be the digital tool that leverages the global demand for mobile, personalized learning. As I indicated in the padlet, despite the boom and associated economic benefit of ALT style learning I do have some reservations - particularly the massive amount of screen time and likely increase in student loneliness as learning becomes student - screen oriented, as opposed to the dynamic of a classroom experience rich with relationships, experiences, collaboration etc. I also wonder about how ALT can respond to the demands of new curriculum and competencies. Can for example, can an ALT program teach individuals about the soft skills required for success in the work place -- social responsibility, personal awareness, personal and cultural identity? I am hesitant on this to say the least. I feel like ALT is a strong tool for foundational learning, the learning that must be memorized - key terms, sight words, events etc. On another note, I have three young kids (all under the age of 7) who love their screen time. After completing your OER this week, I searched for age appropriate adaptive learning apps and have to say that the few I found are fantastic! My 7 year old son is practicing his literacy work with a free ALT app called Bitsboard. It is definitely employing ALT strategies and personalizing his experience -- nothing too hard, and nothing to easy. That keeps him engaged, learning, and challenged as he navigates the many different styles and approaches to learning vocabulary. link below. http://bitsboard.com Great job this week guys! Thanks for getting us going on our student led learning journey through this section of the course! Going first is never easy!