Jose Ferreira CEO of Knewton regularly expounds on his blog re what they are up to with adaptive learning. His latest entry talks about Big Data issues as he sees them and tries to address or head off some concerns or issues that teachers may have.
I’ve included the comments made on this as well, for a sense of what teachers might be thinking re adaptive learning, and “Big Data”. Not scientific sample of course, but clearly Knewton is “on the front lines” for Ed Tech change, and the push back from those potentially greatly affected by change, will be formidable.
At the risk of offending teachers in US, one may note they are one of the most stridently articulate and organized groups in the US, and “the mathematics of effectiveness” will include equations that find ways to appeal to that group, and if possible, make coming changes more palatable, and less job security threatening. That’s a BIG problem.
In a perfect universe, teachers in all their organized might, would be able to see ed tech as empowering, enabling, and in a sense liberating for what has always been a very challenging profession in the US. Hanging on to the status quo may seem the most appealing way forward for teacher unions, in the face of great change. No doubt such change can be delayed, and likely will be slowed.
In the long run, if the US can’t “learn” as fast as other competing nations or regions of the world that do adapt latest learning technologies, we in US will be “forced” to change regardless. How much better would the US be, if teachers were on the front lines of change helping realize the potential in ways that look out for students, families, communities, etc, as well as the interests of teachers for professional standards, vocational fulfillment and job security.
Unfortunately there’s a fair amount of “wishful thinking” in the above statement. OTOH, as various visionaries and researchers would have it, we are in the sweet part of the innovation curve, where exponential change is graphed almost straight up. This will make formerly unrealistic expectations seem a lot less foolish…