The concept of adaptive learning really just means the learner gets exactly the response they need, including the resources they need, to be supported in moving ahead to the next part of the DLE. In the classroom of old, this would take place when the teacher happened to be able to focus their attention on just one student that they knew well, and be wise enough to respond to that student in “exactly the right way” every time.
Alas, even the best teachers under the best circumstances do not have that opportunity consistently or repeatedly, because there’s a LOT more than one student to “teach” at a time.
The hope of data based adaptive learning is that the students input into a powerful cloud system of databases and algorithms, returns to that student that exactly tailored-to-them response they need, each time every time. Knewton and others are working on collecting data from millions of learners, and designing the algorithms, and creating the resource library, to make this possible. It’s a huge task.
But, as we’ve seen with other massive real time data analysis tasks, such as voice recognition, language translation, or a computer driving a car in real time across vast landscapes, we are in an age and time today, where such amazing Big Data accomplishments are occurring.
Learning is dependent on a “whole context” that supports the learner, and this includes some psychological and emotional factors, and social interaction factors, and other factors…that have often been referred to as “intangibles” because of hard they are to “quantify”. A company called Nexidia is working on solving some of those equations for data produced by people in interactions with companies. Their website here, link Kudos to Gary.
But that is just an example of how using Big Data will be, and is, a field where a lot of progress in adaptive learning can be accomplished. We, as a nation and a society will get a whole lot better at adapting cloud and online based DLE to work the most effectively with the individual learners needs.
As we know, collection of big data, and it’s uses, brings up a whole slew of questions of trust, privacy, and appropriateness of use. The history of managing such change in the best interests of the public at large is sketchy at best. Certainly it will be done best if all the present agents of the status quo, roll up their sleeves, and prepare to adjust and adapt to change, and help it occur in the best way possible. Because it WILL occur.