EDCI 338 Blog post 1-Personalized Learning
My Definition of Personalized Learning
Personalized learning is a way of teaching that doesn’t treat every student the same. Instead of following one strict path, it allows students to move at their own pace and focus on their strengths, needs and interests. The idea is that students and teachers work together to set goals, and the assignments or projects can look different depending on the person. Teachers still make sure the standards are met, but the way you can get there can change. This makes learning feel more flexible and meaningful, because students are given a sense of ownership over their progress. In a lot of ways, it’s the opposite of the traditional model of school, where everyone learns the same material at the same speed and in the same way, even if that approach doesn’t work for everyone. Personalized learning creates room for choice and self-direction.
Looking back, I would say most of my learning hasn’t been personalized. Since I went through French immersion, almost everything was the same for all students. Everyone had the same assignments, and we were expected to complete them in the same format. There wasn’t really much choice in how to show what we learned. It wasn’t until grade 11 or 12 that I started noticing some changes. For example, in one of our final projects, the teacher gave us options: we could make a podcast, write an essay, or do a presentation. That was one of the first times I remember actually having a choice in how I wanted to complete something. I picked the podcast because I thought it would be the most fun and I was curious to see how it would turn out. Having that choice made me feel extra motivated, since I was actually interested in the project. That was one of the first times I really experienced personalized learning in school.
How Social Media has helped me learn
Outside of school, I’ve realized I’ve learned a lot from social media, especially YouTube. Back in high school, I wanted to learn how to code, so I started watching tutorials online. At first, it was just the basics, but over time I picked up more skills and eventually made a small game by following along with videos. That experience showed me how powerful online learning can be, because I didn’t have a teacher for it, it was all self directed. More recently, I’ve used YouTube to learn basic car maintenance like changing my oil, changing the spark plugs and swapping out the cabin air filter. I had no idea how to do those things until I just watched a few videos and was able to figure it out. Both coding and car maintenance are skills I probably wouldn’t have learned in school, but social media made it possible. To me, that feels like one of the most effective forms of personal learning, because I could learn exactly what I wanted, when I wanted.
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