Customization

I have been noticing just how everything is being customized these days. I went to check out the new Droid phone from Verizon and their pitch to me was that the phone was a sand box and I got to create my castle just how I wanted it. No two phones would be alike - it would be a reflection of my interests and thoughts and patterns. I also visited a make-up counter at the mall looking for some eye make-up and eye cream. I could not simply pick one out and be on my way like before; instead, they blended colors and ingrediants according to my skin color, type and tone to create my very own eye make-up and cream.

In education, we are slowly coming to realize that we need to customize our teaching strategies and lessons to reach more students. We certainly give lip service of "meeting the needs of all students." Since I continue ot be an optimist, I am seeing some gradual fulfillment of that goal in a meaningful way. After reading Libby's blog, I see this as (and yes, this is also absolutely wishful thinking) becoming more and more one of the main functions of education in the future. Our whole world is becoming a "made to order" society - people are demanding such customization. And where it may be needed most is education. So perhaps the future of education will embrace more creativity to allow for students to express and be evaluated on their talents. Maybe we will base all their assessments on the talents and skills they present to us - Their choice... Their future...Their education...made to order exactly how they want it and how they deserve it.

more thoughts

This course had really made me reflect about my beliefs and approaches to education and learning. Trying to clarify and isolate what I truly value in an effort to think outside the box has been both challenging and liberating. Throw in technology and all the tools we are being exposed to and responsible for implementing and wow - what results is a whirlwind of reflection and growth. Although we will continue to have these new tools advance and change rapidly, I do believe that what is most important in education will remain the same: connecting to students and engaging them in the learning process. I think this will forever prevail whether it is 10, 15, or 50 years from now. We can not forget that we are here for the students and it is our job to build productive relationships with them in the pursuit of their education. I believe this was also true 25 years ago.

Shifting gears to distance learning, I was amazed at the increase of adult learners in higher ed. I tend to focus on K-12 education and after reading this article, I am seeing the changes higher ed has had to contend with in more recent years. Also a challenge is the difference between adult learners and traditional college-age ones. These differences in motivation seem to mirror those in K-12 education between different groups of students. I think we will start seeing increasingly more differentiation in higher ed (distance learning being one) in order to meet the diverse needs of their student clientele. This continues to be a challenging issue in K-12 so maybe we can finally join forces and collaborate in order to be more effective in meeting student needs at all levels of learning.