One of the most common issues faced by learners in online courses is a lack of engagement and personalized learning. To many learners the digital classroom can feel impersonal, and they may not receive as much from the instruction as they would in a real classroom environment. Because of this many educational institutions in the modern-day are trying to figure out how to adapt their learning practices to fit the individual, and how to engage as many of their students on a personal level as possible. As a result today we will be covering the advent of personalized and adaptive learning in online education and the value that it can add to institutions who adopt the practice.

In recent years we have seen a notable push towards the use of data-driven education and online learning. This is a result a feedback from learners who have long felt that the classic form of online education is impersonal and not specifically tailored to their needs. Many students who have used online courses in the past have felt that the lack of personal attention and tailored instruction they receive in a physical classroom outweighs the convenience of online instruction that draws these learners in the first place. However, now with the implementation of adaptive education and personalized learning in the online classroom we have seen online learning rise to become on par with traditional classroom environments. One such practice that has been successful for educators has been the implementation of the iPASS program, which assesses a student’s educational needs so the administration can tailor courses and work to the individual student.

Data-driven learning is a relatively recent development that has seen widespread popularity because of its ability to address the most common issues that learners have with online education; which is a lack of personalization and course material that is often recycled from previous courses and instructional periods. Data-driven learning addresses this issue by using data collected from current instructional courses and courses from the past, and using this data to locate issues with the course which can then be addressed on an individual basis. This allows instructors and students to locate weak points where additional effort is needed to improve the overall quality of the learning experience. This essentially takes all of the guesswork out of addressing student needs and creates a streamlined and focused approach to personalized online education. For instance, in 2015, a study found that 11,000 students in over 60 schools saw increased gains in both math in reading over schools using traditional methods, this was done by implementing personalized learning practices and learning management systems into core educational systems.

It goes without saying that this development is invaluable to educational institutions as a whole, whether they are traditional classrooms and universities or online courses such as supplemental distance learning in university, or computerized training in the business world. The proper implementation of data-driven education and personalized learning allows you to simulate the highest possible quality of the traditional classroom environment and allows your instructors to provide each student with exactly what they need on an individual basis with none of the guesswork that normally goes along with the process.

The value of personalized and adaptive learning cannot be overstated. And with the popularity and effectiveness of data-driven personalized learning Rising we will see if the solutions grow more and more powerful, and eventually they will likely be implemented in all types of Education regardless of medium and practice. The ability to address student needs on an individual basis in online learning specifically is invaluable, and allows instructors to simulate and even surpass the traditional classroom experience that was lacking from distance learning in the past.