Skip to main content

Personalized Learning: The Conversation We Need

The State of Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) recently announced a personalized learning initiative to be rolled out in school districts across the state. But what is personalized learning and what are the conversations we need to have about this particular approach to technology integration in K-12 education?

We welcomed Dr. Monica Bulger from the Data & Society Research Institute to help us understand the issues at stake. In this talk, she defined the boundaries of personalized learning and explore the needs that various personalized learning systems aim to meet. She has recently published a paper entitled Personalized Learning: The Conversations We're Not Having, which offers a primer on the concept of personalized learning.  Dr. Bulger introduced the conversations we need to have about the promise of personalized learning and the practical realities of implementation. She raised areas of concern, including questions about unintended consequences and potential risks that may come with the widespread adoption of personalized learning systems and platforms.

PERSONALIZED LEARNING: THE CONVERSATION WE NEED

DATE: Thursday, OCTOBER 27

TIME: 7 - 8:30 p.m.

LOCATION: Gallanti Lounge, 3rd floor, University of Rhode Island Library, Kingston Campus

Dr. Monica Bulger leads the Enabling Connected Learning initiative at the Data & Society Research Institute in New York. She is a Research Associate at the Oxford Internet Institute and a fellow of Fundación Ceibal studying impacts of educational technologies on children’s everyday experiences. Her background is in education with a specialization in learning technologies and children’s rights. She has contributed policy research to the U.S. Department of Justice, UNICEF, EU Kids Online, and the European Commission. She is co-author of a twice monthly newsletter for educators, policy makers, researchers, and privacy advocates on student data privacy, equity, and digital literacy from the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. She recently published a primer Personalized Learning: The Conversations We’re Not Having about the promises and potential unintended consequences of personalized learning. She additionally considers issues of inequality and access through her field research for UNICEF’s Children’s Rights in the Digital AgekNOwViolence in Childhood (Violence in Schools Learning Group), and WeProtect initiatives.

Watch the video here of Dr. Bulger's presentation here: