High school Principal Dwight Carter used to be gung-ho about the deluge of ed-tech devices coming to education. He worked hard to expand the reach of digital tools in his Ohio school to personalize learning for students.
But in the last few years, Carter has taken a step back. 91制片厂视频al technology can help make differentiation more efficient for teachers, he said, that individualizes the learning process for the 1,500 students at New Albany High School.
鈥淭echnology can free teachers up to do more one-on-one instruction,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where the personalization happens.鈥�
Across the country, principals like Carter are embracing the idea of personalized learning, but not always putting it front and center in their schools. They think the idea鈥攁nd the technology that supports it鈥攈olds promise when it comes to engaging students and allowing teachers to focus on what鈥檚 important. But they remain concerned about the negative impact that ed tech, in the guise of personalized learning, can have on a student鈥檚 ability to think deeply and connect with their peers.
鈥�The notion of personalized learning as a single cohesive movement isn鈥檛 quite accurate,鈥� said Jason Dougal, the CEO of the . 鈥淚s it a tool to truly enhance the learning experience? There are disparate views.鈥�
Principals are definitely thinking about personalized learning, whether that means adaptive-learning software in some schools or student-led education in others. In an 91制片厂视频 Week survey of 500 principals, assistant principals, and school deans, only 9 percent said it wasn鈥檛 on their radar screens. The majority of those surveyed鈥�54 percent鈥攈ewed more to Carter鈥檚 line of thinking: personalized learning was a 鈥減romising idea鈥� or 鈥渙ne of many school improvement strategies鈥� available.
At Carter鈥檚 school, the idea of differentiating and engaging students on their own terms is central to some classes and projects. Nearly every student has a device, thanks to school-issued Chromebooks and a bring-your-own-device initiative.
Those devices are crucial for math-intervention classes designed to help struggling students, he said. Data pulled from digital assessments help teachers pinpoint problem areas for students, and adaptive software from APEX Learning meets each student at his or her math level.
But in other ways, technology is beside the point. As a graduation requirement, every student does a senior-seminar project on a topic of their choosing, anything from personal development or art to literature or science. Students decide the timing of the project (some complete it over the summer, while others work on it during the school year) and how to present what they learned. Teacher advisers and mentors work with students over extended periods of time, Carter said.
鈥淭echnology provides the platform for accountability and the community for students to demonstrate their learning,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut it has to be more than just a repository of information: Kids have to be able to create something.鈥�
Those examples reflect a wider view. The 91制片厂视频 Week survey found that 57 percent of principals said digital technology is an 鈥渋mportant supplemental resource鈥� in their school to personalize education, and 24 percent said it was an 鈥渙ccasional add-on.鈥� But only 16 percent said ed-tech tools were central to their school鈥檚 mission and operation.
How does the use of technology affect the role of the teacher? Ninety-seven percent of principals agreed鈥攅ither 鈥渟ome,鈥� 鈥渜uite a lot,鈥� or 鈥渁 great deal"鈥攖hat technology supports teachers in their efforts to customize instruction.
At the 370-student Whitwell Middle School, just west of Chattanooga, Tenn., Principal Kim R. Headrick said the school uses a blended-learning model for personalization. She believes that the technology allows students to communicate more often with teachers, dig further into subjects they鈥檙e interested in, and demonstrate learning in ways that make sense to them.
In fact, most principals seem to agree, with 92 percent of those surveyed saying digital technology improved student engagement 鈥渟ome,鈥� 鈥渜uite a lot,鈥� or a 鈥済reat deal.鈥�
Even though Whitwell has a 1-to-1 computing initiative using Chromebooks, and teachers craft lessons relying heavily on digital resources, instructors play a central role in the personalization process, Headrick said. In fact, as part of her outreach when establishing the Marion County district鈥檚 only 1-to-1 program three years ago, Headrick said she had to reassure parents that technology would not diminish instructors鈥� roles.
鈥淢y rule is use the technology when it will enhance student learning, but don鈥檛 let it replace the teacher,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not just putting kids on computers鈥攖hat鈥檚 not the way we do things here.鈥�
In the 91制片厂视频 Week survey, principals reported they were not as concerned that ed tech used to personalize learning would weaken the role of the teacher. More than 60 percent said they had 鈥渘o concerns鈥� or 鈥渧ery little concern鈥� that would happen.
But Scott McCleod, an associate professor of educational leadership at the University of Colorado Denver and the founding director of the , said he detects growing worries about how technology affects students鈥� learning processes.
鈥淧rincipals see the ability to help with student engagement and motivation, but they鈥檙e less certain about the ability to improve student-learning outcomes,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are a whole bunch of concerns helping to flavor their thinking on this topic.鈥�
Indeed, 85 percent of those surveyed said they worried that digital technologies for personalized learning contribute to students spending too much time on screens. A similar number鈥�77 percent鈥攕aid they worried that such technologies lead to students working alone too often, and 73 percent said digital tools do 鈥渘othing鈥� or 鈥渧ery little鈥� to improve students鈥� social-emotional skills.
鈥淟et鈥檚 just acknowledge the fact that we have kids who do not know how to speak to one another,鈥� Headrick said. 鈥淭hey text or sit with a device in front of them all day long, and that鈥檚 not just in school.鈥�
Jeffrey J. Thoenes, the principal of Williamston High School in Michigan, said he is so concerned about screen time that in some of the school鈥檚 classes, students are required to put their cellphones in 鈥減hone pockets鈥� for storage, when technology is not being used. That鈥檚 even though his school has a BYOD policy, and technology plays an integral role in customizing the curricula for students.
鈥淭echnology has definitely helped us to personalize learning, but it鈥檚 not a zero-sum paradigm,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are lots of ways to personalize education that have nothing to do with technology.鈥�
While most principals are embracing the idea of personalized learning in some aspects of their schools, where is the pressure to do so coming from? The student body is one place: 31 percent of the principals surveyed said pressure to welcome personalized learning came from students.
But even more pressure came from technology companies: 55 percent of principals reported that they felt 鈥渟trong鈥� or 鈥渕ild鈥� pressure from technology companies and vendors to accept personalized learning.
Craig Blower, the principal of Swan Valley High School in Saginaw, Mich., said his school has a 1-to-1 computing initiative that uses iPads. He said he is constantly fielding sales pitches from vendors.
鈥淭hey call continuously saying, 鈥楿se our product,鈥� 鈥� or suggesting that their product is the 鈥渂est thing since sliced bread,鈥� he said.
The survey data reveal that principals continue to be intrigued by the idea of personalized learning but remain conflicted about its benefits versus its drawbacks, and how it should be implemented. Carter, the New Albany principal, said personalized learning and the digital tools used to facilitate it are important advances in education, but they don鈥檛 represent a reversal of strategies educators have used for decades.
鈥淧ersonalized learning is nothing but another way of differentiating education,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just calling it something that鈥檚 new and trendy.鈥�
