Blog
July 12, 2017

Make learning personalized by using an LMS


July 12, 2017
 / 
Gary Falcon
 / 
Featured image for “Make learning personalized by using an LMS”

One of the most difficult parts of planning lessons and curriculum for the classroom is differentiation of material for students with different learning styles, different levels of content mastery, different ELL status – the list goes on and on.

Ultimately, as teachers and administrators, you want what is best for your students, but it is not always easy to juggle all the different needs of your classroom.

That’s where you could be using educational technology to have personalized learning experiences for your students.

What is personalized learning?

Like many things in the education industry, it depends on who you ask. However, there are a few components of personalized learning that are agreed-upon.

First, personalized learning starts with understanding the strengths, needs, motivations, and goals of your students. The key here is to know a lot about your students and what kind of material they need and want to see.

Once you know where to start, true personalized learning allows for students to progress along learning paths – groups of lessons or assignments that allow students to work through based on their competency. This allows students who struggle with a particular topic to slow down and work through it more, while those who have mastered it can move on to their next lessons.

Finally, personalized learning allows for flexible learning environments. This gives students the option to work at home, at school, or somewhere on the go. Students can choose which activities to tackle for homework (with teacher guidance, of course!) or spend extra time reviewing something they might need more time on than what class allows.

How can you incorporate personalized learning in your classroom?

Researchers have found that the best way to incorporate personalized learning is to focus on three areas: tutoring, content, and contact time. All three of these areas rely on the flipped classroom approach to blended learning: using class time for working on assignments and “homework” time for watching lectures and reading class announcements. The idea here is that by doing problems or assignments in class, teachers will be better able to observe students while they are working and get a better feel for their strengths and weaknesses, all while being able to lend a hand. Watching video lectures and doing reading at home allows students to pace themselves appropriately – they can re-watch things that need some clarification and move more quickly through content they understand.

Need a system that manages classrooms, gives students and parents access from home and can help you flip your classroom?

A learning management system, or LMS, does all of those things and more. If you’re interested in seeing how an LMS works in real-time, reach out and we would be more than happy to schedule a demo of the features you care about most!

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