Using technology to personalize learning - part 2

I'm reading on in the eBook Personalized Learning: A Guide for Engaging Students with Technology by Peggy Grant and Dale Basye and am making a list about the benefits of using technology for learning:

• Opening up the classroom and connecting with experts
• Giving students choices about how, when and where they learn
• Enabling students to take online courses in subjects that are not normally offered in their schools
• The possibility for utilizing more frequent formative assessments
• The ability to extend the learning day and school year
• More collaboration with peers
• Enhanced research through electronic libraries and online tutorials
• The ability to engage with simulations, role plays and real-world models
• The ability to bookmark and organize websites being used for research

Of course for personalized learning it's also important to have face-to-face interactions as well as online learning - in fact studies show that these interactions lead to better accountability when students are online.  Teachers need to be mindful that meeting students' needs involve an alignment between online and offline instructional strategies.

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