Page 38 - Looking_after_school

Looking after school: a critical analysis of personalisation in education

technology is always exclusive (and, for instance, excludes students
from the possibility to learn), whilst digital technology functions inclu-
sively, or could at least function inclusively in so far as the conditions
of access, openness and digital literacy are fulfilled.
It is relevant to note that, in the eyes of this perspective, focusing on the
learner is not just possible but central. The user- and student-centred
approach is inherent to the digital. In this respect, the terminology
‘personal computer’ is of course most telling. The ambition is that the
computer is not a shared device, which would impose limits on the
user in terms of when and where to use it, but a personal piece of prop-
erty. Making use of it is thus, ideally, entirely disconnected from time
and space - which is obvious in laptops and handheld devices which
are individually owned and used. This also counts for the applications
themselves. Programs and apps can be adjusted to or selected based
on the preferences of the individual user. Search engines are also user-
centred: foremost because the internet revolves largely around search-
ing and thus offers the possibility to search in your own terms, but also
because search engines like Google personalise search results by, for
instance, taking previous individual searches and search profiles into
account (Feuz et al., 2011). Google thus offers a personalised service,
and, as such, Google does not only consider the satisfaction of its cus-
tomers, but also produces the service, itself, with the user.
This perspective on the intrinsic, personalising qualities of technology
is also prevalent in discussions about online learning environments
and criticisms of ways of learning which are bound in space and time.
The European Commission takes the floor once again:

“Technology also allows for new ways of learning and assessing, focusing
more on what the learner is capable of doing rather than on the mere
acquisition of information or on what the learner is capable of repeating.
[…] Technology makes it possible to develop new solutions for better
personalised learning, by allowing teachers to have a more accurate and
up to date follow up of each learner. Through learning analytics, new and
more learner-centred teaching methods can emerge since the evolution
of learners who use ICT regularly can be closely monitored: teachers
may know the exact learning outcomes of each individual and identify

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