1. Do students want personalised learning?
Dr. Shalni Gulati
City University London

2. Context...Where are we now?
Learners experience research
How do learners use technologies?
How do learners construct meaning when using technologies?
Web 2.0
Increased use of Web 2.0 & mobile technologies
Creating and sharing multimedia outputs
Personalisation
Personalised learning experiences for responsive and self-regulated learning
Web 2.0 may enable personalised learning pathways?

3. Q. What are the underlying assumptions in the relationships between...
Learner in higher and further education
Technologies
Personalisation
Q. How can we begin to problematise the notion of personalisation, technologies and learning?

4. What is the Learner Experience?
Research evidence:
Increased use of Web 2.0, online and mobile technologies
Digital natives digital immigrants
Levels of engagement with formalised and informal technologies
Some participate and others do not
Learners desire more control over their learning processes
Do learners want us to use their Web 2.0 technologies in formal education?

5. My research...
How do professional postgraduate learners engage in and construct meaning during online and blended course?

6. Methodology Constructivist Paradigm Methods Sample
Personal Construct Theory (Kelly 1955)
Methods
Repertory Grid Method
Grounded Theory Approach (Strauss and Corbin 1998)
Sample
Heterogeneous 29 volunteer learners

7. Betty’s Interview 1 (a) Eliciting Elements – ‘how’
Q. Can you describe the activities you engaged in that helped you learn during your online course?
E1 Colleagues (to share documents and PPT.: formal & informal are happening together)
E2 Search on the internet for visual resources & flowcharts
E3 Search databases & search engines on specific subjects
E4 Read web pages, articles on or off the computer
E5 Jot down ideas from what I have read
E6 peers for Informal discussion and to maintain contact when in placement
E7 tutors my essay for feedback
E8 Manage and organise my time and knowledge online
E9 Initially used VLE for online discussions
E10 Being part of a group
E11 Read other peoples' s (re. Shared documents)

8. Eliciting Constructs – ‘why’
E2 Search on the internet for visual resources & flowcharts
E3 Search databases & search engines on specific subjects
E1 Colleagues (to share docs and ppt.: formal & informal are happening together)
PC1b Sharing knowledge that I have found
PC3b More focused knowledge
PC4b I am pin-pointing what I want to know and write
PC5b Not as fluid but limited
PC6b Here I build my point of view of learning
PC1a Me acquiring the knowledge
PC3a Broader knowledge
PC4a I am open to look at learning resources I find
PC5a This is more organic and fluid process
PC6a Here I learn from different views

9. Developing the grid One construct to represent each row
One construct to represent each row
One element to represent each column
Contrasting construct to represent each row 5 1 4 3 2
A complete numerical grid has a complete set of constructs rated for all the elicited elements.

10. c) The Repertory Grid PCa E1 E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 E10 E11 PCb 1a 1b

11. Betty’s element factors

12. Betty’s construct factors

13. Plot of elements on construct factors

14. HERE I GAIN MORE CONTROL
MY CONTROL
Reliable access to the Internet and variety of information gives me some control. I do not trust my initial ideas I need to check and validate my developing ideas to gain control over defining personal knowledge
Betty’s learning is an iterative process between self / online sources / colleagues / tutors
MY PERSONAL SPACE
My learning begins on my own
I rely on the Internet to find information & communicate
Internet helps to organise myself for distance learning
HERE I GAIN MORE CONTROL
I control how, when and with whom I share and deconstruct my developing knowledge.
This process helps me to gain more control through perspectives of others, whom I trust.
I question others perspectives on my and their shared work to help me learn and build personal knowledge
I build trusting relationships
I feel responsible to others so they can trust me
I HAVE LESS CONTROL HERE over who can see my shared knowledge. I maintain control by sharing end products. I do not use this to question and process information to develop knowledge
Tutor feedback is useful to review personal knowledge
INFORMAL SOCIAL SPACE
Trusting relationships with others are important for social support & learning
Sharing informally with peers I trust helps to process & validate information before I can accept it as personal knowledge
FORMAL SOCIAL SPACE
I need to feel confident about my personal knowledge before I can share it formally for others to judge
VLE discussions are situated in the formal social space

15. Karan’s learning is an iterative process between self / course materials / colleagues / tutor feedback
Gave access to multiple views
(TUTOR-DEFINED) MAIN LEARNING RESOURCE
Online access to lecture material, online activities and reference links
EXPANDING COMPREHENSION in face- to-face class discussions
EXPANDING COMPREHENSION in face- to-face informal interactions with peer and tutors
Processing information to build confidence in understanding
ME: SELF-LED & SELF-PACED READING: in stages. Re- reading for comprehension. Karan chose his focus
Online lecture notes: & offline discussions: Allowed freedom to express learning need; Ensure feedback; Allow discussion to link theory-practice
Re-read to address gaps
Opportunity to link theory- practice: evaluating understanding & building confidence
Helped to plan, prioritise and control learning process
No feedback; reduced confidence in written English; did not help with processing knowledge
ONLINE COMMUNICATION USING VLE AND
MEETING THE COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Evaluation and Validation of personal understanding
Reduced confidence due to lack of critical writing skills

16. Jaya’s learning is a self-reliant process with some tutorial and workplace interactions
Content not always
relevant to work
I value and
trust experts
input... Tutor’s notes
&
feedback
Study late into the night;
Online regularly after work;
Use Hospital library;
Use Hospital computer;
My learning is
supported by my
my work
place interactions
(JA) Me
&
my learning space
Low reliance
on others
Personal
organisation
Self-reliance
Others are
not always
receptive
to me
My control
“It looks like that I can do a lot on my own. I can organise, I can control, I can judge. When I interact with other people they not give me information I need. Some will give me, but not all.”
“Its my style of writing. I like to critically analyse things and say something critical. Like any research things, I like to analyse this, and then you have to support what you say. You have to look for articles and you have to go to the internet again”.
I sometimes
lack confidence
to say things
In the open

17. concern are also drivers
Faith
Relevance & Motivation
Progress & a feeling of achievement
Experiential learning & control over my sense of being in the centre, and understanding 
Peripheral elements
Main elements
I am here at work 
I am here with formal learning
Need more elements of time: for reflection; scoping and planning
It needs to be relevant to my world
Multimedia and relevance help with the spark factor that engages me
concern are also drivers
Desperation &
Desperation and ongoing thought about learning during day to day activities lead to a more successful and rich result.
Coerced and required working does not always lead to creative results for sometimes it could)

18. 2. Results
Two main personal constructs or main lenses with which learners viewed their learning worlds:
Personal Control
Emotions

19. 3. Three main tenets T1 Individual and social learning preference
Learners engaged in online, offline, individual and social activities depending on their learning preferences and their construction of personal control and emotions during a learning activity
T Online social identity
A positive online social identity was an important precursor for successful engagement and learning during in online discussion participation
T Practical and technical factors
Time for learning, IT access and a sense of ownership of the virtual learning space influenced control and emotional engagement during online learning activities including online discussions

20. T2 Online Social identity
Self as an national/international learner in the UK
Self as an online learner
Online Social Identities!
Personal control
Emotions
Self as a (developing) professional
Self as a Post-graduate... An adult learner

21. Conclusion
There were similarities and differences in how different learners constructed meaning
Personal control and emotional connectedness in online space enabled some learners to feel empowered;
Lack of control and emotional connections led to feelings of disempowerment in online and blended courses

22. Conclusion
In order to understand how technologies should be used to facilitate learning, it is important to understand how learners construct and accommodate these technologies in their diverse ways of knowing

23. Implications for practice
Significance of personal control calls for online course designs that allow learners to construct personalised learning pathways
Significance of emotions calls for more time and activities where learners can get to know others and are able to build trust in sharing ideas and questions
Use of technology for learning does not facilitate a power-neutral process
e-learning seminar
University of Oxford

24. From this we need to question...
Are learners already personalising their learning :
To match their preferences?
To adapt to the given requirements?
Take initiative to make learning relevant to their personal and professional goals?
If yes... What needs to change in our approach to HE provision to support these processes of personalisation?
If no...What is preventing learners from personalising learning experiences?

25. Personal versus Social
Can personalisation of learning
that aims to shift from tutor transfer of knowledge towards enabling students to self-regulate their learning pathways and processes and set own targets
result in loosing the significance of social and emotional connectedness for meaningful learning?
Can personalisation focusing on personalised journeys result in social disconnection?

26. The issue of power discourses and personal control
If personalised approaches can enable greater learner control over a learning situation, can personalisation make learning power-neutral?
Can use of personalisation strategies (as described in today’s conference) enable different learners to experience similar (if not the same) sense of personal control over their learning?

27. Technologies and personalisation
Can personalisation supported by Web 2.0 technologies enable personalised learning journeys & engage participants from socially disengaged groups? How?
What if the teacher is defining how and which technologies are to be used for personalisation??

28. Your conclusions on personalisation...

29. Thank You Shalni Gulati Shalni.gulati.1@city.ac.uk