This content was previously published by Blackboard, now part of Anthology. Product and/or solution names may have changed.

After watching Blackboard’s recent webinar with Eduventures Research about personalization in education, the company asked what excited us about this trend. This is what we told them.

Responses were edited for length and clarity.

Perspectives from Council Members in High School

“Things such as receiving push notifications to remind me to complete assignments and a ‘success coach’ to help me stay on track are really unique and powerful. Having that additional push could be huge, especially for students who may be away from home for the first time. Also, the ability to see exactly where you are against where you should be can act as motivation to push towards the right ‘track’.”— Charlie

“I believe that it would benefit every student to have a personalized learning experience as everybody is different and has their own unique ways of learning. Focusing on making it more personal for individuals can only be a positive thing, as the student can really pick up on areas of discovery. Also, with the use of data to send reminders to learners, in my opinion, is incredible. It can help students to keep track of their workload, keep on time and stay on the right track.” — Charlotte

“I believe that personalized learning experiences are very beneficial to high school and college students. As a senior in high school (and credit wise [in] my sophomore year of college), the ability to have assignment and class reminders, a tutor, and a section to show all of my incomplete and complete work leaves me with no excuse for not getting my work done. Having a guided and personalized path will help make getting my education less stressful.” – Na’ilah

“As a high school student, I am very excited about personalized learning experiences. Up until now, I have only used platforms that take a generalized approach and as a result, have only been partially beneficial in my learning journey. I believe that this customized journey can help advance my learning and prepare me for the future.” – Nitya

Perspectives from Council Members in College/University

“What excites me about a personalized learning experiences is that it proactively works to identify students and educators’ needs, as well as the challenges they may encounter when trying to achieve their personal goals. It also collects data from users which opens a path for continuous improvement. This holistic approach shows a genuine interest in understanding students as complex individuals.” – Carolina

“As students have navigated online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, asynchronous classes have increased in popularity, and students now have the ability to choose many different approaches to learning course material. I believe that even as we transition to lifeafter the pandemic, personalized approaches to education will remain prominent and data will play a major role in shaping individualized educational experiences.” – Connor

“The idea of having a ‘success coach’ that students can access at any time for extra support that is unique to their needs is a very encouraging and inspiring aspect of a personalized learning experience. I’m also impressed with the idea of things such as accessibility tools that let students log in whenever or wherever they are and the Chatbot feature and its ability to enable student support to scale.” – Kasey

“As a current college junior, I am excited by personalized learning experiences. Since most coursework will have virtual components for the foreseeable future, it is important for online learning to be individualized for students. I believe providing students immediate feedback will allow students and their educators to identify strengths and as well as potential learning weaknesses.” – Sammy

“The potential to integrate data and insights across the board for millions of students offers the opportunity to make platforms that really respond to learning challenges in as close to real-time as possible. It excites me to see how much all stakeholders can improve decision making once equipped with better data insights." – Ayan

“Personalized learning experiences add a sense of importance and urgency to my own educational process and I don’t feel like I’m just one more lost in a multitude of millions of students struggling to find their own path.” – Bruno

“The thing that excites me the most about personalized learning experiences for each student is that it promotes and encourages supporting the variety of backgrounds that all students in higher education come from. In today’s classrooms, diversity of student backgrounds is crucial for a meaningful learning experience. Students have different goals, expectations, and obligations outside the classroom that make one teaching strategy incongruent for all students. Meeting students where they are and adjusting the curriculum and teaching strategy for each student in a way that listens to their needs is so crucial in the making of inclusive education.” – Danielle

*Members of the Blackboard Student Advisory Council receive compensation for their time.