Technology may enable higher education but it certainly won't replace it, says Mark Dorman

Will technology be the death of classrooms?

I don't think so. I think there's going to be a blend. There's access to different types of education online, and MOOCs have come up even in professional education, but there's going to be certain level of institutions that won't change very much—the red bricks, Ivy Leagues for instance.

Technology is creeping into the classroom and offering tools that are both personalised and adaptive (our Learn Smart programme for instance). Adapted math programmes may replace emporium style teaching. About 17 years of research went into one of our programmes Aleks, which offers adaptive math technology both at K-12 and higher education levels. Classrooms may be flipped, and have smaller groups. All in all, technology may enable higher education but it certainly won't replace it.

What are the benefits of adaptive learning technology?
It improves the pace at which people learn. It also tends to enhance the results, so you'll see higher grades and higher retention. The AI engines improve both cognitive learning and subject-matter knowledge.

Research isn't clear on whether it makes a difference in outcome with different styles of learning. But we do know that people improve with adaptive learning techniques regardless of their style.

It also enabling teachers to learn how students are learning; teachers can change their teaching style to drive better student outcomes. Instruction works best when informed by data about who and where people are in their learning journey.

What do you think of gamification of the education process?
Gaming may not work unless it is focused on very specific types of learning. In terms of using gaming to improve the learning process, we don't have any proven evidence that it improves the efficacy of learning.

We can't just use technology for technology's sake. We need to show results, which is why a lot of our programmes are research based.

What can you tell us about the programmes you are launching in India?
We have several K-12 and higher education programmes and are just about to launch post-graduate education programmes. For the most part, they are supposed to support existing education systems.

Context is very important; we align our programmes to the curriculum levels. If you break down the curriculum, it is basically based on learning objectives. Each learning objective makes up a subject. Several subjects make up a course.

We are aligned to the prevalent standard, but we can go beyond. The great advantage of digital tools, is that you can update things on a regular basis. The basic concepts of Math don't really change, while English might.

We can make big improvements with the analytics that come back. Students can learn where they could do better. Teachers can use the data/information to figure out where the students are learning, how the class is performing, how the teaching is working.

What about privacy issues? Is the data is shared across institutions?
The data is owned by the student and the institution. We don't trade off one student against another or one institution against another.