One MIT's teacher's successful experience with a low-tech teaching program that relies on video and lots of student interaction is calling into question many of the maxims about personalization and computer-based learning that have become popular. The model may not be as flashy as many of the education technology products currently on the market, but it is based on strong psychological and cognitive underpinnings, writes Annie Murphy Paul for the Hechinger Report.
"We know that students do not make optimal choices when directing their own learning; especially when they’re new to a subject, they need guidance from an experienced teacher. We know that students do not learn deeply or lastingly when they have a world of distractions at their fingertips. And we know that students learn best not as isolated units but as part of a socially connected group. Modest as it is from a technological perspective, MIT BLOSSOMS is ideally designed for learning—a reminder that more and better technology does not always lead to more and better education."