Personalized learning sounds great. Every student is unique, so wouldn’t it be better if schools could use technology to teach each student what they need, rather than teaching one lesson for all? This just makes sense, right? We all want to help our students succeed.

Except, that’s not what personalized learning is, in many cases. Many schools are replacing teaching with online lessons, and the teacher is more like a digital DJ, curating a personalized education “playlist” for each student.  Is this truly personalized learning?  According to Paul Emerich, edtech blogger and amazing educator, not so much.

“Technology will never replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of a great teacher can be transformational” is my favorite quote by George Couros.  Technology is a tool — just that. We need to empower teachers to teach, to build relationships with students, and to leverage technology as a tool to augment the teaching, not replace it.