Differentiated classroom learning, technologies and school improvement: What experience and research can tell us

One of the ways in which Australian schools are working to achieve differentiated classrooms and personalised learning for students is through the use of technologies. Promises of the integration of technologies into teaching and learning include that technologies enable teachers to be learner-focused, and students’ respective interests and ways of learning are foremost in classroom practices. Virtual learning environments such as learning management systems, mobile technologies, online
games, simulations and virtual worlds, are seen to offer students and teachers the capacity to personalise students’ learning opportunities, and to put students in control of the pace of their learning. More recently, technologies are also being seen to offer data about students’ learning achievements and developmental requirements. This paper draws on education theories, research and emerging new practices, to explore how technologies can be used to customise and personalise students’ learning, and to reflect on the implications of the evidence and practices presented, for school improvement.