Page 25 - Education Supplement August 2025

Personalisation has to go What we’re really trying to do Why it matters
deeper We’re not building a product. We’re For many parents — especially
We’ve been told for years that not chasing buzzwords. We’re asking those raising neurodivergent or
technology can “personalise” a much simpler question: what struggling learners — this isn’t
learning. And on the surface, it would it take for a learning tool to about getting ahead. It’s about
can. It can adjust difficulty, track actually help? being understood.
performance, feed back stats.
But most of these systems are Not impress. Not standardise. Just help The right tools don’t need to be
responding to patterns — not to — quietly, practically, and consistently. perfect. But they do need to pay
people. attention. They need to support the
Sometimes that means offering the adults in the room who are already
They notice what’s easy and what’s same concept in a different format. stretched, already watching
hard. But they don’t notice when a Sometimes it means shifting the closely, already trying to adapt.
child is starting to mask. They don’t response method so a child can show Because real teaching has never
sense when overwhelm is creeping what they know without the pressure been about content delivery. It’s
in, or when a child who normally of full sentences. Sometimes it means about connection, and timing, and
speaks up suddenly goes quiet. doing less, not more — backing off trust.
when a learner is on the edge of
True responsiveness is about noticing shutdown, and trying again tomorrow. If AI is going to have a place in the
how a learner processes — not just classroom, it needs to earn it — not
how they perform. It’s not about None of that is revolutionary. It’s just by replacing what matters, but by
predicting scores. It’s about catching responsive. And that’s the point. recognising it.
the moments when something
needs to shift. Less text. More voice. A
different example. A slower pace. Or
sometimes, just a pause — because
nothing is going in today, and that’s
okay too.

This isn’t about replacing teachers.
It’s about building tools that help
them see more of what’s already
happening.

And none of it works without
infrastructure
We’ve sat in classrooms where
the Wi-Fi barely reaches the back
wall. Where devices are locked in
a storeroom because the plugs
don’t work. Where learners are
sharing chairs, and the heat makes
it impossible to think straight by
second break.

It’s hard to talk about
“transformation” when the basics still
aren’t there.

The best educational technology in
the world is useless if it can’t power
up, connect, or stay consistent. It’s
easy to promise digital progress
from behind a conference podium.
It’s harder to deliver it in a room with
broken blinds, cracked tiles, and
twenty-eight learners sharing one
working outlet.

Education | August 2025 | 23