Personal and personalised learning

During the plenary session I was asked by a delegate to explain the difference between ‘personal learning’ and ‘personalised learning’. I explained by pointing out the marvellous structure of the
Jerónimos Monastery, just across the road from the conference centre. Having visited there previously, I could see a useful analogy. Personal learning, I explained, is walking across the road and doing an ad hoc tour of the buildings and artefacts to see what I could learn about the history and culture of Jerónimos Hiring a personal guide who knows a lot more about the history and culture of the place, and touring it with him/her would be personalised learning. I would be scaffolded in my discovery of the place, and I might learn a little more than if I simply wandered around on my own.