How much personalization can we expect from adaptive courses designed with a Learner Intelligence (LI) approach? The answer may surprise you. For this discussion we will measure the personalization potential of a course by the number of unique learning paths possible.
A linear course with content pages A B C would have only one sequential path through the course (A1.B1.C1) with no personalization options. An adaptive course might offer each page in three different views, as in 1-Beginner, 2-Experienced, and 3-Expert. Each page (ABC) can be viewed in three ways (123). The total number of paths through the course is 27 as shown in the table below.
| A1.B1.C1 | A2.B1.C1 | A3.B1.C1 |
| A1.B1.C2 | A2.B1.C2 | A3.B1.C2 |
| A1.B1.C3 | A2.B1.C3 | A3.B1.C3 |
| A1.B2.C1 | A2.B2.C1 | A3.B2.C1 |
| A1.B2.C2 | A2.B2.C2 | A3.B2.C2 |
| A1.B2.C3 | A2.B2.C3 | A3.B2.C3 |
| A1.B3.C1 | A2.B3.C1 | A3.B3.C1 |
| A1.B3.C2 | A2.B3.C2 | A3.B3.C2 |
| A1.B3.C3 | A2.B3.C3 | A3.B3.C3 |
The number of paths through a course N can be calculated by multiplying the number of pages p to the power of c the number of choices. The formula is N = pc. How difficult would it be to create a course with a million unique paths? If we keep the number of choices to three, a five-page course would have 243 paths, and a 10-page course 59,049. A course with thirteen pages would have almost 1.6 million views! Now that’s a lot of personalization.
The number of combinations assumes that each page can be viewed only once. The number of learning paths and degree of personalization increases dramatically when we allow the user unlimited flexibility to view the same page from multiple perspectives. For example, a learner may want to view the three pages in all variations (A1.A2.A3.B1.B2.B3.C1.C2.C3) which is not included in the table above.
As you can see, the degree of personalization possible with a Learner Intelligence (LI) design approach is very powerful. That does not mean that every user will follow a unique path. Tracking what paths users follow may yield deep insights into your learners that identify trends that can be used to build more effective training. Of course, LI design is not an all or nothing design decision. Next week I will explore several ways to add adaptivity to your learning in The Many Faces of Adaptive Design.