Personal Services: Debating the Wisdom of Personalisation

  • Authors:
  • Helen Ashman;Tim Brailsford;Peter Brusilovsky

  • Affiliations:
  • WebTech and Security Lab, University of South Australia,;School of Computer Science, University of Nottingham,;School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh,

  • Venue:
  • ICWL '009 Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Advances in Web Based Learning
  • Year:
  • 2009

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Abstract

Personalisation has been seen as the answer to the vast quantity of information now available digitally. Information is tailored to meet each user's apparent needs, whether making use of Web-based learning materials, purchasing from online sites, accessing entertainment products or any other potentially-personalisable facility. Yet before rushing headlong into personalising everything, including online learning systems, we need to consider the threats posed by the capture of so much data about individuals, the implications of personalised information delivery, and whether the benefits of personalisation justify the costs. In this paper, we look at both the issues and benefits of personalisation, and consider how to steer our way to a safe and valuable use of personalisation.