In the article “Multimodal Identity Artefacts 2.0 as a Mechanism to Promote Personalization of Learning in Higher Education. A Qualitative Study”, published in RIED – Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, Marc Baig Falgueras, Paula Boned Ribas, Irene González-Ceballos, and Moisès Esteban-Guitart explore how students’ personal interests, experiences, and identities can be connected with university academic content.
Their proposal is based on a fundamental idea: learning becomes more meaningful when students can relate what they study to what they consider important in their own lives. To explore this idea, they investigate the educational potential of so-called multimodal identity artefacts 2.0: creations such as photographs, collages, drawings, texts, or videos through which students express significant aspects of their identities and connect them with their academic studies.
The research involved 64 undergraduate Psychology students at the University of Girona, as part of an Educational Psychology course. The experience was organized into four stages: first, each student created an artefact representing their interests, experiences, or important aspects of their life; next, they identified a course topic related to that artefact; they then conducted a small research project and produced a two-to-five-minute video, which they shared on YouTube; finally, they assessed their own learning.
The results revealed a remarkable diversity of personal and academic interests, with 47 different topics ranging from emotional education to the influence of music, sports, and video games on learning. Grades were also positive, averaging 1.7 out of 2 in student self-assessments and 1.8 in instructor assessments. The analysis identified academic, personal, and procedural learning outcomes, particularly related to understanding educational concepts, reflecting on personal identity, and developing digital skills.
The study highlights the potential of these practices to foster university education that is more personalized, participatory, and connected to students’ lives. Identity artefacts are not viewed merely as creative products but as tools for building bridges between personal experiences and academic knowledge, encouraging students to become more actively involved in their own learning.
Moreover, creating and publishing digital content transforms students from consumers of information into active producers of knowledge. Although the study’s qualitative nature and the absence of follow-up assessments make it difficult to determine its long-term effects, the findings offer a valuable pedagogical approach for higher education. The authors also propose incorporating opportunities for students to share and discuss the videos they produce, as well as conducting further research to better understand the depth and long-term retention of the learning achieved.
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How to Cite: Baig, M., Boned, P., González-Ceballos, I., & Moisès. (2023). Multimodal Identity Artefacts 2.0 as a Mechanism to Promote Personalization of Learning in Higher Education. A Qualitative Study. RIED-Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia, 26(2), 27–44. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.26.2.36227
