Knewton Adaptive Learning Platform

Knewton: the dream of personalized education

I was intrigued with the Knewton system shown in the YouTube video: It's a highly structured environment, but it's data mining of student actions in the system does provide the student herself, teacher, and parents personalized "next steps". These recommendations rely on more than probability, looking at the way each student best learns to give the uniquely personal responses.
Looking up a bit more background than in the video, I discovered Jose Ferreira, a former Kaplan exec, founded the company in 2008. He's lately received millions of dollars toward funding more R&D research in his "adaptive" system.
It even offers GMAT course reviews!
Knewton is a learning platform that uses algorithms to achieve a level of customization previously only attainable for the teacher in very very small groups. Customize both the content and context, the latter in that it identifies the pairs with the same learning style. Traditional educational environments, as it tells a teacher, is a dream.

I think the question arises whether it is worth keeping these traditional environments based on the logic of the industrial age. Some people argue that each human brain is wired in a way that even as individual learning styles and multiple intelligences are able to map it. If we take these arguments seriously, probably not worth keeping, for example, segregation by age or content.

But it is questionable regarding Knewton, which among its many advantages as well promising a lifelong relationship between people and publishers, is who will own the data it collects. Do you are the Shareholders or stakeholders of Knewton?

This is a great tool for individuation in learning. It adapts, and feeds back. But it has the one dimension only of "delivering knowable curriculum" to the student. I think learning is more than that.
I think we need to ask ourselves: How does it really work? How is coding working to send differentiated content to each learn. Do they Classify learners?
The other piece I think we need to explore is that this seems to be test prep work. It cannot replace classroom work, discussion, discourse, debate, creativity. I worry that failing school districts could view this as a solution to their problems, inserting students into computer stations with teachers and parents just monitoring progress and adding what the system recommends.