Differentiating Instruction Using Technology in the Intermediate Grades

8/8/2019 Differentiating Instruction Using Technology in the Intermediate Grades

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Differentiating

Instructo

UsingTechnology

inthe

IntermediateGrades


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re Are Three Main Types of Students

udents who are truly self motivated.re the students we all love to have. The students who do all assigned work as expected or more.

t up every morning with the motto; I just cant wait to class. Sadly, these students are few and far b

The students who go through the mare the students who know, in the long term, that they need to be successful in school.

real desire to learn the curriculum, however work toward learning the facts to get a passiTheir motto: I am learning how to pla

ents who tune us out.chool totally irrelevant and totally uninteresting and see no real purpose for it in their life. They are md to having anyone who asks for their attention, like musicians, video games, work really hard to getng offered isnt engaging, they truly resent their time being wasted. They are quickly becoming the: Engage me, or enrage me.

Mark Prensky, Engage Me or Enrage Me, What Todays Learners Demand, EDUCASE Review, September/October 2005


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What is Differentiation?

Differentiating instruction means creatingmultiple paths so that students of differentabilities, interest or learning needs experienceequally appropriate ways to absorb, use, developand present concepts as a part of the dailylearning process.


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How do we differentiate instruction?

CONTENT

PRODUC

T

ACTIVITIES

Differentiation

ENVIRONME

NT

- Involves assessment forlearning, assessment aslearning, and assessmentof learning.

-

taking assessment resultsand directing instructionat students requiring moreexplicit teaching.

- Using Howard GardinersTheory of MultipleIntelligences as a basis ofinstructional planning.

- Providing students with

tools to support theirlearning (ie. GraphicOrganizers)

- Open ended, studentdirected, inquiry basedlearning that engages thesenses and learning styles.

- Allows students to completetasks at their grade level

- Changing the learningatmosphere from desks inrows to accommodate studentlearning needs.(Ie. learning groups,

incorporating movement,D.P.A., Energizers)


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Differentiating theIntermediate Classroom

Environment withTechnology


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Student Laptops (Macbooks forGrade 7/8)Remote Desktop capability connects

all computers together, allowsteacher to monitor student actions

Classroom PrinterOn a private network, connectedonly to the macs so that studentscan print directly within their ownclassroom to hand in final writing

tasks.

Laptop Cart

Keeps the laptops in a safe,secure storage area that ismobile and also serves as acharging dock.


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Student Laptops (Mini-Notebooks Grade 5/6)Uses familiar software such asMicrosoft Wordand Powerpointforstudents to communicate their

understanding of key concepts moreeffectively. Assessment data showsthat student writing has improvedwith the use of these laptops.


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Promethean InteractiveWhiteboardEngages the three learning styles(Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic)through an interactive interface thatallows students and the teacher to

manipulate objects on the screen.

LCD Projection UnitConnects to laptops, macbooks (for studentpresentations), and document cameras. A farmore versatile projection system versus theoverhead lamp projector.


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Document CameraConnects to LCD projector. An instantprojection of any images placed under thecamera, allows for more versatility whenprojecting documents vs. old overhead

transparencies.

Wireless KeyboardsAllows teacher to move around the classroom when

teaching with the computers as opposed to being

situated behind a desk. Teachers can makeobservational assessment of student understanding


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Learner Response SystemsStudents interact with the Promethean Board through a variety ofanonymous question and answer formats. ActivHub saves all student datafrom assessments completed on ActivExpressions. An alternative method toassess for, as, and of learning.


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Front Row Phonic Ear SystemAmplification system that can beused to evenly distributes theteachers voice throughout theclassroom.


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Specific Content Area Examples of Differentiationwith Technology:

MATHEMATICS:-Online virtual manipulatives can be accessed individually by

students on laptops or for whole class instruction on PrometheanBoardhttp://nvlm.usu.edu

-Calculation Nation, an online mathematics gaming site, allowsstudents to compete against each other in real time.

http://calculationnation.nctm.org
http://nvlm.usu.edu/http://nvlm.usu.edu/


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OAME CLIPS-Online virtual site with modules for helping students understandand work through mathematical process from Grades 7 12.http://oame.on.ca/CLIPS/index.html

L A


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Language Arts

- Differentiating With Word Processing Programming In the Classroom:Both Dell mini-macs and Macbooks have text-to-speech capabilities forstudents who have difficulty with sight word recognition and fluency

which improves comprehension.

- Helps students recognise omissions and/or errors in their writing asword processing typically improves editing and proof-reading.

- Students can access a variety of texts online from every genre and

era.

- Students can copy and paste text into word documents and highlightkey information for their own notes.

- With Macbooks, teachers can scan PDF versions of worksheets and

send to student laptops for students to complete and send back toteacher = paperless classroom.

MEDIA LITERACY IS TEACHING WITH COMPUTERS- Teach kids about dangers associated with Social Media usage- Analyse advertising technqiues used to target teenagers, bias inmedia coverage, etc-

Look at a variety of forms of media through YouTube and othersources.

BitSt i f S h l


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BitStrips for Schools:-Students generate teacher moderated comics tocommunicate their understanding.

- Teachers control their own classroom module.Students have to register and log in with theirown specific classroom code. Privacy and safety

-Eg: This student is showing her interpretation ofArticle 28 of the UNs Declaration of HumanRights.

Lucas Remembrance Video.m4v

Movie Maker and/or iMovie Programs:-Allow students to communicate their learningthrough a media literacy lens by creating videoswhich can be open ended combinations of music,pictures, video, text, and recorded sound andvideo.- Video creation involves a lot of planning andunseen literacy skills that go far beyond thefinal product.- Students research, synthesise, summarize, and


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As a method of writing assessment teachers can post links to news articles


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As a method of writing assessment, teachers can post links to news articlesor other texts online and direct students to read and respond directly on theblog to a series of questions or prompts. Teachers can then assess studentwriting right on the blog.


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- Also a great place for teachers to post daily homework tasks as a method ofdirect communication with parents who log on.

Wh t W F d


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What Weve Found:

PROS CONS

- Technology can be used in all subject areas. - A lot of class time wasted on technologyfailures and flaws

- Increases student engagement throughvirtual storytelling, field trips, streaming video,virtual manipulatives, and online gamingopportunities.

- As the technology usage becomes morecommonplace, students start to develop anapathy toward it and engagement levels beginto drop.

- Learner Response Systems open the door to

more consistent, valuable, and immediateassessment and feedback to students andteachers about student learning and progress.

- Planning lessons and building templates on

Promethean Software to work in conjunctionwith Learner Response Systems takes aconsiderable amount of time.

- Having access to some technology in theclassroom still opens the door for teachers todifferentiate in many ways, despite the

limitations.

- If you dont have all of the tools the use oftechnology in the classroom is limiting. (eg:ActivBoard without Learner Response

Systems)-Individual student mac laptops equipped withmac programming and Remote Desktopaccess allows for a paperless classroomapproach to assignments.

- With introducing Macs in the classroom,significant class time is needed to trainstudents on how to use the Mac and itsprogramming.

- Teacher training available to keep themcomputer literate and up to date on current

software capabilities

- Teacher training is costly to school boardsand time consuming. Some teachers unwilling

to invest that time and others say they aretech challenged.

The Pros and Cons of Using Technologyto Differentiate the Intermediate

Classroom


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Do not confine yourchildren to your ownlearning, for they were born

in another time.-Hebrew Proverb

Adapting technology to fit your style is an ongoing process. Do not try to doeverything at once. Every journey begins with a single step.Taken from : 6 Steps to Success In Teaching With Technology

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Differentiating Instruction Using Technology in the Intermediate Grades