Differentiation with the aid of technology.

Kylie Taig

http://pinterest.com/kylietaig/

differentiation-with-the-aid-of-technology/

What is differentiation?“Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual

needs. Whether teachers differentiate content, process,

products or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes thus a successful approach

to instruction”

Carol Ann Tomlinson

Focus on ONE strategy at a time!

Learning to effectively differentiate instruction

does take time.

As with any instructional practice, fluency comes

with experience.

But the initial investment of time can offset time that might otherwise be spent re-teaching material that students failed to learn as

a result of a

non-differentiated approach.

Impacts of technology on learning #1

“Technology improves student performance when the application directly supports the curriculum

objectives being assessed.”

In other words, technology is most effective when integrated with curriculum content.

Impacts of technology on learning #2

“Technology improves performance when the application provides

opportunities for student collaboration.”

Studies show that paired and collaborative learning in conjunction with technology

enhances student performance.

Impacts of technology on learning #3

“Technology improves performance when the application adjusts for student ability

and prior experience, and provides feedback to the student and teacher about student performance or progress with the

application.”

This finding supports the differentiated instruction practices of coaching and mentoring as well as

sharing responsibility for learning.

Impacts of technology on learning #4

“Technology improves performance when the application is integrated into

the typical instructional day.”

This finding supports classroomand content learning with technology as opposed to lab learning with technology.

Impacts of technology on learning #5

“Technology improves performance when the application provides opportunities for students to design and implement projects that extend the curriculum content being

assessed by a particular standardised test.”

Student-created products, multimedia, and video streaming are examples of how

technology can extend curriculum content.

Impacts of technology on learning #6

“Technology improves performance when used in environments where teachers, the school

community, and school and district administrators support the use of technology.”

In addition to performance improvements tied to administrative support for technology, findings show that

integration of technology with instruction, professional development for teachers, and computer use at home and school with differentiated products and student

entry points combine to improve performance.

The obvious…

Before making the decision to use a

particular technology for a particular lesson,

teachers should first make decisions

about the learning goals, activities, and

assessments that will shape the

learning experience.

Focus should be on the

LEARNING– not the technology

itself.

Teachers can differentiate:

ContentProcess

ProductEnvironment

According to:

student readiness

student intereststudent learning profile

By Conte

nt

Different levels of reading or resource materials, reading buddies, small group instruction, curriculum compacting, multi-level computer programs and Web Quests, tape- recorded materials, etc.

By Proces

s

Activity choice boards, tiered activities, multi-level learning center tasks, similar readiness groups, choice in group work, varied journal prompts, mixed readiness groups with targeted roles for students, etc

By Produ

ct

Tiered products, students choose mode of presentation to demonstrate learning, independent study, varied rubrics, mentorships, interest-based investigations T

each

er

dep

en

den

t w

ays

to

diff

ere

nti

ate

:

By Interes

t

Options in content, topic, or theme, options in the tools needed for production, options in methods for engagement

By Profile

Consideration of gender, culture, learning styles, strengths, and weaknesses

By Readin

ess

Identification of background knowledge/gaps in learning, options in amount of direct instruction, options in amount of practice, options in pace of instruction, options in complexity activities, options in level of analysis/exploration of a topic

Stu

den

t d

ep

en

den

t w

ays

to

diff

ere

nti

ate

:

Differentiating by CONTENT:

Differentiating by content can happen in a variety of ways, but the two primary means include:

1) Using different content to teach the same subject to students with different needs, and

2) Enhancing or augmenting existing content to make it accessible to all students.

Discovery Education

http://www.discoveryeducation.com

Supplement verbal and textual input with visual

reinforcement like video and images:

Authentic content produced with the learner in mind.

Easily searchable and offers a range of topics and levels.

IDEA

1:

C

ON

TEN

T

Web 20.10http://web2010.

discoveryeducation.com

As our students become more entrenched in

technology, we need tools that can help us keep up with the ever-

changing online landscape. Simple new tools make it easier than ever to

plug in. IDEA

2:

C

ON

TEN

T

Discovery Education combines

scientifically proven, standards-based

digital media and a user community in

order to empower teachers to

improve student achievement. Free

lesson plans written by teachers for

teachers. Here you will find hundreds

of original lesson plans for

elementary, middle and high school

students. Use them as they are or

modify them to create your own.

Lesson Plan Library

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/teachers/free-lesson-plans

/

IDEA

3:

C

ON

TEN

T

Tag Galaxy

http://taggalaxy.de/

Tag Galaxy is a brilliant way to visually explore word

relationships – spelling or vocab words.

Use it as a cue to brainstorm a

new topic: What do you know about the rain forest?

Use it a a cue to recall knowledge: What did we learn

about the rain forest

Use it as a cue for essay writing

IDEA

4:

C

ON

TEN

T

Video Ant

http://ant.umn.edu/

Pause your movie and make comments during the

important parts!!

Add in a video straight from YouTube

IDEA

5:

C

ON

TEN

T

MathTV

http://www.mathtv.com

MathTV offers Math help for a variety of concepts!

Choose your topic, choose your teacher and away you

go!

IDEA

6:

C

ON

TEN

T

Stixy

http://www.stixy.com

Stixy is an online bulletin board that allows you to easily organize and share

schedules, projects, photos and documents

IDEA

7:

C

ON

TEN

T

Many eyes

http://www-958.ibm.com

Many eyes is an IBM Research project and

website whose stated goal is to enable data analysis

by making it easy for people to create visual representations of data.

IDEA

8:

C

ON

TEN

T

FunnelBrain

http://www.funnelbrain.com

FunnelBrain gives you and your friends a new way to learn. You can form study teams, play games, take

quizzes, and show off your intellectual prowess. It's fun, it's free and you'll do

better in class.

IDEA

9:

C

ON

TEN

T

News Map

http://marumushi.com/projects/newsmap

This is a visual representation of the day’s news. Information is sorted

into countries and within that, colour-coded

categories – like national, world, sport, business,

technology etc

IDEA

10:

C

ON

TEN

T

And don’t forget…

Online course platforms like ClassE (Blackboard) provide a structure for

content, allowing teachers to organise material in such a way to make them easily

accessible to students.

Differentiating by PROCESS

The process of how the material in a lesson is learned may be differentiated for students based on their learning styles, interest and readiness. This stage of differentiation allows students to

learn based either on what method is easiest for them to acquire knowledge, or what may challenge

them most: some students may prefer to read about a topic (or may require practice in reading), and others may prefer to listen (or require practice in listening), or acquire knowledge by manipulating

objects associated with the content.

Process =

1) Flexible Grouping

2) How information is Processed and Recorded

3) Manipulating Information

4) Extending learning time – without extending your work day!

Read Write Think

http://www.readwritethink.org

/

Read Write Think is a collection of resources,

interactive modules, lesson plans and student

information designed to help with reading and

written instruction

IDEA

1:

PR

OC

ESS

NoteStarhttp

://notestar.4teachers.org/

NoteStar is an Internet utility to

assist in the preparation of research papers. Teachers and

students can set up research

projects with topics and sub-topics.

Students may then take advantage

of NoteStar's many features to

collect and organize their notes

and prepare their bibliography page

IDEA

2:

PR

OC

ESS

LiveBinders

http://www.livebinders.com

/ Live Binders organize all of your websites, documents, movies, and images into

tabs and subtabs and then share your “stuff” on the

web.

IDEA

3:

PR

OC

ESS

Virtual Field Trips

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/pages/

listvirtualgr.html Virtual Field Trips are another good way to have students

experience and learn in a way beyond the typical lecture. These can be used by the

teacher with the whole class or

by individual students. Here’s some tips on where to find

some great virtual field trips.

IDEA

4:

PR

OC

ESS

Bubbl.us

https://bubbl.us/

Bubbl.us is a Web 2.0 tool that

enables users to create mind mapping and brainstorming

diagrams online. To begin, the main

topic/concept is entered in to the

parent bubble. Then ideas and

thoughts are recorded in colorful

text bubbles linked to the parent

bubble. Users continue to add text

bubbles which are color coded according to hierarchy.

IDEA

5:

PR

OC

ESS

Voice Thread

http://ed.voicethread.com

Transforming media into collaborative spaces with

video, voice, and text commenting.

IDEA

6:

PR

OC

ESS

Scootle

http://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/p/

home Learn,

teach and collaborate using digital resources to

support the Australian Curriculum

IDEA

7:

PR

OC

ESS

Jing

http://www.techsmith.com/jing.html

Simple and free, Jing is the perfect way to enhance your fast-paced online conversations. Create

images and videos of what you see on your computer screen, then share them

instantly!

IDEA

8:

PR

OC

ESS

Profcast

http://www.profcast.com/public/

index.php ProfCast is a versatile,

powerful, yet very simple to use tool for recording

lectures including PowerPoint and/or Keynote

slides for creating enhanced podcasts.

IDEA

9:

PR

OC

ESS

Padlet (AKA WallWisher)

http://padlet.com/

Padlet is an online notice board maker – ideal for

making announcements, keeping notes – all the

things that you can do with Post-its.

IDEA

10:

PR

OC

ESS

And don’t forget…One of the easiest differentiation tools for a reading passage is a software program that most teachers have readily at hand — Microsoft Word. Smaller reading passages, copied and pasted into Microsoft Word, can be easily enhanced to aid comprehension using standard formatting features within the program. Using the highlighting feature can help students focus on particular aspects of a text like parts of speech, literary devices, or key elements of a paragraph or research paper. Teachers can also use the comment feature to provide scaffolding or context for a student who needs help with a reading passage. Comments allow a user to insert a call-out box elaborating on a difficult vocabulary word, idiomatic expression, or complicated idea.

Differentiating by PRODUCT:

Student deomnstrations of learning refect who they are as individuals, who they are as creators and who they are as learners.

Differentiating by product means offering options for how students will express their understanding of the learning goals and objectives.

Allowing students to ‘choose’ empowers them and increases their motivation and engagement.

Newspaper Clipping

http://tinyurl.com/v5dns

Don’t limit yourself to just creating a newspaper – try the talking squirrels or the

Wizard text!

IDEA

1:

PR

OD

UC

T

Socrative

http://www.socrative.com

/

Socrative is a smart student response system that empowers teachers to

engage their classrooms through a series of

educational exercises and games via smartphones,

laptops, and tablets.

IDEA

2:

PR

OD

UC

T

Glogster

http://www.glogster.com

/

Glogster is a a website that allows users to create free

interactive posters, or Glogs. A "Glog", short for

"graphics blog", is an interactive multimedia

image. It looks like a poster, but readers can interact

with the content.

IDEA

3:

PR

OD

UC

T

50 word challenge

http://xrl.us/50words

The 50 word challenge is exactly that! Write and

post a 50 word story with a beginning, middle and end!

IDEA

4:

PR

OD

UC

T

Tic Tac Toe

http://differentiatedclassroom.edublogs.org/files/2012/04/Think-tac-toe-

27vgwyd.pdf Tic Tac Toe is a simple way to give alternative ways to expressing key ideas and

using key skills.

IDEA

5:

PR

OD

UC

T

Tic

Tac

Toe

Pixton

http://www.pixton.com/uk

/

Create your own cartoons with fully pose able

characters & animals! Upload pictures, create

freestyle panel layouts, add sound & voice-over, and

much more!

IDEA

6:

PR

OD

UC

T

Zooburst

http://www.zooburst.com

/

ZooBurst is a digital storytelling tool that lets

anyone easily create his or her own 3D pop-up books.

Using ZooBurst, storytellers of any age can create their

own rich worlds in which their stories can come to

life.

IDEA

7:

PR

OD

UC

T

Cue Prompter

http://www.cueprompter.com/

CuePrompter is a free teleprompter/autocue

service. Your browser works like a teleprompter -no extra software needed.

IDEA

8:

PR

OD

UC

T

StoryBird

http://storybird.com

Storybirds are short, art-inspired stories you make to share, read, and print.

Read them like books, play them like games, and send them like greeting cards.

They’re curiously fun.

IDEA

9:

PR

OD

UC

T

Present.Me

https://present.me/

Present Me is a web service that lets

you create effective presentations

through your PowerPoint files.  What

makes this site unique, is it lets you

add a narrative to the presentation.

Once you upload your PowerPoint,

you can record a narrative through

your webcam and microphone as if

you were presenting the slideshow.

The final presentation then appears

with your webcam recording on the

right and slides on the left. A filmstrip

view of the slides is also given on the

bottom of the presentation. 

IDEA

10:

PR

OD

UC

T

There is a lot to consider…

O Learning styles, skill levels and ratesO Learning difficultiesO Language proficiencyO Background experiences and

knowledgeO InterestsO MotivationO Social and emotional developmentO Various intelligences

But wait!Do you want more??

Stop watch:

http://www.online-stopwatch.com

Today Meet

http://todaysmeet.com/

TodaysMeet helps you embrace

the backchannel and connect

with your audience in real time.

Encourage the room to use the

live stream to make comments,

ask questions, and use that feedback to tailor your

presentation, sharpen your points, and address audience

needs.

Tiny URL

http://tinyurl.com

Tiny URL converts your looooong URL into a short and convenient address that students can easily

copy from the board!

Random Name Picker

http://www.classtools.net/educa

tion-games-php/fruit_machine