Technology strategies to differentiate a classroom

Technology Strategies to Differentiate Instruction Hampton Township School District August 24, 2006 Dr. Robert Isherwood

Differentiated Instruction and Technology Integration Technology integration and differentiated instruction complement each other in many ways! This presentation provides the rationale for differentiating using technology, as well as a multitude of strategies that can be used in your classroom.

What is differentiated Instruction? Teachers begin where the students are, recognizing individual differences Engage students in different modalities Use varied rates of instruction, complexity levels, and teaching strategies Challenge students to compete against themselves in order to learn and grow

Major Components of Differentiated Instruction Pre-assessment/Post Assessment Instruction Independent and Group Work Flexible Groups by learning profile by interest by readiness http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_diffinstruc.html

Ways to Differentiate Product - the way in which a students knowledge is assessed Process - the way in which a student gains access to knowledge Content -the depth/complexity of the knowledge base a student explores

Why Technology? Existence of wide gaps in student experiences and abilities Students are motivated to use technology Flexibility of the medium Prepares students for the future

Pre-assessment Technology Ideas Teachers can use technology to create interesting pre-assessment activities to determine what skills students have already mastered. A great website to create pre-assessment activities is http://www.funbrain.com/ This website has technology games and activities, a curriculum guide, a standards finder, and flashcards for practice.

Pre-assessment Technology Ideas http://www.quia.com/web is another great website for creating quizzes and tests as well as for developing internet based games You can create any type of test on this site, randomize question order, assign point values to questions, assess case and punctuation, etc. Thirty day free trial……..check it out!

Technology Strategies to Differentiate Content by Interest Web quests are great activities that exist in cyberspace and promote higher level thinking http://www.kurwongbss.qld.edu.au/thinking/Bloom/BLOOM%20(one%20page%20poster).doc The following three internet sites are examples of webquests that can allow a teacher to differentiate by interest http://lakelandschools.org/EDTECH/Volcano/volcano.htm http://lakelandschools.org/EDTECH/lesliediff/space.htm http://www.lakelandschools.org/EDTECH/Integration/quest/home.htm

Technology to Differentiate by Content, Group, and Assessment The following is a differentiate unit in World Cultures that already exists on the web. The topic is China. Teachers can create units such as this one or find more that are already out in cyber space. Check this out! http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/China/sampler.html

Create Rubrics for Performance Based Assessment using Technology Use the Internet to help develop rubrics for performance based activities that challenge students and require higher level thinking skills. Check out these websites: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/assess.html http://www.readwritethink.org/

Using Technology to Support Literacy Development Use an LCD projector hooked to a laptop or teacher computer to strengthen your balanced literacy curriculum! Support reading by: Projecting shared reading material on the classroom wall or screen so that all students can see it and read along. Projecting reading-rich websites on the classroom wall or screen to expand your classroom library of shared and guided reading material. Projecting graphic organizers and templates (made with word-processing [Microsoft Word] or mindmapping [Inspiration] software) during guided reading. Students can more easily collaborate. Graphic Organizer/Template ideas: identify story parts, create character maps, construct main and supporting idea outlines, respond to reading response forms. http://www.readingquest.org/strat/graphic.html

Using Technology to Support Literacy Development Use commercially-available electronic books to extend your classroom library with multimedia reading materials. There are lots of resources available and several are bilingual. Research indicates that these resources: Support struggling decoders by "reading to them." Motivate reluctant readers with amusing graphics and sounds. Add to story comprehension with supplementary literacy activities. Good examples of books include titles produced by Living Books such as the Arthur series, Stellaluna , and Dr. Seuss' ABCs among others. Books can be purchased online at http://www.kidsclick.com/living_books.htm

Using Technology to Develop Writing Skills Support writing by: Projecting teacher, class, and student writing material for editing and commenting during shared, interactive, and guided writing. When everyone can see the material, they are more likely to participate actively in the editing process. Projecting concept maps using Inspiration or other mindmapping software as the class or group plans writing. This strategy facilitates collaboration and encourages students to generate ideas because of the flexibility of the tool. http://www.webenglishteacher.com/

Why use Technology? In conclusion, technology and multimedia applications should be an integral part of the learning environment. Our students are immersed in a daily life full of computers and other technological advances. The schools of America should reflect this change in the classroom. Integration of technology does not mean placing a computer in the corner of the classroom and leaving it un-touched throughout the semester. Technology must be incorporated in all aspects of the curriculum. To do anything less would be a disservice to our students.

Tips for Teachers Using Technology http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech227.shtml http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/instrsk.html

Technology strategies to differentiate a classroom

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Technology strategies to differentiate a classroom