Differentiation with Technology

November 6, 2008 * Comments(0)

I have recently read several articles on differentiation through use of technology. The various articles led me to reflection on use of technology with my students and whether or not it is a direct means to differentiation.  

We use technology in my classroom daily. However, a student’s access to technology does not automatically equal learning with technology. Learning with technology, like any educational tool, is the result of consideration for student’s various learning levels, learning styles, and the enduring understandings you wish for them to gain through a lesson. In reflecting on use of technology with my students, I have found 3 ways that I achieve differentiation…

1) Using technology to reach various learning styles:

In some cases, reaching various learning styles is a direct benefit of technology tools specifically designed to make learning easier and better for everyone.

Interactive white boards: engage visual learners, auditory learners, and bodily-kinesthetic learners when used with embedded media that is interactive and allows students to engage in manipulative activities on the board.  *Don’t have an interactive white board?  Read here to find out how you can make one for under $50…Ted Talks-Johnny Lee Wii Remote Hacks

Digital document cameras: benefit and engage all students by enlarging a live demonstration 20-30 times larger than real life. Instead of students crowding around a table trying to see a teacher demonstration, students can benefit from guided instruction from a large screen live projection while following along from their desks or work stations.  

2) Using Technology to reach varied learning levels:

In the same way that using technology does not equal learning with technology, using technology does not equal differentiation through technology. Equipping oneself as an educator with a variety of tools and literacy’s that will help students learn better and knowing which ones might be appropriate for a specific student is what makes differentiation work. The same goes for differentiation with technology.

-Pacing: Web based tools such as Moodle & Google Docs can allow students to access instruction both in and out of class to learn through them at their own pace. 

-Guided Choice: Social bookmarking tools such as Delicious are great for creating groups of resources based on tags. You can set up an account and tag specific websites based on topics you are studying in class. This can also be done through a host application such as Moodle, Google Docs, or a class website through which you provide a variety of links. Another way I provide choice is by allowing students to a choice of media when creating a reflections.  I allow them to choose from a variety of computer based applications such as Microsoft suite, iMovie, and Garage Band (Audacity is a free equivalent to Garage Band). I love the variety and creativity that comes out of these choices. 

3) Filling the teacher “tech”box:

There is much discussion about “digital natives” (Prensky, 2001) and how we as educators must teach them in their own language.  21st century learning initiatives encourage a new set of skills necessary for students to succeed which are vastly different from that of just a few decades ago when some of us might remember the first time we ever used a computer or heard of the internet. Students today are growing up having never known life without them.

To meet these needs and teach our students using tools that are part of their everyday digital world, we as educators must be filling our own toolbox of technology. There is no one size fits all to student learning. Having knowledge and familiarity with a variety of technologies and pairing them to individual students to help them learn better just might be the best form of differentiation using technology. *Please visit the website “Teach with Technology” for ideas on integrating technology into your classroom.

The P.L.A.T.E. Conference

August 19, 2008 * Comments(0)
This summer, I was part of the planning and presenting of the P.L.A.T.E (Plymouth Leadership And Technology for Education) conference. This conference was presented by year 2 Masters of Educational Technology Graduate Students from Michigan State University, of which I am a member. We were 19 Michigan State University Graduate Students in Educational Technology who, in entirety, planned, advertised, and presented the conference which was held at the University of Plymouth in Plymouth, England on July 16th, 2008. Attendees of the conference were Michigan State University Graduate and Undergraduate students in Educational Technology, Educational Leadership, and Educational Curriculum and Instruction, MSU faculty members, and Plymouth University faculty members.
I presented two sessions: “Models for Integrating Technology” and “Translating Portfolios Into New Technologies”
In the “Models for Integrating Technology” session, I collaborated with two other cohort members. Our aim was to identify the issues surrounding technology in education, define various scenarios of technology availability within school settings, and present possibilities for integrating technology successfully in light of these “obstacles” to help students and schools meet learning goals. 

 

As an international teacher in a technologically rich overseas school, I am very fortunate to have access to laptop computers, internet, the most current softwares, and a staff of technology integration specialists who offer regular professional development to learn how to implement these tools successfully into the classroom. I realize that in most schools in North America where teachers attending the conference were from, this is not the case. We wanted attendees to walk away from our session with new ideas and new ways of thinking about how they can integrate technology into their own classrooms and school settings. All of the resources from our session, including the presentation itself were made available to the attendees on google through google docs. During the presentation, we invited attendees to participate in our presentation using a live “Audience Participation” tool in Google Docs. The live participation comment feed was projected alongside our presentation. This engaged the audience and encouraged collaboration of ideas…and it was just plain fun breaking down the wall between presenters and audience.
In the “Translating Portfolio’s into New Technologies” session, I also collaborated with two members of my cohort. This session was a presentation workshop. Our goal was to define different types of portfolios, show examples of digital portfolios used in the classroom, provide a framework for getting started, and then teach a workshop to get attendees started.
For the workshop, we differentiated our instruction by polling the audience to assess their interests and experience with digital portfolios. I then taught a group how to create a website to house portfolio work in Google Page Creator. One of my fellow presenters taught attendees how to set up an account and use Voicethread. The other fellow presenter worked with a 3rd group who were already using digital portfolios in their classrooms with a variety of online tools.
I thoroughly enjoyed the workshop format for this session. As an attendee to many conferences myself, I get the most of out sessions that provide something you take right back to your classroom. While time was limited, each attendee left with knowledge of a new online tool and how they could use it with their students.
I also led a job alike session with other members of my cohort. This allowed conference attendees to share what they had learned and provide presenters with feedback. We divided into groups by Elementary, Secondary, and Admin/Other Professionals. The feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. This was the first time the MSU MAET program had included the planning and presenting of a full conference as part of the curriculum and I do believe we set the bar quite high.
Please view the conference website for information about all of the sessions, presenters, keynote, and planning. Please view the conference program which I designed using Adobe InDesign and the conference commercial which I created with two other cohort members on the home page.