Technology Supported Differentiation
Differentiation in the elementary school classroom is very important for student success. Differentiation is when teachers tailor instruction to meet the individual needs of their students. I have found that teachers can use technology to support differentiation for their students in many different ways. Teachers can use technology to accommodate learning styles, disabilities and different types of curriculum. It is important when considering which technology to incorporate into your instruction, teachers should make sure that the tool correlates with standards, is able to conduct formative assessments and how the tool can adapt to different skill levels while still addressing the same content. While doing research about technology supported differentiated, I found three educational technologies that enhance differentiation in the classroom are: SAS Curriculum Pathways, Newsela and EDpuzzle.
SAS Curriculum Pathways:
SAS Curriculum Pathways offers a plethora of interactive resources that engage students to help their understanding of different concepts and standards. This piece of technology allows for students to work at their own pace and have material that is specific to their ability level. It provides teachers with tips and support to effectively integrate their resources into their lessons. The lessons that are provided through SAS Curriculum Pathways come with lesson guides that give teachers different learning objectives, materials, ideas for assessment, answer keys and how they apply to different standards. One of the resources that SAS Curriculum Pathways offers is an English Language Arts tool called "Reading Records." This is a way for teachers to monitor their students reading and comprehension skills. Students are required to read and record a passage based on their skill level and answer quizzes with questions answered in the reading and then are prompted to retell the story. One cool aspect about this lesson is that teachers can create their own passages themselves for their personal classrooms. This is just one example of the countless resources that Curriculum Pathways offers teachers to support differentiation. Check out Reading Records below!
Newsela:
Newsela is another great resource for teachers to use in the classroom for technology supported differentiation. This allows teachers to provide their students with, "fresh, adaptive reads for every subject." Newsela is a website/app that has all sorts of articles about current events, different studies and history. Teachers can filter through the website based on grade, subject and interest. Each Newsela article is offered at five different reading levels with content for grades 2-6. While students are reading, there are five power words and definitions that are specific to the grade level. There are also low-stake power practice activities that allow students to build a deeper understanding of word meaning. Another great aspect of Newsela is that it allows teachers to track student progress and stay on top of their work. The website also offers a "text set," which has a bunch of articles over one topic. This is one of my favorite aspects of Newsela.
When I was looking at the different "text sets" I found one called "Girl
Power." The text set has different articles about incredible girls who
are leading us to a world where, "girls can reach their full
potential." The text set includes articles about a powerful teen in
Africa, a 4-year-old girl who goes to the Library of Congress and Malala
a girl demanding change in our society. Newsela allows for teachers to
provide their students with subject based reading that are tailored to
their student's skill level. Newsela is a great resource for teachers to help in differentiation in their classrooms.
EDpuzzle:
Finally, EDpuzzle is a great resource that teachers can use to implement videos into their classrooms. EDpuzzles allows for teachers to upload videos that they have created or found on YouTube/the internet and crop and add voice overs, questions, and also prevents students from fast forwarding through the video. The teacher can see how much each student has watched and the different questions they have answered. They can see how the students have progressed with the material and who has not done their work. This a great way for teachers to save time by using existing videos to asses their students. It is also a great way to engage students because they are able to learn at their own pace with interactive lessons and questions. Below is a great video of a virtual math lesson about multiplication!
EDPuzzle is a great tool for teachers to use in a flipped classroom. It allows for students to learn at their own pace and stay engaged throughout the lesson. EDpuzzle is an excellent way to have differentiation in the classroom.
Final Thoughts:
It is important for teachers to address the different needs of all their students and a great way for them to do this is through technology supported differentiation. Differentiation allows for students to be evaluated at the appropriate level and progress at their own speed. Students benefit from this type of learning because it allows for them to be in charge of their own learning. I look forward to using these tools to support differentiation in my future classroom.
SAS Curriculum Pathways:
SAS Curriculum Pathways offers a plethora of interactive resources that engage students to help their understanding of different concepts and standards. This piece of technology allows for students to work at their own pace and have material that is specific to their ability level. It provides teachers with tips and support to effectively integrate their resources into their lessons. The lessons that are provided through SAS Curriculum Pathways come with lesson guides that give teachers different learning objectives, materials, ideas for assessment, answer keys and how they apply to different standards. One of the resources that SAS Curriculum Pathways offers is an English Language Arts tool called "Reading Records." This is a way for teachers to monitor their students reading and comprehension skills. Students are required to read and record a passage based on their skill level and answer quizzes with questions answered in the reading and then are prompted to retell the story. One cool aspect about this lesson is that teachers can create their own passages themselves for their personal classrooms. This is just one example of the countless resources that Curriculum Pathways offers teachers to support differentiation. Check out Reading Records below!
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| Here is an example of a lesson guide. |
Newsela is another great resource for teachers to use in the classroom for technology supported differentiation. This allows teachers to provide their students with, "fresh, adaptive reads for every subject." Newsela is a website/app that has all sorts of articles about current events, different studies and history. Teachers can filter through the website based on grade, subject and interest. Each Newsela article is offered at five different reading levels with content for grades 2-6. While students are reading, there are five power words and definitions that are specific to the grade level. There are also low-stake power practice activities that allow students to build a deeper understanding of word meaning. Another great aspect of Newsela is that it allows teachers to track student progress and stay on top of their work. The website also offers a "text set," which has a bunch of articles over one topic. This is one of my favorite aspects of Newsela.
EDpuzzle:
Finally, EDpuzzle is a great resource that teachers can use to implement videos into their classrooms. EDpuzzles allows for teachers to upload videos that they have created or found on YouTube/the internet and crop and add voice overs, questions, and also prevents students from fast forwarding through the video. The teacher can see how much each student has watched and the different questions they have answered. They can see how the students have progressed with the material and who has not done their work. This a great way for teachers to save time by using existing videos to asses their students. It is also a great way to engage students because they are able to learn at their own pace with interactive lessons and questions. Below is a great video of a virtual math lesson about multiplication!
EDPuzzle is a great tool for teachers to use in a flipped classroom. It allows for students to learn at their own pace and stay engaged throughout the lesson. EDpuzzle is an excellent way to have differentiation in the classroom.
Final Thoughts:
It is important for teachers to address the different needs of all their students and a great way for them to do this is through technology supported differentiation. Differentiation allows for students to be evaluated at the appropriate level and progress at their own speed. Students benefit from this type of learning because it allows for them to be in charge of their own learning. I look forward to using these tools to support differentiation in my future classroom.
Hey Gabby!
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome you found so many new and interesting resources. Did you find any resources in your search that you maybe don't think you would want to use in a classroom? I had never heard of a lot of these and think it would be great to give them all a bigger look over.