Technology Resources for Differentiated Instruction

These resources will equip any teacher in the endeavor of implementing differentiated instruction into the classroom through the medium of technology.

1.     Leveraging Technology to Differentiate Instruction: http://www.slideshare.net/itsco/leveraging-technology-to-differentiate-instruction

I loved slides 17-23 in this slide presentation which discuss learning contracts and choice boards can become an major tool for teachers desiring to differentiate classroom instruction.  This week’s resources especially stressed personal motivation and multiple choices in learning and these two options fit beautifully with these.  I could implement learning contracts at the beginning of each unit to allow students to set their own expectation level for learning.  The choice boards would then be used through the various topics within the unit to allow diversity in what the student chooses to learn about.  Both of the tools provide utmost freedom in choice of instructional learning!

2.     Nine categories of instructional strategies most likely to help students learn: http://www.iste.org/images/excerpts/DIFFK5-excerpt.pdf

This excellent resource provides invaluable information on how differentiated instruction through the use of technology become an excellent resource for any teacher.  I especially enjoyed reading pgs. 18-19 where effective instructional strategies were given, how these strategies would be applied in a differentiated classroom, and the type of technology that could be used to support the strategies. 

This tools would be a vital part of my planning of instruction each week.  I would be able to choose the strategies that best reflect the curricular studies for the week, then provide various technology based activities to support my chosen instructional strategies.  In considering this week’s resources, teachers who strive to implement DI must provide multiple approaches for meeting the various learners’ needs.  This resources takes into consideration these needs and provides teachers a toolbox of wonderful resources.

3.     Differentiation Wins Big in South Carolina: http://www.edutopia.org/stw-differentiated-instruction-ten-key-lessons

This multi-level story provide a awesome visual glimpse into a school located here in my state who is doing a SUPERB job in differentiating instruction through technology.  The article provided ten tips for personalized learning using technology and what it looked like at their school. It also gave tips of how to make the most of digital tools in the classroom such as put the tools in the kids hands and give the kids a real audience. 

Also, another facet of the story I leaned a great deal from that reflected so many of this week’s resources  was a section called “What Works in Differentiation Instruction in Elementary Schools.”  Strategies for getting started focused on what a teacher could do in five minutes, five days, and 5 weeks, 5 months,  and 5 years to begin developing a differentiated classroom. 

4.     Technology Support for Differentiated Instruction: http://faculty.otterbein.edu/ckilbane/stateconf/

This resource provided not only strategies and tools for differentiating instructions, but many of the tools were also focused in achieving Universal Design for Learning objectives.  Excellent technology tools were provided for many areas , but these were the tools that I could quickly and easily implement in my classroom in small groups or individual projects: adjusting content material for reading levels, translating text, provide variety in media formats, assistive technologies, presentation and assessment tools, pre-assessment tools and many more. 

5.     Differentiated Instruction and Technology: http://8thfloorwiki.wikispaces.com/Differentiated+Instruction+and+Technology

This wiki discusses technology resources that address student needs and the various learning styles they each have.  Strategies are provided to meet visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners; may alternative projects are listed.  I would use this resource to not only find out how ipads, digital cameras, videos, and podcasting provide learning choices for students, but also many resources in the form of videos and podcasts support teachers in understanding the tools at their fingertips for their class.  In listening to this week’s resources I heard a lot about putting technology tools into the students hands, but obtaining hardware can be difficult; this site provided information on grants teachers could participate in to help solve the problem of providing the necessary technology tools.