Differentiation through Technology


 

Differentiation through Technology

Elizabeth Rader

While educators work to meet grade-level content standards, they must also meet the individual needs of each of their students.  Teachers have been able to use technology in order to meet the needs of their students and maximize learning in the classroom.  

  There are several technologies on the market today that introduce, teach, reinforce, and assess student learning.  Roblyer and Hughes believe that with an increase of technology, “good teachers are more essential now than ever” (2019, pp. 14-15).  It is vital for school districts to have teachers who have a good grasp of educational technology and are intuitive to the needs of their students. 

There are several tools that help meet both needs.  Schools who are one-to-one with Chromebooks or laptops have a powerful tool that allows students the opportunity to extend learning outside the classroom.  Smartboards, and similar technologies, have brought resources to the classroom through a few clicks.  Schools are also using curriculums that have an online component.  Oftentimes this includes text read-aloud features, individualized assignments, and games.  Schools have also purchased programs that offer individualized instruction.

I use technology in my classroom as means to not only connect the learner to content, but also to excite students about learning.  I utilize programs such as Freckle and Moby Max for adaptive and individualized learning.  Adaptive learning is when learning is “controlled by the computational devices, adapting content for different learners’ needs” (Shute & Zapata-Rivera, 2008, p. 279).

 

References

Roblyer, M. D. & Hughes, J. E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: Transforming learning across disciplines (8th ed.). Pearson

Shute, V. J. & Zapata-Rivera, D. (2008). Adaptive technologies. In D. Jonassen, M. J. Spector, M. Driscoll, M. D. Merrill, J.van Merrienboer, and M. P. Driscol (Eds.), Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (3rd ed., pp. 277-294) Routledge.

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