Differentiation through Technology

Effective teachers balance technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge to best meet the needs of learners in consideration of Common Core State Standards and ISTE Standards for students and educators (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019). Technology is a valuable tool to meet the needs of individual students.

In my middle school language arts classroom, I frequently use technology as students engage in the writing process. Before they even begin, I utilize technology to provide instruction and modeling through projection in the classroom and use of videos and online curriculum programs aimed at understanding and practicing the writing process. Then, students use word processing programs to plan and draft their products. They many use the internet and our school’s database of sources if research is required. They can also share files to collaborate with peers online for revising and editing. Finally, students can publish their writing as blog posts, visual presentation, or videos. By providing multiple means of representation and multiple means of expression for students, I am able to differentiate instruction more easily by using the technological devices and services I have available in my classroom.

Adaptive technology provides additional possibilities for personalized learning. Two programs I use are PowerUp and MAP Growth testing.  Both programs use software that adjusts based on student responses. PowerUp is a remedial reading program, so depending on student results, it provides immediate feedback and instruction. MAP testing provides growth data for students throughout the school year and is also useful for determining areas for intervention and later the effectiveness of that intervention. Shute and Zapata-Rivera (2008) describe such adaptive systems as those which “create an instructionally sound and flexible environment that supports learning for students with a range of abilities, disabilities, interests, backgrounds, and other characteristics” (p. 279). Essentially, by equitably meeting the needs of induvial learners through technology, all students benefit.

References

Roblyer, M. & Hughes, J. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching (8^th ed.). Pearson. 

Shute, V., & Zapata-Rivera, D. (2008). Adaptive technologies. In Jonassen, D., Spector, M., Driscoll, M., Merrill, M., van Merrienboer, J., Driscoll, M. (Eds.), Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (pp. 279-294). Routledge.