Blog Post #2: Differentiating with Technology

Technology brings a plethora of options and opportunities into the classroom, but at the same time many challenges oppose these opportunities.  Irving Independent School District is a one-to-one campus, so every student is assigned a laptop at the beginning of the year and turns it in at the end of the year.  The laptops make differentiating through technology easier, but the teachers also see the obstacles it creates as well. 

One opportunity that technology provides in the classroom is it appeals to many students.  It adds another sophisticated dimension to the lesson that some students buy into and enjoy.  This differentiates using technology through student interest.  Technology is constantly in the lives of our students outside the classroom, so when it is incorporated inside the classroom that is one way to make the lesson more relevant.  The article by the CITEd agreed with this notion because they mention how students use technology to communicate and manage their social lives outside of school (2008).

Along with the multitude of opportunities for differentiating, technology also poses challenges.  The main concern is the distraction that technology can provide.  Teachers cannot constantly monitor every student computer simultaneously; so many students will find sites that are not appropriate, such as Facebook, to spend their time.  These sites cause students to spend too much time off task and can be such a big distraction that it out weighs any opportunities.  It is a constant battle that teachers fight with technology implementation. 

This year Irving Independent School District is introducing a web-based program called APEX.  It can be considered an online class because students read through modules and take quizzes to proceed to the next section.  Within my classroom, APEX is used as more of a supplementary tool.  Some sections students read through the modules, others I teach directly, and sometimes cooperative activities are incorporated.  This allows lessons to be engaging and diverse, but it also allows the class to be differentiated by process.  Students who understand the material within the modules can continue to take quizzes and move on.  APEX is an example of how  according to the CITEd, “new media can engage learners at varying levels of readiness and in multiple ways, offering students options for demonstrating their understanding and mastery of material” (CITEd Staff, 2008, p.21).  This technology also provides information to the instructor because through the quizzes the teacher can evaluate student understanding and use small groups to re-teach when necessary. 

Reference

CITEd Staff (2008). Differentiating instruction using technology: Meeting the diverse needs of students. Special Education Technology Practice, 21 – 26.