Week 8 reflection

Week 8 Final Reflection
EDUC-6714I-4 Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology
Walden University

Differentiated Instruction starts with one student and grows from there. During this course, we – as Masters Ed Students- were given many opportunities to experience DI both as a student and as a teacher. As a DI student, we were allowed to experience and participate in various forms of assessments. From multimedia presentations, to voice-thread, to written text, knowledge was assessed in various forms. It was nice to get the opportunity to explore these resources as a student, in order to get hands-on work with the programs.

Making learning modifications for that student gives the teacher the resources necessary to begin modifications for a larger group of students in the class. Technology allows the instructor to modify instruction and to determine each student’s particular learning style. Once learning styles are established and incorporated into the classroom, students can begin to take charge of their own education. “If you want your students to truly take ownership of their learning and their work, they’ll respond more enthusiastically when given choices and particularly when given product activities that they’ve had a part in designing.” (Smith and Throne 2007)

Technology not only can help students process information differently, technology can serve as a catalyst to engage students in learning that appeals to their love for computer games. It is also important to emphasize critical and creative thinking as a goal in a differentiated instruction lesson design. “The tasks, activities, and procedures for students should require that they understand and apply meaning. Instruction may require supports, additional motivation, varied tasks, materials, or equipment for different students in the classroom.”(Rose 2002)

Through the design and collaboration of the Differentiation Station social network, groups of students were able to collaborate and share various DI resources. This online social networking site was a nice complement to the weekly discussions and applications. On our group’s NING site(http://waldensng4.ning.com/), we were able to review and share many different applications. There is a growing collection of software and technology tools, digital content, and World Wide Web resources available for UDL and DI including: Multimedia composition tools such as HyperStudio, Kid Pix, PowerPoint, Web-capable electronic graphic organizers such as Inspiration and Kidspiration. Plus there are programs that support the translation of content from one medium to another (text-to-speech and text-to-image) such as CAST eReader, Pix Reader, Pix Writer, and Intellitalk II.

Teachers now more than ever have the opportunity to implement the best resources to allow every student to succeed. By bringing Differentiated Instruction and Universal Design into the classroom, teachers are allowing students to begin to plotting their own path to educational success. With DI and UDL, teachers and students become collaborators in education, utilizing the best of all educational and technology tools to become great teachers and great students.

References
Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Using UDL to individualize teaching methods. In Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Reprinted by permission of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development via the Copyright Clearance Center. Located at http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/chapter6.cfm

Smith, G., & Throne, S. (2007). Differentiating instruction with technology in K-5 classrooms. Belmont, CA: International Society for Technology in Education.