Course 9 week 5 UDL and DI Tools For Differentiating

UDL and DI Tools For Differentiating
I teach at an international school in South Korea. The students are extremely motivated to do well on their tests. Most test in the high to upper 90th percentile of academic achievement testing on such items as the ERB and MAP tests. With such “keen” students, you would think there would be no need to differentiate but the exact opposite is true. They have developed the skills necessary to obtain a top grade on a test, but this is all they know. My students are learning because they want to be at the top and not because they simply enjoy learning. My students need to step out of their comport zone and start learning because it is a fun life skill.
I believe technology can create an environment where students are fearless in asking each other for help, provide opportunities to help each other and provide opportunities to tackle new problems for the fun of learning. In the classroom, my students struggle to complete hands on tasks. They have never been given an opportunity to practice crafting and playing with Lego; instead they have been working on completing the next math textbook ahead of time so they can be at the top of their class. Technology, and the sites provided below will help my students with creating hands on creativity and independence needed from their rounded education. I also hope it will show them there is more than one way to master new material.

Differentiate by Interest

Tool: www.Blogger.com
Blogger.com is a free online site to create a personal blog. It has been suggested by Smith and Throne (2007a) “student choice is a powerful ally for teachers and a great incentive for students” (p.18). I teach math and science to grade 6. I would like to start each student with their own personal blog to provide an opportunity to complete a reflection on their daily learning in math. Students would be able to choose to post a video, podcast, or written entry once a week on a topic covered in class or one researched that is related to the topic in class. By providing a choice and different platforms to demonstrate their learning, I believe I will spur my students’ interest in the topic beyond learning for a grade.
Differentiate by Readiness

Tool: http://zoomerang.com/
Zoomerang.com is a free online site you can use to quickly create questionnaires. According to Smith and Throne (2007b) “Teachers can use technology to create or access a survey tool to determine readiness” (p.51). Students are not all at the same level of readiness for a topic. I would use Zoomerang.com to determine where my students stand in preparedness for each topic I introduce in my math classroom. I would gain knowledge in knowing any gaps that need to be worked on, what pace to push the students at, amount of practice time versus instructional time; as well as determining who would be interested in exploring the topics in more depth.
Differentiate by Learning Profile
Tool: http://voicethread.com/
Voicethread.com is an online tool that allows people to post comment and documents in video, sound or text options. I would have my students create a voice thread of weekly links of virtual manipulative sites that link to our big question of our math unit. My students would be able to expand their memorized knowledge through hands on practice. By finding and posting the sites themselves, the students would be keener to try out their friends suggested sites than ones I told them they had to use. The students would then be able to explore and try out manipulative sites which best suites their individual learner profile.


References
Smith, G., & Throne, S. (2007a). Using technology to differentiate by interest. In Differentiating Instruction with technology in K-5 classrooms (pp. 17–25, 28–33, 36–44, 46–47). elmont,CA: International Society for Technology in Education.Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.
Smith, G., & Throne, S. (2007b). Using technology to differentiate by readiness. In Differentiating instruction with technology in K-5 classrooms (pp. 49–65). Belmont, CA: International Society for Technology in Education. Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.