Teacher

Plan

Use the power of technology to differentiate by organizing resources in meaningful ways to meet learner needs and interests.

The Common Core places emphasis on real-world informational reading. From government websites such as USA.gov to electronic databases such as Oklahoma Digital Prairie, there are endless sources of information reading.

Informational websites provides opportunities for real-world, information reading. Some examples include:

Students can easily become overwhelmed and distracted when working online. Looks for ways to meet individual needs by directing attention to specific resources, providing choices, and organizing assignments in an easy-to-access space. Use tools like Microsoft Word that you already feel comfortable with to create these virtual spaces.

Technology allows students with 24/7 access to class materials. For instance, students can download and review PowerPoint presentations for a French class on the class wikispace. Wikis are easy to update and maintain. Mr. Chase uses this wikispace to organize class readings, assignments, and projects.

When designing a differentiated lesson, look for resources that provide alternative ways to present information. For instance, an infographic is a visual representation of information providing the "big picture" of a topic that might otherwise be difficult to understanding. Graphics are used to quickly convey the main idea along with supporting details like the TheGlobalWarming infographic that includes graphics and diagrams.

Ask students to look at the history of slavery in a different way using 389yearsago or examine Burning Fuel as a visual analogy.

Let's say students are going to examine the way information is organized on an infographic. If you let students search on Google, they'll enjoy the exploration, but it may not be the best use of their time. Teach students to search for specific types of information in specific formats such as climate change infographic and you'll find an interesting comparison of global warming skeptics vs scientific consensus. However, the activity may be more effective if you pre-select resources focused on a content area such as A Visual History of the American Presidency or Unlocking the Mystery of the Humpback Whale. Otherwise you'll find a group of students checking out Beer Pong.

Provide students with choices. Some might be interested in fitness while others might prefer to learn about disasters or the psychology of color. Create a student guide using Microsoft Word or Google Docs.

Content curation is the idea of providing organized access to information.

Pinterest is an online social pinboard. It allows users to easily organize links and visuals for easy access. Let's say you want to do an activity asking students to analyze the math they find in an infographic. Go to the Reading Rockets Infographic Pinterest. You don't need to log-in to view the pages.

These pages are easy to create. You join Pinterest. Find a image such as an infographic that compares the sinking of the Titanic with the Costa Concordia and copy the URL of the picture. It should end in JPG, PNG, or GIF. Click the ADD button. Paste the URL and create or choose a category. Click Pin It and it appears on your page. The infographic is in Portuguese. See if students can still interpret the information.

Seek tools that organize resources, but are flexible enough to update easily.

Differentiate through technology with many levels of depth, varied readings, and choices in resources.

| Overview | Plan | Present | Process| Produce | Promote Passion | 

| eduscapes | IUPUI Online Courses | Activate | 42explore | About Us | Contact Us | © 2012 Annette Lamb