Assessing Technology-Based Resources for Differentiation

 

Assessing Technology-Based Resources for Differentiation

            Technology in the classroom has become more than just a center in the past several years.  It has become an essential part of the classroom and prepares students to use technology in the outside world.  Using different platforms, apps, devices, etc. can enrich the curriculum by differentiating instruction and allowing student engagement to increase while interacting with each other as a class, working in groups, or doing independent work.  Concordia University (2021) states, “In addition to resources like textbooks and worksheets, technology equips educators with various tools to help students develop a better understanding of the material”.  There are so many types of technology to choose from, and I have highlighted four of some of my favorites that have helped me in the classroom.

ST Math (Spatial Temporal Math)

          This math program is a great tool for kindergarten through eighth grade parents, schools, and districts nationwide and is free.  Due to covid, MIND Research Institute allows the entire nation to use this program, and it is designed for all state math standards.  The program encourages students to use it sixty to ninety minutes a day for ultimate learning.  Our students easily access ST Math through our student portal and can get busy working through challenging puzzles and math problem solving.  ST Math is set up to teach the students a skill and then they practice what they saw.  This is a “try, see, and learn” model, where mistakes are opportunities for learning, understanding, and reteaching (MIND Research Institute, 2023).  Lessons are leveled (differentiated) to help students build concepts, “regardless of skill level or language background,” (MIND Research Institute, 2023). Students work their way through a standard, and each standard must be passed before moving on to the next standard. ST Math states, “...with visual learning, students are better equipped to tackle unfamiliar math problems, recognize patterns, and build conceptual understanding,” (MIND Research Institute, 2023).  Although this technology is only math focused, it really allows students to build that conceptual understanding and has proven to be successful for students across the nation.

STEMscopes

          STEMscopes is a math and science technology that helps educators understand standards and approaches the learning with different strategies.  The learning is hands-on, real world thinking skills, and it also allows students to focus on technology and engineering through STEM.  Within this STEM based learning, students might be reading through math and science concepts, or working across the curriculum within these standards. Educators can preview what they want their students to do, then assign the entire class or differentiate the assignments for certain student groups.  STEMscopes differentiates their lessons and incorporates kinesthetic, visual, and auditory learning styles.  The virtual investigations are some of my favorites where students get to manipulate what happens in a science lab.  STEMscopes also allows the educator to print to paper, and/or manipulate the assignment by downloading it to google and changing the desired content.  Intervention and extension activities and suggestions are also given throughout the program, which helps meet the needs of so many learners.

BrainPop

          BrainPop is geared for all subject areas.  Teachers can assign students to view specific videos and/or do the assignment(s) that can also be posted.  BrainPop can also be accessed through the student portal and easily accessed by educators to find the content that meets the educational needs of students.  BrainPop is for all content areas and is very engaging for students to participate in.  BrainPop (1999-2021) states, “Our proven approach boosts academic achievement while building thinking and SEL skills”.  BrainPop has different platforms that are geared towards a certain age group and it also promotes different language learners with lessons in different languages, too. Lastly, BrainPop is geared to promote digital learning for all students. BrainPop is “Certified to meet all seven ISTE Standards, BrainPop and BrainPop Jr. are shown to enhance the best practices of digital-age teaching and learning”.

Blooket

          Blooket is a fun, engaging game to play with your students.  Educators can easily access question sets or create their very own questions.  Students can join in with a code and it is time to start the game.  Blooket helps educators understand their students’ performance levels, strengths and weaknesses.  Blooket states, “With detailed score reports and question analysis, teachers can easily understand how their students are performing and identify areas that they may need to review again”. All subject areas can be assessed in Blooket, which enriches the classroom experience with a fun, interactive game experience across all content areas.  Blooket does not differentiate, but picking different levels of questioning by the educator can lend itself to be used for differentiated lessons, groups, and leveled learning within the classroom.

Promoting Learning and Ownership

          There are two technologies from this list that I have personally seen grow students and allow them to be completely engaged, meanwhile critically thinking about the content.  STEMscopes is designed for all types of learners, is engaging and has rich content that promotes problem solving skills, builds the knowledge as it relates to the real world, and has proven to keep students in my classroom engaged and focused for several years.  I enjoy researching the content standard that I am teaching and STEMscopes is the first place that I go.  It is appealing to viewers, easy to operate, and captures the attention with the content and questioning. 

          The other technology that I would pick is Blooket.  It is a fun way to involve all students in the classroom and build that classroom community that lends to great conversation and critical thinking about answers and the why.  It is not always about the answer, but the conversation that comes out from the questioning.  The ability to use it in so many different ways in the classroom makes it versatile and promotes learning for students.

Conclusion  

In conclusion, technologies are another learning tool that build our classroom, engages our students, and helps us as educators with differentiation and adhere to learning styles.  Technology use also promotes and encourages students to use different ways of learning, just as they would in the real world.

References

Accelerate Learning. (2023). STEMscopes: The leader in STEM education. Accelerate Learning. https://stemscopes.com/

Blooket LLC. (2023). Blooket. Blooket LLC. https://www.blooket.com/

BrainPOP. (1999-2021). BrainPOP. BrainPOP. https://www.brainpop.com/

Concordia University. (2021, August 2). 3 reasons why teachers need to use technology in the classroom. Concordia Texas University. https://www.concordia.edu/blog/3-reasons-why-teachers-need-technology-in-the-classroom.html#:~:text=Technology%20in%20the%20classroom%20helps,performance%20by%20up%20to%2089%25.

MIND Research Institute. (2023). ST Math. MIND Research Institute. https://www.stmath.com/