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tech q & a

Dear Otto: Use Tech to Differentiate Lessons?

tech questionsDear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions I get from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please complete the form below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Ali:

I would love some information on differentiating tech lab lessons. I struggle with that the most in my lab.

I love tech for differentiating. There are so many software programs and online tools that speak to a student’s individual interests–Word (for writing-intensive), Publisher (for multimedia), PowerPoint (for multimedia), Voki (for video/audio), Big Huge Labs (for lots of choices). For 5th grade and up, I have a unit I co-teach with the grade-level teacher. I introduce students to about 18 online tools, then they pick one for a class project (whatever inquiry is going on in the classroom at the time). Here’s a link to my collection. You will want to those that suit your group. Favorites are Voki, Poll Daddy, Animoto, Photostory, a mind mapper. In all the years I’ve taught this unit, I am constantly amazed at student choices. those I would have predicted loved writing pick video tools, and vice versa.

Here are some more ideas for differentiating instruction in your classroom:

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18 Thanksgiving Sites For Your Students

Need a few websites to fill in sponge time? Here are Thanksgiving sites that will keep students busy and still teach them (check here for updates):

  1. Various Thanksgiving websites–BillBear 4 Kids
  2. Online/Offline Thanksgiving activities–some require a computer, others not so much
  3. Thanksgiving information–history, poems, and more
  4. Starfall–Silly Turkey
  5. Thanksgiving Tic-tac-toe
  6. Thanksgiving Jigsaw
  7. Thanksgiving Jigsaw II
  8. Thanksgiving Games
  9. Thanksgiving games–Quia
  10. Thanksgiving educational websites from CybraryMan
  11. Thanksgiving Wordsearch
  12. Thanksgiving activities
  13. The First Thanksgiving
  14. Thanksgiving Lesson Plans
  15. Thanksgiving Online Coloring Book
  16. Thanksgiving Webquest
  17. You are the historian–Thanksgiving
  18. Thanksgiving video–Brainpop

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tech ed awards

How to Integrate Web 2.0 Tools into the Classroom

‘Web 2.0’ is a term familiar to all teachers. Stated in its simplest form, it’s the set of interactive internet-based tools used by students to enrich educational opportunities. ‘Web 1.0’ referred to the act of accessing websites—

[caption id="attachment_2274" align="alignright" width="422"]web 2.0 tools Which of these do you use in your classroom[/caption]

nothing more. Students read websites, clicked a few links, and/or researched a topic.

Web 2.0—Web-based education basics–includes blogs, wikis, class internet homepages, class internet start pages, twitter, social bookmarks, podcasting, photo sharing, online docs, online calendars, even Second Life—all tools that require thoughtful interaction between the student and the site. For teachers, it’s a challenge to keep up with the plethora of options as the creative minds of our new adults stretch the boundaries of what we can do on the internet.

Students, adults, teachers who use this worldwide wealth of information and tools are referred to as ‘digital citizens’. They leave a vast digital footprint and it is incumbent upon them to make healthy and safe decisions, including:

  • Treat others and their property with respect (for example, plagiarism—even undiscovered—is immoral and illegal)
  • Act in a responsible manner
  • Look after their own security

Here are some activities you can do in your classroom that will make your lessons and activities more student-centered and more relevant to this new generation of students:

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clean puppy

Thirty-two More Ways to Use Spare Classroom Time

 2 Comments on Thirty-two More Ways to Use Spare Classroom Time

I keep a list of themed websites that are easy-in easy-out for students. They must be activities that can be accomplished enjoyably in less than ten minutes. In the parlance, these are called “sponges”.

You may have read my post with nineteen sites my students love visiting during sponge time (let me know if you liked them, have some to add, I’m always interested in learning from you). Here are thirty-two more. Hope you like them! (more…)