Beatriz Elena Veliz-Lopez

http://beavelizlopez.weebly.com
EDU-225
April 7, 2015

Entry 3: Differentiating Instruction through Technology

Introduction
As technology is advancing differentiated instruction is becoming a lot more popular in
the education settings of classrooms. With differentiated instruction, the goal is to create an
environment that is as close to an individualized curriculum as possible (Tomlinson, 1999).
Since students all learn differently, teachers have come up with great tools to help with the
divers learnings of students to help enrich their academic success of the subject lesson. Ways to
promote differentiated instruction is to use hands on creativity models, visual and audio learning,
and hands on solving with self-reflection games.
Technology to Differentiate Instruction
Letter Creator: Letter creator can be used to create imagination and correct letter formatting for
students. Having a child become a character in a story may help the individual express
themselves and state their opinions on a particular story or event. Students will Communicate
information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using variety of media and format.
(ISTE 2014) An inclusive student may find themselves open to interact more freely as a
character and show an insight to a story dialog which may produce questions others have not
thought of. This tool can be used to help students give supportive details on an opinion based
subject like: Why lap tops are needed or How to deal with bullying at school; while addressing
the principal, the community or peers. Teacher will Engage students in exploring real world
issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. (ISTE 2014)
Power Point: Power point can be used in a collaborative lesson. Students sharing ideas and
coming together to present the same topic. Students use digital media and environments to

communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning

and contribute to the learning of others. (ISTE 2014) This tool helps a student open their minds
to other ways of presenting work making learning fun. It could open other areas of study that the
student did not even know he or she possessed. Creative art design, business, or education could
be the profession the student did not know it was within themselves until they create a power
point. A student presentation to other students may enhance the audiences (peers) and the
presenters comprehension of the lesson being presented in the power point.
Power My Learning: Power My Learning can be used to promote differentiated instruction to
personalize instruction and inspire student-driven learning (Power My Learning, 2014).
Students enjoy learning when they do not realize that they are learning. This tool has interactive
learning games in Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, Art and Music, Technology,
World Language and many other subjects. Power My Learning is student centered because the
student can work towards a goal in which they defeat the educational game to help themselves
achieve success. Teachers help Customize and personalize learning activities to address
students diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and
resources (ISTE, 2014).
Pros and Cons
There are many pros towards differentiated learning. One pro is that it is effective for
high-ability students as well as students with mild to severe disabilities (Weselby, 2014). With
different options on how to learn the same subject or lesson students may be eager to learn and
possibly complete their assignments. The students may become more engaged in their work if

they can participate with more hands on tools. Another possibility is that discipline may reduce
in classrooms.
There are also some cons towards differentiated learning as well. One con may be that for
teachers to create and plan lessons for differentiated learning can become stressful trying to
locate all necessary resources needed to teach the level of all students learning styles. In a larger
classroom more preparation time may be required and probably adding additional stress. Another
con is the environment may be overwhelming when everyone is potentially working on
something different and some students may not be able to tune out the distractions (Knope,
2012).
Concluding Paragraph
In conclusion there are many ways to differentiated learning and instruction like hands
on creativity models, visual and audio learning, and solving with self-reflection games. I believe
using these tools and others is a great way to have more academic success with students who
have adverse styles of learning. Going forth using technology as an educational tool will only
benefit students learning, teachers instruction, and parents guidance. As our society continues
to create technology we as educators must utilize these tools to benefit our students academic
success and accomplish our goal as a professional educators.

References
ISTE Standards For Students. (2014, January 1). Retrieved April 8, 2015, from
http://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards/standards-for-students
ISTE Standards For Teachers. (2014, January 1). Retrieved April 8, 2015, from
http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers
Knope, A. (2012, February 25). Differentiated Learning: The Pros and Cons. Retrieved February
2, 2015, from http://teacherlinx.com/#!/lesson/4605/differentiated-learning-thepros-and-

cons

PowerMyLearning. (2014, January 1). Retrieved February 1, 2015, from

http://powermylearning.org/
Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). Mapping a route toward differentiated instruction. Educational
Leadership, 57(1), 1216.
Weselby, C. (2014, October 1). What is Differentiated Instruction? Examples of How to
Differentiate Instruction in the Classroom. Retrieved February 2, 2015, from
http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/teaching-strategies/examples-of-differentiatedinstruction/