Differentiation with Technology

 

            Technology has become a vital component of a students’ education and academic success. Technology implementation in the academic setting has many benefits to better improve our students’ learning experiences. Technology in the classroom prepares students “for a more unpredictable and changing future in which technology will play a critical role” (Haleem et.al, 2022, pg. 276). Collaborative learning, digital applications, virtual scavenger hunts, technology devices, etc.; all these resources provide students with opportunities to build upon their creativity, communication with others, global awareness, and knowledge and understanding of cultures other than their own.

            In the three-day remediation unit plan, I ensured that the technologies implemented within the lesson plan were developmentally appropriate, engaging, targeted students’ individual learning needs, and promoted global awareness and culturally diverse perspectives for learners. Each technology will be used within the lesson plan to build students’ interest in the material, enhance their comprehension, and provide students with opportunities to be creative when demonstrating their learning. For example, the technology activities consist of students engaging in a virtual scavenger hunt, digital website, and creating video media to support their understanding of the lesson objective. Students will use these technology resources to creatively build their phonemic and phonological awareness and word analysis skills in decoding words both in isolation and in text in a fun and collaborative way.

            Technology “amplifies student engagement and voice and helps students lead one another to more in-depth reading and greater skill development” (Brooks, 2022, para. 15). Digital tools help enhance student engagement, learning, and collaboration. The technologies incorporated into the daily lessons all provide students with opportunities to interact with the material and with their peers in a way that promotes their creativity and allows students a chance to demonstrate their learning in various ways aside from the traditional pencil and paper form. In addition, the technology activities in the lessons allow students to immerse themselves in the curriculum content in a manner that accommodates their different learning styles. To ensure that the technology is being used appropriately, I will clearly explain instructions to students, modeling will be provided, and I will monitor students’ progress during instruction and provide support accordingly.

            The technologies implemented into the lesson plans provides learning opportunities that promote global awareness or diverse cultural perspectives for students. Technology allows students to immerse themselves in a world that extends beyond their communities and enables learners to become life-long learners. Technology provides “students access to resources for people and cultures that look like them and others that are different” (Barney, 2022, para. 1). The technology activities in the unit will promote students with intercultural competence through collaborative learning opportunities enhanced by the digital tools and resources incorporated. Technology has reshaped how and where students learn. Students no longer must be side-by-side with their peers to collaborate and share ideas, now this can be done through the touch of a keyboard.

 

 

References

Haleem, A., Javaid, M., Qadri, M. A., & Suman, R. (2022). Understanding the role of digital technologies in education: A Review. Sustainable Operations and Computers, 3, 275–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susoc.2022.05.004

Barney, J. (2022, December 7). How technology can support diversity in the classroom. eSchool News. https://www.eschoolnews.com/educational-leadership/2022/01/19/how-technology-can-support-diversity-in-the-classroom/2/

Brooks, C. (2022, April 29). Improving feedback and fostering collaboration with technology. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/improving-feedback-and-fostering-collaboration-technology