Thing 6 - Differentiated Instruction and Diverse Learning

1. Differentiated Learning Assignment - Reading and watching videos related to differentiated learning has me believing that I already try to follow many of the suggestions and yet there is still so much more to do.  At our school we use PCL time to discuss what do want our students to know, how will we know they know it, and what to do when they know it.  Following those questions as a guideline helps to differentiate instruction to all learners, at both ends of the learning spectrum and everywhere in between.  All learners come to school w/varied background knowledge and readiness and it is up to educators to be flexible and be able to adjust to meet the needs of all learners.  Presenting the information in multiple ways, allowing for multiple means of action and expression and mulitple means of engagment will allow each learner to reach mastery level of understanding in all areas.  I try to do this in many ways using tiered menu, option assignments, a variety of presentation tools like videos and interactive online tools and I encourage creativity using a variety of assessment tools.  For example, in 8th grade science this past week or so, the 8th graders had to put together a presentation on chemical reactions related to our health as part of a national campaign from the American Chemical Society.  Each group had to find examples of different types of chemical reactions related to our health and include at least one live or taped chemical change experiment in their presentation.  They could use PowerPoint or something similar, some chose to use Glogster and download their video into their Glog and some did videos and uploaded them to their YouTube account.  I provided guidelines, time in the lab and in class to work on experiments and instruction prior to starting the assignment.  They were very engaged in the entire process and have asked to do similar projects in the future.  I truly enjoyed watching them work and choosing their own ways to shine.

2.  Diverse Learning Assignment - I try very hard to provide multiple ways to achieve and show mastery.  The techonology to support diverse learners offers many useful tools and tips.  Many books have a digital text options that would enable those learners that need to read and hear the text at the same time.  I think more texts will become audio books or at least be able to be downloaded from places like Itunes. 

3.  Universal Design for Learning Assignment - I already have an account through Learnport, because I took an online class this summer, however, I was not able to find "resources" to access NetTrekker.  When I clicked on NetTrekker, I rec'd an invalid message.  I really wanted to try to this out. I also did not find that the PowerPoint presentation downloaded from the class site, however, I did print the other instructions but was still unable to use NetTrekekr.   Instead I went to the wiki, and looked at the resources.  First, I find that being a middle school science teacher is an overlooked area for resources.  The UDL lesson plans on the wiki didn't really offer middle school science resources, although the 3-5, could be adapted.  Interestingly, I think the model software was to advanced for middle school science.  I do want to learn more about the UDL science notebook.  I use science notebooks in my class, and I am trying to find better ways to get the most use out of them.

4.  Text-to-Audio Conversion Assignment -  Below is a screenshot that I made of the text conversion.  The text being converted are directions from a science group project.  I also saved it as a mp3 file.  I think this is a really neat tool that could be used to convert written text to audio for all learners, which is what UDL is all about.  I could see using this when "flipping" a class or during actual instruction.  I find the voices a little odd, and I think the female voice is a little clearer than the male voice.