Week 6 Journal

What does it mean to differentiate the process 

(content, strategies for instruction) in the classroom?

There are so, so many ways to differentiate the process with technology. Where to start?? I have bookmarked a few resources but this is just the tip of the iceberg. It's fun to see all the ways this incredibly important aspect of teaching can be tweaked. Teachers can truly tailor their materials and techniques to the students. 

Edmodo, survey monkey and other resources give teachers the ability to poll students before even beginning instruction. What do students want to learn about? How do they see themselves learning the material effectively? How would they like to interact with the knowledge? The teacher can tailor the content based on these answers, allowing students to work with their interests and strengths. Using Edmodo or another presentation media, students can document and share their learning with each other, teaching peers and strengthening their own learning. A puzzle maker can help students learn any topic in a fun way.

Kathy Schrocks' guide to Everything is chock full of resources that can be used for differentiating the process and every other part of learning. I love the Sesame Street video she shared, There's an App for That

Differentiating the process really means that different students will be learning material in different orders, at different paces, in different ways, and using different tools. Even the material to be learned can be different based on what students already know. To me this type of model actually takes responsibility off the teacher and places it more on the student- they can utilize technology resources for themselves to learn more of what they need to know and spend less time reviewing what is already known or generally wasting time. I see this type of instruction as the way I use online recipes. I already know quite a bit about cooking, what ingredients taste great together, and how to prepare things in different and interesting ways. But I don't know the exact ingredients and amounts to use for every dish, so I need to look them up and get some hints from someone else. If I was required to study a recipe for making scrambled eggs and take a test on it I would be wasting my time. I can already make wonderful scrambled eggs just by estimating the right amounts of eggs, milk, salt and pepper. In contrast, I could learn a bit from finding a recipe for a frittata with sundried tomatoes and feta cheese. 

Maybe it's a stretch, but let's have students try to reach their maximum potential, using the wealth of resources out there.