Stealing Fire






Picture from hadler at
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1279067

 It wasn’t until I became a father that I truly understood the sacrifices that Prometheus was willing to make for humanity. To steal fire from the gods was a sacrilegious act that he knew he would have to pay for; at the same time, he understood that what he was doing was right. In a time of educational reform that has seemed to move further and further away from educating the whole child at a level that is appropriate to him/her, looking at the relationship and research behind Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Differentiated Instruction (DI), and technology is a welcome change. While the role of these different approaches to education are symbiotic in many ways, they are not necessarily aligned to a one-size fits all approach to education that our standardized testing culture seems to value. In this way, I feel like a modern Prometheus, in the non-Frankensteinean sense, bringing light and knowledge to my colleagues and students.

Of course, in order to bring knowledge to the masses, resources must be found and referenced. Tools must be gathered. Information must be presented. That is what Smith and Throne (2007) do; they provide information and ideas that prepare a teacher to look for the resources and tools to provide students with learning experiences tailored to their preferences, needs, and unique abilities. The purpose of DI is to allow students from a variety of backgrounds to access information and become successful learners (Smith & Throne, 2007). UDL provides the framework for a teacher to plan DI activities within a single classroom(Rose & Meyer (2002). Technology may be the best way for teachers to effectively create a DI environment that provides resources for each student’s optimal learning experience (Smith & Throne, 2007).

So, understanding that this is a valuable practice to bring into the classroom is only one step in the process. Teachers need to have tools that they can reach out to in order to apply UDL principals to their instruction. One of the best ways to find these kinds of tools is to look at a site like Tech 4 D.I. This is a resource that provides teachers with a number of different resources. The site has links to tools, links to research, links to definitions, and links to presentations on the relationship between technology and DI. Because this site is comprehensive in scope and reaches out to so many outside resources, it is a great site for teachers to learn more about these concepts. It does allow a teacher to address the needs of students by linking teachers to a variety of tools and explaining how these tools can be used for different purposes depending on the specific learning experience desired. One could argue that this resource could support the readiness, interests, and learning profiles of students by providing the teacher with the research, resources, and tools to make those experiences a reality.

Another reason that I appreciate Tech 4 DI is that it is run on Wikispaces.com. A wiki can be a great way to vary an assessment based on the readiness, interests of students, and learner profiles. By allowing the students to use this kind of multimedia platform, all students can interact with information that they find meaningful and valid, show that learning through the presentation of information in a variety of mediums, and operate at an appropriate level for their abilities. By having teachers access Tech 4 DI they are accessing a resource that can be used as a model for the kinds of products students could use.

Of course, as a teacher it is nice to see a list of tools that can be used for a variety of purposes. One of the most thorough and yet most concise list of tools I have seen is the Box of Tricks blog. On this site each tool has a description of its main function and why it might be useful in a classroom. One could find a tool for just about every learner profile, interest, and ability level. Some of the tools referenced on this site that could be used for addressing different learner profiles include Aviary (a multimodal suite of cloud based applications), Ning (an online social networking site with multimodal capabilities), and PBWorks (another site that supports a variety of learning preferences). Some of the tools that could support student interest are YouTube EDU (an educational video host) and WordPress.com (a blogging service with a multitude of content). Tools referenced that could allow for differences in readiness are Alice (a multimodal platform with easy controls specifically designed to allow a wide range of students to interact with information) and Save Skelly (an interactive flash game generator). Each of these different tools, as well as the others listed on this site, could be used to allow teachers a variety of ways to differentiate their instruction.

Technology allows for each teacher to play the modern Prometheus by bringing in tools and resources that make it possible for each student to access content at his or her level and in a way appropriate to his or her specific learning profile. Resources like those listed above are the kinds of resources that teachers can use to affect their classroom instruction in positive ways by learning how to differentiate instruction though careful planning for the inclusion of technology. By looking at the research on sites like Tech 4 DI, using tools like Wikispaces to differentiate assessments/content delivery, and using a variety of other tools with intentionality like those listed on the Box of Tricks blog, teachers can light the metaphorical fire of learning in each student.

References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). National education standards for students (NETS-S). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/content/navigationmenu/NETS/forstudents/2007standards/nets_for_students_2007.htm

Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

Smith, G., & Throne, S. (2007). Differentiating instruction with technology in K-5 classrooms. Belmont, CA: International Society for Technology in Education. 
Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.