Week 8: Technology, Differentiation, and Classroom Participation

Can educational technology be used to both differentiate for students' various needs and increase classroom participation... at the same time? The short answer: Yes! Read on to learn how to harness the powers of #EdTech and do it yourself.

courtesy of wix.com

Classroom participation can seem like an inherently unsolvable mystery. How do we, as teachers, increase student engagement in our classes? How do we avoid privileging those voices of the few who are most comfortable speaking up? How do we unlock the genius buried in each child's mind and release it for the whole world to enjoy? These are difficult questions, and ones teachers have likely always wrestled with, which is why it is probably no surprise that there is no single, miracle-working solution. (If there was, our classrooms would already look like the one pictured above!) However, technology--when used appropriately--can not only foster increased participation among students, but can also differentiate for students' individual needs. Here are a couple ways in which this can be achieved:

Online Discussion Activities & Collaborative Chat Spaces

Online discussion activities and collaborative chat spaces designed for educational use provide an alternative means for students--particularly those who are less eager to share their opinions out loud--to actively participate in and contribute to class discussions. Sites like Socrative, Padlet, Plickers, and Poll Everywhere allow students to respond individually to questions posed by the teacher using their electronic device (or, with Plickers, their assigned QR code) and engage in discussion activities. The students' responses can then be seen and reviewed in real time on the teacher's computer or SmartBoard and subsequently shared with other students. These resources provide effective and efficient means of administering quick comprehension checks as well as prompting discussion in which all students feel comfortable participating. They are appropriate to use for everything from exit tickets and brief diagnostic assessments to democratic voting and in-depth discussion. Online creative chat spaces like Mural can also help students both visualize their ideas and share them with other students for collaboration and group work, making it easier than ever to include all voices in your classroom.

Tools like these allow teachers to differentiate their instruction to encourage participation from those students who are hesitant (or even afraid) to participate in traditional classroom discussion settings, in which verbal participation is the only means of contributing. These resources provide equal non-verbal participation opportunities for students in a low-stakes, large group environment, which reduces the anxiety of failure and judgment from peers (since no student is singled out and all students are engaged). They can also differentiate for students who profit more from collaborative learning and provide the space for high-ability learners to assist lower-ability learners.

In all, EdTech can be very beneficial in both differentiating for students' different needs and promoting participation and engagement in class. Check out these resources and let me know what you think!

-Miss Hennings