Differentiation and Personalized Learning
Accessibility
Kami is versatile extension that makes PDFs more accessible for all students. Did we say we love Universal Design yet? We Kami, too!
Boosts confidence for students who need reading support
Has built in tools:
dictionary
highlight and annotate tool
it's free
Works with Google Drive
Can Create Assignments within the program
Google Read & Write is an excellent extension for all students as proponents of Universal Design, we love this tool for all students to use in the classroom.
Boosts confidence for students who need reading support
has built in tools
dictionary
picture dictionary
fact finder
read-out feature
with different voice options
highlighting and annotating tools
it's free
Personalized Learning- Very broadly speaking, the idea is to customize the learning experience for each student according to his or her unique skills, abilities, preferences, background, and experiences. (Education Week)
Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. Whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction.
Differentiation
Choice Boards
Choice Boards offer a great way to build differentiation and personalized learning into your classroom, whether you're 100% distance learning or Blended Learning- these work!
5 Reasons to Use Digital Choice Boards
Differentiation with Learning Menus and Choice Boards
Design your own digital choice board
Example Choice Board (from Kasey Bell )
Programs and Sites that work: These have become staples in our classrooms.
Quizlet- Quizlet offers students and teachers a free way to keep terms in one location. The program allows for practice flashcards, games, a learning program, and even creates quizzes. Quizlet offers users the option to create different classes and "sets" so that students in your class can find all they need for the whole year in one place. It's very user friendly and offers great options like merging sets for which comes in very handy for end of unit assessments, midterms or finals. Quizlet is great for differentiation because each term has the option of adding a picture- words can be translated into different languages, terms and definitions have optional audio version (the program reads it out loud), Quizlet offers multiple definition options as used in the past by other Quizlet users, you can copy, edit, and use a set created by another user, and teachers can even add voice to the terms. Finally, students can chose how they want to learn the words- offering even more differentiation through student choice.
Khan Academy- Khan Academy can be linked to Collegeboard to create a personalized learning and skills practice experience for students, and it's all free! Khan has many different test and skill prep programs for students (including diagnostic quizzes) and is geared mostly toward English and Math. Students who study for the SAT with Khan really enjoy the process of studying, they receive badges for progress and teachers can create classes and keep up to date with how much their students are practicing.
Membean- Membean, a web-based vocabulary program has both a subscription as well as a free version. This intuitive program helps students learn at their own pace. It is multi-modal and offers learners an account that grows with them as they progress though school.