Using Technology to Differentiate in the Secondary Classroom

Introduction 

When students come into our classrooms, they come to us from different backgrounds and experiences and with various learning styles and academic needs. Therefore, differentiating in the classroom is essential and with current advancements in technology, there are many tools that can support teachers in doing this more efficiently and effectively for increased student success. Three current technologies that can be used to appropriately support differentiation in the classroom and student success include Nearpod, Lexia PowerUp Literacy, and Newsela.  

Nearpod  

Nearpod supports various learning styles as it is an easy to use, interactive teaching tool that can be used daily for notes, building background knowledge or self-paced and teacher-led lessons. It accommodates for various learning styles as it allows for graphics, videos, polls, collaboration activities, audio features, virtual field trips, graphing calculator, flipgrip integration, flocabulary integration, options for students to draw answers, matching and memory assessments, and features where students can take their own notes to save for future reference. Teachers can differentiate by giving students different codes that correspond to the Nearpod that fits their learning needs and interests and can use the data from the formative assessment piece to then differentiate future instruction (Using nearpod..., 2021). It is user friendly for teachers as it has both pre-made Nearpods for all content areas that align to state standards as well as capabilities for turning already made Google Slides or Powerpoints into Nearpods, or one can simply use the template to create an original. The pre-made Nearpods support cross-curricular instruction as videos, graphics, text are included that provide historical information, art connections, etc. Students will also be able to easily use this as they go to the website and then enter the code given by the teacher and follow the directions on each slide either with the teacher or at their own pace. As far as cost is concerned, this tool has a free option with limited amount of use or a Gold Plan for $120 a year or Platinum for $349. 

Lexia PowerUp Literacy 

Lexia PowerUp Literacy is a reading program targeted for grades 6-12 that focuses on the areas of grammar, word study and reading comprehension and supports all students in closing literacy gaps and provides skill builders to enhance learning once students have mastered (90% or higher)  that skill. It contains supports for English Language Learners along with covering 100% of the dyslexia standards. When students utilize this program, it provides high interests texts (fiction and nonfiction) and interactive notes with a video game like feel. The texts provided incorporate a wide range of content areas (science, history, art, etc). Students who are more auditory learners may enable the audio feature. Students are able to work through the weeks required minutes in any order they choose and earn "streaks" (points) along the way. This tool especially appeals to visual and auditory learners with the "flashy" notes and music that is incorporated to increase engagement. The program is fairly easy to use for teachers as in monitoring the data of student progress and instructional needs. If a school district purchases the tool, there are follow up trainings throughout the year to support teachers in implementation and how to monitor and use the data. Students can easily access this by clicking on the icon and their individualized plan will pop up after taking the initial placement test. They then choose the area in which they would like to begin working and go from there. This tool is to be used alongside the general curriculum and in a blended model and can be used at school home or anywhere they students have a computer. Utilizing this allows students to work on the literacy skills in which they have gaps while the teacher pulls a small group for anyone in need of immediate intervention. Others who have mastered the skills in which they have been working are provided with skill builders (Lexia powerUp literacy, 2021).  The cost of the program for the 2020-2021 school year is $11,900 per campus (Davis, 2021).  

Newsela

Newsela is a free instructional technology tool (with options to purchase upgrades) that provides current event articles and access to more than 20 genres of informational texts that are cross-curricular and are set at various reading levels to meet individual students reading levels along with access to subject specific content. For ELA, social studies, and science, the texts are aligned to state standards, and common core standards for the informational texts. It also provides various instructional supports such as assignments, writing prompts, and annotations that are customizable, reading comprehension quizzes, Power Words in articles to support vocabulary practice, quizzes specific to the subject area, and embedded instructional strategies and activities for ELA, science, and social studies. Teachers can also use the text to model fluency and think-alouds for students and then work with guided reading groups and can view the student's reading activity and monitor student progress in real time. The articles contain images for our visual students and incorporates a read aloud feature for our auditory students, and quizz questions can be great prompts for student discussion and collaboration. Instructors can easily assign reading selections to students based upon student interest and choose the reading level they will use. Students can easily access this resource by signing into Newsela and then clicking "assignments" to begin working (Product and features, 2021). 

Promoting Learning and Creating Ownership

All three of these technologies promote student learning and ownership, however, the top two that possess these characteristics the most are Nearpod and Lexia PowerUp Literacy. Both Nearpod and Lexia promote student learning as they provide engaging, interactive lessons and or texts that appeal to multiple learning styles, support cross-curricular instruction, and provide real time data for teachers to further support their individual learning needs. Students have ownership over their learning with Nearpod as they can move at their own pace through lessons, track their own data and choose Nearpods that fit their interests and or needs. Lexia also promotes ownership as students have choice in the order in which they work through their minutes, can track their own data, and earn "streaks" and certificates for correct responses and completing the required minutes. 

References

Davis, L. (2021). Lexia powerup details interview [In person].

Lexia powerup literacy. Lexia learning. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.lexialearning.com/products/powerup.

Product and features overview. Newsela.com. (2021). Retrieved from https://newsela.com/about/solutions/compare/.

Using nearpod to support differentiated instruction. (2021). [Blog]. Retrieved 30 March 2021, from https://nearpod.com/blog/using-nearpod-support-differentiated-instruction/#:~:text=Nearpod's%20formative%20assessment%20activities%20are,short%20notes%20on%20collaborative%20boards.