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Spencer Horne
EDU-225
January 20, 2015
Randal Yard

Differentiating Instruction through Technology

The use of technology in the classroom can have some advantages for students and for
teachers. Students can be motivated by learning skills to develop academically, socially, career,
and technological skills. Playing technology based games are a great way to capture the attention
of students which allows them to become more interactive in the classroom. For teachers it is a
great way to get students to learn and have the ability to create assessments through technology
based assessments such as online tests which gives the teachers immediate results (Salend, 2009).
With advantages of using technology in the classroom there comes some disadvantages.
For teachers there is a major concern that technology could cause the student to disconnect with
the teacher and only concentrate on the technology that is being used. Teachers also have to
create safeguards to prevent students from looking up inappropriate things on the internet or
waste time on social media sites. This makes the teacher have to spend more time watching over
students which takes time away from the lesson (Salend, 2009).
Teachers should use technology only to differentiate learning instruction because there all
different types of learners. Some learners may only respond to using visuals like PowerPoint
presentations and others would learn better from listening to a lecture from a podcast.
Differentiated instruction is a model of instruction that revolves around the belief that students
learn in many different ways (Verde, 2004).

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Differentiated instruction is providing materials and tasks at all levels of learning. Teachers
are able to use different methods of technology such as Whiteboards, laptops, IPad, and other
electronical devices. Teachers can maximize students growth by meeting each student at their
current level of learning by creating different assessments and gauging the difference between
students. This also allows the teacher to be able to pair students in groups and place stronger
students with weaker students so that they can get different perspectives. This helps students that
have difficulty following oral instruction or discussions and could help them organize information
which will help them in their learning process (Verde, 2004).
Student-centered learning means significant change in roles for students and teachers.
Students are more engaged and responsible learners. A number of schools have been creating a
student-centered learning approach and some schools have made technology a big part in doing
so. Students can use this flexible approach in the classroom through video production, multimedia
design, and through computers. Using technology in a student-centered classroom gives the
students the ability to use technology with an educational purpose which can prepare the student
for a variety of different career pathways. Students can develop problem solving abilities which
will help them in real life situations. This is important in a student-centered classroom which
moves away from the one size fits all approach to learning. Schools have higher demands from
teachers and technology is a great way for teachers to gauge their results by creating assessments.

References

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Salend, S.J. (2009).Technology-Based Classroom Assessments: Alternatives to testing.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Verde, M. (2004). Comparing Layered Curriculum: Differentiated Learning.
New York, NY
Moeller, Reitzes (2011) Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC). Integrating
Technology with Student-Centered Learning. Quincy, MA: Nellie Mae Education Foundation