Technology+and+Differentiation+Part+2

= Technology and Differentiation Part 2 =

PowerPoint **WHAT IS IT:** PowerPoint is presentation software that is part of the Microsoft Office Suite. Text, graphics, images, links, etc. are placed on pages called “slides” and linked together for presenting by transitions. Available backgrounds, layouts, and text/color schemes make a professional-looking, multi-media presentation easy for even a beginner to achieve. Although sometimes misused by people who put too much text on each screen and simply read the words when presenting, PowerPoint can be a powerful tool in the classroom.

**HOW TO USE IT TO DIFFERENTIATE INSTRUCTION:** The possible uses of PowerPoint to differentiate are endless. All four areas of differentiation are able to be adjusted with PowerPoint (content, process, product, and learning environment.) Learners who need individualized programs are able to presentations that are interactive and created for the exact content needed – for example, sight words that need to be practiced. Visually impaired students can have the content’s text in very large type on the background colour that works best and are able to control at their own pace. Beginning or struggling writers can create a “book” that is both impressive and motivating. Students who become discouraged and struggle with completing projects enjoy PowerPoint because even a work-in-progress looks good. **PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND NEW THINGS LEARNED:** PowerPoint has been around so long that we tend to take it for granted. In the last year, however, I have learned new tricks and techniques. I love the invisible action button placed on a diagram that then takes you to an explanation slide. There is a problem, though, of touching places on the screen that are not action buttons and accidently moving to the next slide. I solved this by layering a large, full screen invisible action button under the other buttons, but on top of the picture that links to itself, thus going nowhere. A popular project I have for non-readers uses a combination of PowerPoint, the Internet, and a beginning A level non-fiction book on a topic of the student’s interest. The students create both a non-fiction powerpoint about the topic and then a fiction story powerpoint using the details from their non-fiction writing. With the two powerpoints they are able to practice their reading skills and learn the difference between fiction and non-fiction. LINKS TO LEARN MORE:  http://www.ga.k12.pa.us/curtech/instruct/powpt1.htm http://www.spa3.k12.sc.us/usingpowerpoint.htm [|Internet4 Classrooms Powerpoint] with quizzes for students [|Blank Game] Question/Answer activity blank PowerPoint SAMPLES:  http://www.graves.k12.ky.us/powerpoints/gcms/mssridolfi.ppt#267,12,Elements%20of%20a%20Short%20Story
 * WHAT IS NEEDED TO MAKE IT WORK: ** Users need the Microsoft Office suite of software programs that include PowerPoint. There are public domain free-ware versions, however. Additionally there is Google Docs where multiple users can create and share presentations.
 * APPLICATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM: **Because PowerPoint is such a generic tool, teachers are able to use it in a variety of ways. Teachers are able to present materials (keeping multiple presentations consistent) and then slides can be printed out for students (less need for accommodations.) Students use it to replace older-style reports and projects. Students are also more comfortable speaking in front of the class when presenting material when they have a graphically pleasing PowerPoint presentation complete with links to video and audio clips. Many teachers use Jeopardy-style PowerPoint presentations for reviewing material either providing one or having students create their own.

[|Edublogs] Free educational blogs  and “Ten Ways to Use a  Blog to Teach”
 * Blogs **
 * WHAT IS IT:  ** A blog is a frequently updated online personal journal or diary. A blog offers a place to express yourself to the world on a Web site that is updated on an ongoing basis. Blog is a short form of the word weblog and the two words are used interchangeably.  Although most blogs have advertising, educational ones do not.  Material is added to the blog through dated postings and comments by readers.  Generally the blog’s host regulates who is able to post and respond.  Graphics and links to other websites are also part of the blog.
 * WHAT IS NEEDED TO MAKE IT WORK:  ** Users need an on-line blog service such as Blogger.  Teachers and students find them easy to use, requiring little technical knowledge because they are template based and user-friendly.
 * APPLICATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM:  ** They are an easy way to publish, collaborate, and reflect. They are also an easy way to communicate homework and school news to parents and students.  Depending how the blog is set up, teachers can use it as a one-way communication vehicle where readers are not expected to respond.  Alternately, a blog can be set up so that students in a class can respond to questions, discussion topics and share their thoughts with others in the class or with a class in another part of the world.
 * HOW TO USE IT TO DIFFERENTIATE INSTRUCTION:  ** Many teachers are using their blogs in a manner similar to wikis, where they post the information and assignments for a class. Students are able to access it as they need it.  Links to learning activities at different levels can be put on the blog.  Multimedia can be embedded into the blog to make the information more accessible.
 * PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND NEW THINGS LEARNED:  ** In our school, Team Blogs have been used to communicate homework to students and parents. The postings generally have links embedded in the text that then redirects the student to the teacher’s wiki where the assignment is posted. (I have noticed that some teams have not posted for a few months, opting instead to use their Wikispaces.)  Teachers have also used blogs in Language Arts class for members of groups reading the same novel to respond to discussion questions and to post their work.  In some classes this has included blog conversations with the novel’s author and with classes in other schools.  The dated chronological arrangement of postings is both an advantage and disadvantage of blogs.  There have been issues with the host Bogger.com being down frequently.
 * LINKS TO LEARN MORE: **
 * [|www.blogger.com] **
 * http://www.weblogg-ed.com/ **
 * SAMPLES:  **
 * http://nasismiddle8ijk0708.blogspot.com/ **


 * Dartfish **
 * WHAT IS IT:  ** Dartfish Video Software Solutions is a software provider whose products include a range of video manipulation and analysis programs designed for the fields of sports, education, healthcare, behavioral skills, and broadcast. DartStudio 4.0 is a software program that includes ** StroMotion **and ** SimulCam ** applications that allow digital video to be altered so that an athletic movement can be transformed into a frame-by-frame sequence. These technologies have been used for a number of events at both Summer and Winter Olympic Games, including Snowboarding, Freestyle Skiing, Alpine Skiing, Diving, and Gymnastics.
 * WHAT IS NEEDED TO MAKE IT WORK:  ** Users need rights to the software.  Variations of the software are available at differing price points:  Connect, Classroom, Live, Connect Plus, ProSuite, TeamPro – depending on which features of the program are needed.  There are Canadian sales representatives of Dartfish in Whistler, Calgary, and Burlington. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: EN;"> Dartfish Connect 4.5 has a free 30 day trial download available.
 * APPLICATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM: ** Probably most appropriate for high school Physical Education or Physics classes or sports teams. School applications would use Dartfish Classroom or TeamPro. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msobidifontweight: bold;"> Dartfish Classroom allows installation on multiple machines, paying only for the number of concurrent users. “Dartfish can then be used across the curriculum at an affordable price per user. Dartfish classroom provides an easy-to-use solution to the problems of managing and using digital video in the classroom.” (Dartfish Website) It offers both basic and advance analysis of up to four simultaneous videos. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: EN;"> Measurement tools allow users to measure angles, distances and run stopwatches. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: EN;">
 * HOW TO USE IT TO DIFFERENTIATE INSTRUCTION: <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes;"> ** Sounds great for training and analysis of motion that is too fast to actually see. Great motivator, and for students who understand when they see, it would give them the visual of concepts in science classes that they would usually only experience as numbers.  Because videos can be tagged and annotated, a video of a task can be viewed repeatedly from which ever point is of interest to the viewer.  This may be of use for individualized SEP goals for both documenting and communicating to support professionals (OT/SLP/PT) and for teaching purposes.
 * PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND NEW THINGS LEARNED: <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes;"> ** Other than seeing this technology showcased during the Olympics, this was my first experience with Dartfish. The features of StroMotion and SimulCam seem to be only available at the professional broadcaster versions. However, the interactive, annotated video files have interesting cross-curricular potential.  In the hands of an experienced facilitator, I think that the software has the potential to be a very powerful teaching tool.
 * LINKS TO LEARN MORE: **
 * http://www.dartfish.com/en/sports/education/index.htm **
 * Dartfish’s section on their website that gives information on applications to education: Physical Education, Cross-curricular, Teacher Training, and Sport Science. **
 * SAMPLES: <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: FR;"> **
 * http://www.dartfish.com/en/media-gallery/videos/index.htm **
 * Video samples to download **