Technology+&+Differentiation

= Technology and Differentiation =

To reach our digital learners we have to use multiple technologies --- if you are not yet convinced watch this video first!
=media type="custom" key="512843" ** Photostory ** =

As a vehicle for students to demonstrate their knowledge of a subject, photostory works well. Students take pictures of their project/experiment/or people and then narrate the story or explanation. Titles that go with each picture can be layered over the photos and background music added. This could be used for Science, Language Arts, French, Math……any subject where the student wants to document what they have done or tell a story. - to download if you do not have the program** See Nasis News Team's trip to the Literacy in the 21st Century Conference put on by the New Brunswick Department of Education E-Learning.
 * WHAT IS IT:  ** Photostory is a free software application program that allows users to create a show and tell presentation from their digital photographs. The presentation is enhanced by music, narration, pans, zooms, transitions, and effects.  By using default settings, music files from your own computer, and bulk downloading photos a professional photo presentation can be created in a few minutes.  The user, however, may choose to carefully crop, and mark where pans and zooms begin and end.  Put this together with a narrated voice over and original music and the presentation becomes very personalized.
 * WHAT IS NEEDED TO MAKE IT WORK:  ** Most student and teacher computers come with the software; however, it is a free download. The program is run by following the step-by-step instructions that are provided in a wizard-type format.  Saving can be done in a work-in-progress format that allows the user to go back and edit further or in a completed format that then allows it to be played on any computer with a media player.
 * APPLICATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM:  ** Can be used either as a format for teacher presentations or as a method for students to present their work. It can also be used for sharing photos from a class trip or other school events.
 * HOW TO USE IT TO DIFFERENTIATE INSTRUCTION:  ** When using a photostory as a teacher presentation, a teacher can create a presentation on a simple concept that needs to be reviewed and repeated so that a struggling student is able to see it a number of times. Adding pictures of the student or the school makes the presentation more personalized.
 * PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND NEW THINGS LEARNED:  ** I have been using photostory since 2003. I have used the program to create visual demonstrations of recipes for a student in an individualized cooking program.  The student was the star!  I have also used it to create personalized birthday presentations using digital scans of old photos and background music from each era of the person’s life.  Students are currently using it to record re-telling of a chapter from their novel using photos of a diorama that they had constructed.
 * LINKS TO LEARN MORE: **
 * [|Download Photostory]
 * [|Tutorials] - tutorials **
 * [|Digital Storytelling] - digital storytelling**
 * SAMPLES:  **
 * http://godsoe-daigle.wikispaces.com/ **

SmartBoard
Never used one before? Watch the basic Instructions for using the SmartBoard media type="custom" key="512749"

Still wondering how to orient the smartboard and get going? Watch this media type="custom" key="512803"

Learn how to use the Notebook and Gallery media type="custom" key="512809"

Cool technique of Magic Erase and Reveal media type="custom" key="512831" This is a video of a high school English class using the SmartBoard. Could be used for any level. media type="custom" key="512751"

This is a kindergarten class using the SmartBoard media type="custom" key="512849"

[|SMARTBoard Technology Website]
 * WHAT IS IT:  ** A SMARTBoard is a large, touch-controlled screen that works with a digital projector and a computer. The computer’s desktop image is projected onto the interactive whiteboard, which acts as both a monitor and an input device. Users can write on the interactive whiteboard in digital ink or use a finger to control computer applications by pointing, clicking and dragging, just as with a desktop mouse. 
 * WHAT IS NEEDED TO MAKE IT WORK:  ** Users need both the SMARTBoard and the supporting software in addition to a digital projector. 
 * APPLICATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM:  ** Any place where a teacher would use a traditional blackboard, or overhead projector, a SMARTBoard can be used. When presenting, a teacher can overwrite an existing document by using the digital markers.  Anything written can be recorded.  A shade can cover information the teacher does not want to reveal. The floating toolbar can be used with other applications.  The gallery of items on the SMARTBoard notebook offers images, backgrounds, and interactive media arranged my subject.
 * HOW TO USE IT TO DIFFERENTIATE INSTRUCTION:  ** The SMARTBoard lends itself to different learning styles, preferences and levels on Bloom’s Taxonomy. When offering an interactive SMARTBoard presentation to a group, students of each learning preference are able to participate: the tactile/kinesthetic learners are up close taking turns touching the board moving images, marking and highlighting text; the visual learners are watching the action intrigued by the movement and colour; the auditory learners are listening and calling out the answers. At the most basic level of knowledge/comprehension and application, students are able to use the SMARTBoard to answer questions and play activities for reinforcement of concepts.  At the uppermost levels students would be able to search for and create activities for the SMARTBoard using the SMARTBoard Notebook and the internet – thus giving them the opportunity to evaluate, analyze, and synthesize.  By starting with struggling students in the small group setting, they would then become the “experts” on how to touch and manipulate the screen and could share those skills with their classmates.
 * PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND NEW THINGS LEARNED:  ** I have been using SMARTBoards since 2006 when I attended a PD session in Bathurst. We applied for a grant for a SMARTBoard for the Resource Department and began using it with struggling students in our remediation small groups and with students requiring enrichment.  I have used it primarily for Language Arts and Math.  I like using it anytime I have a PowerPoint presentation.  Recently, I have learned to use the recording feature to record my voice and the actions performed on the SMARTBoard.
 * LINKS TO LEARN MORE:  **

WebQuests **

WHAT IS IT:  ** A **WebQuest** is a learning activity used by educators. During this activity learners read, analyze, and synthesize information using the World Wide Web. According to BernieDodge, one of the inventors, a WebQuest is "an inquiry-oriented activity in which some or all of the information that learners interact with comes from resources on the internet, optionally supplemented with videoconferencing" [|WebQuest Central]
 * WHAT IS NEEDED TO MAKE IT WORK: <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes;"> ** Students need access to the internet and the address of the WebQuest. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: EN;"> The teacher needs to align the objectives of the WebQuest with his/her outcomes by creating one or finding an existing one on the internet.
 * APPLICATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM: <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes;"> ** Learners actively build their own critical understanding of a topic. During a WebQuest, questions or problems are researched, and learners may work cooperatively to find solutions. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: EN;"> WebQuests generally have five components: <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: EN;"> Introduction, Task, Process, Evaluation, and Conclusion.
 * 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;"> ** WebQuests address the different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy by asking students to move beyond simple comprehension to the analysis, synthesis, and evaluative levels of learning. The topics of WebQuests can be aligned to student’s interests and thus address another aspect of differentiation.  Whereas most WebQuests are conducted in co-operative groups, different skill sets, abilities, and intelligences can work together to accomplish the goal of the task.
 * PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND NEW THINGS LEARNED: <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes;"> ** The first time I investigated WebQuests was about five years, I was less than impressed because nothing matched up with the outcomes that I had. They seemed to be not much more than scavenger hunts.  Since then, the quantity, quality, and the engines for searching have improved considerably.  I especially like the subject/grade level matrix on Dodge’s WebQuest Original site.  I also like the sites for creating and posting your own WebQuest so that you can specifically target your outcomes.
 * <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">LINKS TO LEARN MORE: <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; font-family: Arial; mso-tab-count: 1; msotabcount: 1; msoansilanguage: EN-US; msofareastfontfamily: 'Times New Roman'; msofareastlanguage: EN-US; msobidilanguage: AR-SA;"> **

[|More WebQuests]

[|No These are Best WebQuests]

[|Create Your Own and Post for Free]

Sample:
[|Math WebQuest Algebra]

[|How to Screencast] Site for business and educators to learn more, download and upload screencasts.
 * Screencasting **
 * WHAT IS IT: <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes;"> ** A screencast is a digital recording of a computer screen’s output often with audio narration. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: EN;"> Not to be confused with a Podcast which is a collection of digital media files that are distributed over the internet. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: EN;"> A screencast could be distributed and thus become a podcast. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: EN;"> Podcasts, however, can be audio only and screencasts always have to have at least video since it is a capture of the computer’s screen and things are happening.
 * WHAT IS NEEDED TO MAKE IT WORK: <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes;"> ** Users need a software program with which to record. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: EN;"> Although there are many programs to choose from, SMART Technologies software is on all teacher and student laptops. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: EN;"> The easiest method is to have the computer connected to a SMARTBoard and record by activating the SMART Recorder from the drop-down menu of SMART Software. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: EN;"> If recording audio, use an external microphone (the better the microphone- the better the sound quality.)
 * APPLICATIONS IN THE CLASSROOM: <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes;"> ** Students respond to the sound of their own teacher’s voice. Mini lessons on a specific topic can be demonstrated on a SMARTBoard and recorded for multiple playbacks at the student’s convenience. <span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes; msoansilanguage: EN;"> For example, by using the digital markers a math problem can be worked step-by-step with verbal instructions. Students can use screencasting to record a short PowerPoint presentation with their own narration, cycling through the slides at their own pace. <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;"> ** One of the areas of differentiation that teachers have struggled with is how to vary the presentation of material especially when working with students who are struggling readers or with students who could pretest out and would be bored or disruptive through a traditional frontal teaching lesson. A screencast would allow the teacher to prepare presentations that students could view as needed, as many times as needed.  A bank of screencasts would free the teacher up to be more of a facilitator, and avoid whole class presentations when only a portion of the class requires or is ready for the instruction.
 * PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND NEW THINGS LEARNED: <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes;"> ** The sound of your own voice is always off-putting, but the first time that I played a screencast to a group of students, they were amazed. “Hey how are you moving the screen!” (It takes a lot to impress kids these days!)  Our only problems have been in the sound quality.  We will have to invest in a better quality microphone.  Another area of concern is the size of the file that is produced and keeping the screencasts short.  To make these available on a wiki, a web-based provider would have to be used, as even the shortest screencast exceeded the file limits of our wiki.
 * LINKS TO LEARN MORE: <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-tab-count: 1; msotabcount: 1;"> **
 * [|7 THINGS ABOUT WIKIS] ** Educational Journal article “7 Things You Should Know About Screencasting”

A Wikispaceabout Screencasting This is a wikispace created to teach non-profit organizations how to create screencasts.
 * SAMPLES: <span style="font-size: 14pt; color: red; line-height: 200%; font-family: Arial; mso-spacerun: yes; msospacerun: yes;"> **

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