ASSESSING TECHNOLOGY-BASED RESOURCES FOR DIFFERENTIATION
Kahoot!
If you haven't used Kahoot yet, then you need to go check it out now!
Kahoot is an online game-based learning site that allows teachers to create fun and engaging games to reinforce new learning. "Kahoot combines the dynamics of play with the benefits of student response systems, creating a stimulating and motivating environment conducive to the active involvement of students in their learning process" (Correia & Santos, 2017). To create a game, you can either create your own questions, use questions from the question bank, or customize other Kahoot games created by other teachers. Once created, you host the game live, wait for students to join your game, and watch students demonstrate their understanding of new learning. While playing the game, students must select their answer to questions within a given time frame to receive immediate feedback displaying the ratio of correct responses to incorrect responses. Students will also see how fast they are with answering questions correctly in comparison to their peers. At the end of the game, the top three players are identified and receives their prize of bragging rights.
Some other cool features that the site offer teachers are real-time data of students answers to all game questions (used to create small group instruction), the ability to assign Kahoot games to students for their own personal use (homework), and the fun, already made trivia games that can be used for brain breaks. The best part about Kahoot is that it's free and students can join games from multiple devices (computers, tablets, and mobile phone). The site does offer more premium content, such as replacing text-based questions with videos for different monthly rates, but the free version works just as good. Kahoot games can also be created by students who want to host a live game for their peers to play and other users in different professions. This new generation of students that we teach loves video games, so incorporating game-based learning into your weekly instruction is excellent for our kinesthetic learners. So, the next time you prepare students for a quiz, rather than waste time making copies of a study guide that students will likely lose, spend that time creating a game on Kahoot that students will love over and over again.
Whiteboard.fi
During the Covid-19 pandemic, I desperately searched for a tool that would keep my students engaged during virtual learning and help me monitor students work. That's when I stumbled across the Whiteboard.fi website. After introducing the site to my colleagues and administrators, virtual learning became more accessible for teachers and students.
Whiteboard.fi is a free virtual whiteboard where teachers can create a classroom and present content on multiple whiteboard slides (similar to a PowerPoint presentation) to students. With a link, students can access a teacher's online classroom and visually see instruction prepared by the teacher. The site also offers the option to push whiteboards out to students that they can virtually manipulate while the teacher monitors students working actively. I taught fourth grade math during the pandemic, so after I taught my lesson to my class, I pushed out practice problems for my students to complete and could visually see in real-time, students using the site's online drawing tools to solve problems on their personal whiteboards. This site made virtual learning so much easier for my colleagues and I that my principal paid for multiple licenses for a bulk rate so that all teachers would have access to Whiteboard's premium features. With the premium features, teachers could create more than one classroom, have a co-teacher in the classroom, save presentations to the class library as a file, enter students' whiteboards and make corrections on students' work, and give written feedback on students work. This site made you feel like you were back in the classroom.
Using Whiteboard.fi is a great tool to differentiate instruction for visual and auditory learners. Teachers can push out whiteboards with modified work to different students, remotely enter a student's whiteboard and make corrections, and provide immediate feedback to students. In addition, students can save their work and the teacher's slides to reference as lesson notes. Please note: You must use a virtual meeting space, such as Zoom.us or Microsoft teams to verbally present the presentation to students to meet the needs of auditory learners.
Since the pandemic, the site has gained new management and has changed its access to some of its features, so to experience all the great things this site has to offer, I recommend purchasing a premium license at $12.99 per month. Some new features include assigning students assignments and students being able to submit assignments into the online classroom.
Google Forms
Google Forms is a free, online form, that many users use for surveying purposes. However, teachers can use Google Forms to formally assess students in various contents and/or gather student information. When creating a Google Form, teachers select the types of questions they want students to answer, such as multiple choice, fill in the blank, short-answer and open-ended questions. Teachers can also add videos and audio recordings to the forms for play. Once the form has been finalized, students can access the Google Form through a link or QR code, and complete the form via computer, tablet, mobile phone, etc. When finished, students will submit their forms and can decide if they want to receive a copy of their responses via email. As students submit their responses, teachers will instantly receive a report of students responses and can monitor submission rates.
Google Forms is an excellent tool to differentiate instruction for auditory learners. Embedding YouTube videos and audio recordings in a Google Form is a great way for those students to demonstrate their learning. A former colleague of mine used Google Forms all the time to formally assess his music students. He recorded visual and audio videos of him playing the piano and incorporated the videos into his Google Form as questions. He then used those videos to assess students new learning of piano keys and their sounds, when played.
Shifting From A Traditional Classroom to Technology Based Classrooms
Today, many teachers are using more technology based tools in the classroom and moving away from the traditional paper and pencil. When doing so, "we give students who have different learning styles not only different ways to look at a problem but also extra time they may require for learning" (Alejandre & Moore, 2003). Assigning students a Kahoot game, for example, can help students study for a math quiz. Rather than having students complete a paper study guide, students can play the Kahoot game over and over again until they begin memorizing information. Students can also access other Kahoot games created by other users around the globe and play their games to help prepare for an assessment. Teachers do receive the data from students' responses and will know whether a student completed the game or not, so students should make certain that they complete all assign tasks. Following the Kahoot game, teachers can create a Google Form and have students complete their assessment using the online form. Teachers can modify test questions for those students who receive test accommodations and can see students responses as soon as they submit the test. The best thing about both of these resources are that they are free to use and can be accessed from multiple technology devices. Have fun teaching!
References
Alejandre, S., & Moore, V. (2003). Technology as a Tool in the Primary Classroom. Teaching Children Mathematics, 10(1), 16–19.
Correia, M., & Santos, R. (2017). Game-based learning: The use of Kahoot in teacher education. 2017 International Symposium on Computers in Education (SIIE), Computers in Education (SIIE), 2017 International Symposium On, 1– 4. https://doi- org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1109/SIIE.2017.8259670
Dunne, J. K. (2019, October). Addressing Multiple Intelligences with Differentiated Instruction for Effective Teen Programming. Voice of Youth Advocates, 42(4), 24+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A622154227/ITOF? u=canyonuniv&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6cd884ca
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