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7 Inclusioninthe21stcenturyclassroom:
Dierentiatingwithtechnology
BYBOBBYHOBGOOD,ED.D.ANDLAURENORMSBY

Couldn'tloadplugin.

Inthisvideo,studentsinagiftedclassroomusethemultiuserlearningenvironment
QuestAtlantistoexploreissuesrelatedtothecreationofagamereserveinTanzania.
Interviewswiththeteacherandstudentsoerperspectivesonthevalueofusingvirtual
worldsintheclassroom.Aboutthevideo
Downloadvideo(Rightclickoroptionclick)

Thediversityofthe21stcenturyclassroomcreatesnumerouschallengesfor
teacherswhomaynothaveknownthesamediversitythemselvesas
students.Amongthese,teachersmustbalancetherequirementsofhigh
stakesaccountabilitywhilemeetingtheneedsofdiversestudentswithin
theirclassroom.The26thAnnualReporttoCongressonIDEAreported
thatapproximatelyninetysixpercentofgeneraleducationteachershave
studentsintheirclassroomwithlearningdisabilities.1Thisisnota
surprisingstatistic,consideringthereareoversixmillionstudentswith
disabilityclassicationsintheUnitedStates.Thefrequencyofspecial
educationstudentsintheclassroom,however,isonlyoneoftheobstacles
thatteachersface.Teachersmustalsocontendwithanincreasingnumber
ofstudentsfromculturallyandlinguisticallydiversebackgroundsandfrom
highpovertyfamilies.2
Whilemanyteachersexpressfrustrationoverhighstakes
accountabilitystandards,theyacknowledgepressuretoteachtothetest,
fearingnonprocientscores,dissatisfactionfromschooladministrators,
andinsmallersystems,thepotentialriskofembarrassmentwhenscoresare
madepublic.Compoundingtheissue,datahasshownthatstudentswith

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disabilitiesperformwellbelowtheirpeersinstandardizedtesting.3Intheir
research,McTigheandBrownarticulateadisconnectbetweenthe
instructionalpracticesfoundintodaysclassroomsandeducationalresearch
thatdelineatesrequirementsforpromotinggenuinestudentengagement,
understanding,andlongitudinalachievementprogress.4Thepopular
practicesandattitudescritiquedbyMcTigheandBrownincludedeveloping
curriculumthatistoobroad,teachersawedperceptionofthenecessityto
covercontent,theoveruseofworksheetsthataremodeledaftertest
formats,andteachingtothetestinordertoboosttestscores.

Dierentiationaseectiveinstruction
Bycontrast,thepracticeofdierentiatinginstructionhelpsteachers
addressrigorousstandardswhilerespondingtotheindividualneedsof
students.Dierentiationallowsteacherstofocusonessentialskillsineach
contentarea,beresponsivetoindividualdierences,incorporate
assessmentintoinstruction,andprovidestudentswithmultipleavenuesto
learning.5Theresultisaclassroomwherespecializedinstructionisthe
normforallstudents.Studentswithdisabilitieshaveaccesstoappropriate
modications,whilestudentswhoexcelhaveaccesstoappropriate
challenges.Thismodelforinstructionalplanninganddeliveryisnotanew
ideaandiswidelytoutedasthemostpromisingsolutiontomanyofthe
obstaclespresentedbytheproliferationofdiverseclassrooms.6
Butwhilenumerousstudieshaveestablishedtheeectivenessof
dierentiatedinstruction,researchindicatesthatsomeofthepractices
centraltodierentiatedinstruction,suchasexiblegroupingand
specializedinstruction,arenotwidespread.7A2005U.S.Departmentof
Educationstudyfoundthatwholeclassinstructionwasthemostcommon
formatexperiencedbysecondarystudentswithdisabilitiesaswellas
studentsinregulareducationacademicclasses.8Thesamestudyshowed
thatonlythirteenpercentofsecondarystudentswithdisabilitiesingeneral
educationclassesexperiencedsubstantialcurriculummodicationora
specializedcurriculum.9Ifweknowthatdierentiatedinstructionis
eectiveinimprovingstudentperformance,whilestillmeetingrequired
performancestandards,whyarentmoreteachersusingit?

Overcomingobstaclestoeectivedierentiation
Inapivotalpiecein1991,SchummandVaughnexploredteachers
perspectivesonmakingadaptationsforstudentswithdisabilitiesin
inclusivesettings.Theirndingsindicatedthatteacherslargelydonotfeel
preparedtoaddressstudentsdiverseneeds.Furthermore,teachersfelt
pressuredbythenecessitytocoverawiderangeofcontentinashort
amountoftime,theexcessiveclassroommanagementneedsofthe
classroom,andalackoftimetopreparelessons.10Ifwecomparethistothe
criticismofinstructionalpracticesbyMcTighueandBrown,weseethat
thesefeelingshavenotchangedoverthelastdecade.11Infact,inadditionto
theseproblems,teachersreporttheadditionalobstacleofdecreasing
resourcesintheirclassrooms.
Manyoftheobstaclestoimplementingdierentiatedinstructioncan
beovercomewiththeeectiveuseoftechnology.Teacherswhofeelill
preparedtoaddressthediverseneedsoftheirstudents,forexample,have
readyaccesstomoreoptionsthaneverbeforeasaresultofthewiderange
ofsoftwareandhardwaretoolsavailable.Technologycanequipteachersto
addressstudentsneedsinanalmostlimitlessnumberofways,through
contentinput,learningactivities,andopportunitiestodemonstrate

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comprehension.Andbecausemanystudentscometothelearning
environmentwithapredispositionforusingitseamlessly,technologycan
becomeanintermediarythatbridgestherelationshipbetweenteacherand
student,allowingtheteachertomeetastudentinafamiliarrealm.
Technologyalsoaddressesthenecessitytocoverawiderangeof
contentinashortamountoftimebyminimizingtheneedtotake
curriculumataslowerpace.Studentswithspecialneedsmaybenetfrom
technologiesthatassistthem,allowingthemtokeeppacewiththeirpeers.
Forexample,astudentwithdyslexiawhomightnormallystrugglewitha
readingpassagecouldbenetfromreadingthetextwhilelisteningtoan
audiorecordingthroughheadphones.Byprovidingaudio,visual,or
conceptmappingsupportswhileintroducingnewconcepts,teacherslessen
theneedforreviewandremediationaftertheinitialinstruction.
Thepressuresofclassroommanagementneedscanalsobealleviatedas
aresultofusingtechnologytodierentiateinstruction.Classrooms
enhancedbytechnologyprovidesupportandstructuretostudentswho
needscaoldingandenrichmenttostudentswhothriveonchallenge.The
resultisalearningenvironmentthatistaskcenteredandpredictable,in
whichstudentsunderstandwhatsexpectedofthemandhowto
succeed.12Inaclassroomwheregiftedlearners,learnerswithlearning
disabilities,andlearnerswithotherspecialneedsareallchallengedat
appropriatelevelsatthesametime,studentsaremorelikelytobeengaged
inlearningactivitiesandlesslikelytobeengagedininappropriate
behaviors.Insuchenvironments,classroommanagementworksdierently:
Teachersactmoreasfacilitators,whichallowsformoreindividualattention
tostudentswhoneedattentionandmightotherwisebehaveinappropriately
asaresult.13
Theobstaclespresentedbylimitednancialresourcesneednot
preventteachersfromdierentiatingwithtechnology.Manytoolsand
practicesthatfacilitatedierentiation,includingmanysuggestedinthis
article,makeuseoffreesoftwareandprograms,aswellasbasic
technologiesfoundinalmosteveryclassroom.
Theobstaclepresentedbyalackoftimetopreparelessonsisperhaps
themostdiculttoovercomewhenimplementingdierentiated
instruction,evenwiththeaidoftechnology.Learningtoeectively
dierentiateinstructiondoestaketime.Aswithanyinstructionalpractice,
uencycomeswithexperience.Buttheinitialinvestmentoftimetodevelop
facilitywithanewstrategycanosettimethatmightotherwisebespent
reteachingmaterialthatstudentsfailedtolearnasaresultofanon
dierentiatedapproach.Teacherswhoseektodierentiatebutare
hamperedbylimitedtimemayndsuccessinfocusingonjustonestrategy
atatime,graduallybuildinguencywithdierentiationpractices.

Settingthescope
Acompletediscussionofusingtechnologytodierentiateinstructioncould
llseveralvolumes.Therangeoftoolsandresourcesisvast,andthe
instructionalpracticesthatmakeuseofthemareinnumerable.Bynecessity,
thescopeofthisarticleislimited,andfocusesonstudentswithlearning
disabilities(includingdisabilitieswithspokenlanguage,writtenlanguage,
mathematics,andreasoning),studentswholearndierentlybecauseof
theirlinguisticorculturalbackgrounds,andstudentswhoareacademically
gifted.

Aframeworkfortechnologyintegration
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Beforeexploringspecictechnologiesthatcansupportateachers
dierentiationpractice,itsimportanttoconsiderhowtoeectively
integratetechnologyintoinstruction.Therstandmostimportant
principleoftechnologyintegrationisthatthefocusshouldbeonthe
outcomeoftheinstruction,andnotonthetechnologyitself.When
technologyisusedjustforthesakeofdoingsomethingnewanddierent,
teachersfailtoharnesstheaordancesofthetechnologytosupportthe
needsofthelearningsituation.14
Beforemakingthedecisiontouseaparticulartechnologyfora
particularlesson,teachersshouldrstmakedecisionsaboutthelearning
goals,activities,andassessmentsthatwillshapethelearningexperience.
Duringtheprocessofmakingthesedecisions,teacherscanmoreeasily
envisionopportunitiestointegrateoneormoretechnologies.This
perspectiveiscentraltotheconceptualframeworkforeducational
technologyknownasTPACK:TechnologicalPedagogicalContent
Knowledge.15
TPACKproposesthatthoughtfultechnologyintegrationoccurswhen
teachersareattunedtotheinterplayofcontent(thesubjectmatter),
pedagogy(themethodsofteaching,bothgeneralandcontentspecic),and
technology(bothelectronicandtraditional).Consideringallthree
domainstogetherresultsinalessoninwhichallthecomponentpartsare
alignedtosupportthelearninggoalsandoutcomesoftheinstructional
plan.
TheTPACKmodelacknowledgesadistinctionbetweenuseand
integrationoftechnology.Whileateachermayunderstandhowtousea
handhelddevicelikeaniPodtouchtolistentomusicoraccesstheinternet,
herfacilitywiththedevicedoesnotensureunderstandingandapplication
ofsoundpedagogicalpracticewiththedevicewithinthecontextofthe
classroom.Skillfulintegrationofanypieceoftechnologydemandsamore
intentionalapproachtoitsinstructionaluse.
JudiHarrisandMarkHoferidentifyvebasicinstructionaldecisions
thatformthebasisofplanningalearningevent.16Theyare,inorder:
Choosinglearninggoals
Makingpracticalpedagogicaldecisionsaboutthenatureofthelearning
experience
Selectingandsequencingactivitytypestocombinetoformthelearning
experience
Selectingformativeandsummativeassessmentstrategiesthatwill
revealwhatandhowwellstudentsarelearning
Selectingtoolsandresourcesthatwillbesthelpstudentstobenet
fromthelearningexperiencebeingplanned.
Thisframeworkemphasizesthattheselectionoftoolsandresourcesshould
follownaturallyfromtheotherinstructionalplanningdecisions.Following
thismodelincreasesthelikelihoodofseamless,successfultechnology
integrationthatmeetstheneedsofalllearners.

Dierentiationin2D
Dierentiatedinstructioncomprisestwomajordimensionstheteacher
dependentdimensionandthestudentdependentdimension.Thetwo
dimensionsplayoofoneanother,andeachconsistsofitsownsetof
variables:
1.Teacherdependentdimension

a.Dierentiationthroughcontent
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b.Dierentiationthroughprocess
c.Dierentiationthroughproduct
d.Dierentiationthroughenvironment
2.Studentdependentdimension

a.Dierentiationaccordingtostudentreadiness
b.Dierentiationaccordingtostudentinterest
c.Dierentiationaccordingtostudentlearning
prole
Dierentiatinginstructioninvolvesmanipulatingtheteacherdependent
dimensionsthosevariablesoverwhichteachershavecontrol.But
dierentiatinginstructioneectivelyrequiresmanipulatingthosevariables
withattentiontothestudentdependentdimensionthevariablesover
whichteachershavenocontrol,butthatmakeeachstudentunique.
Thepoweroftechnologyliesintheteachersabilitytouseitfor
customizinginstruction.Ithelpsteacherstoaddressthosestudentvariables
bymanipulatingthecomplexityorlevelofdicultyofthecontent,the
waysinwhichstudentsreceiveandengagethatcontent,theiroptions
demonstratingwhattheyhavelearned,andthecircumstancesunderwhich
theydoso.

Understandinglearnersneeds:Thestudent
dependentdimension
Whileteacherscannotcontrolthevariablesthatmakeupthestudent
dependentdimensionofdierentiationstudentsreadiness,interests,
andlearningprolestheycanlearntodierentiateinstructioneectively
asaresultofunderstandingthosevariables.Knowingthecontentsofa
studentsIndividualizedEducationPlan(IEP)isimportant,butdoesnot
provideenoughinformationtocreateadierentiatedclassroom.Astudent
learninginventory,anexampleofadiagnosticassessment,oersasolution
foraddressingthisinitialchallenge.Withtheaidoftechnology,ateacher
cancreate,host,andadministeralearninginventory,andtheneasily
analyzetheresultsallwithoutstudentsfeelingputonthespot.
Forexample,atthebeginningoftheyear,studentsmayrespondtoa
teachercreatedonlinesurveythatasksquestionsabouttheirpreferred
learningstyles,whereandhowtheytypicallystudy,andwhattheteacher
candotohelpthemtolearn.SiteslikeZoomerangandSurveyMonkeyoer
free,customizablesurveysthatwilldisplaybothindividualresultsanda
compositeofagroupofstudents.Usingoneofthesetools,theinventory
mightincludeaquestionlikethisone:17

1.Rankyourlearningpreferencesforlearningmathbyrankingthe
followingactivities:

Usingmanipulatives
Observingdemonstrations
Sketchingouttheproblem
Reading
Comparingworkwithapartner
Solvingproblemsasateam
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Havingthisknowledgeofstudentlearningpreferencesisveryusefulwhen
designinginstructionandcreatingexiblegroupingforstudentsduring
classroomactivities.
Studentresponsesystems,orclickers,oeranotherstrategyfor
collectingdatafromstudents.Thesedevicesconnecttoacomputerand
LCDprojectororaninteractivewhiteboardandallowstudentstoanswer
questionsinclasswithoutsharingtheirresponseswithclassmates.This
optionrequiresdevicesthatmustbepurchased,butbecausesome
interactivewhiteboardsarepackagedwithclickers,manyschoolsmay
alreadyhavethem.Clickersprovideimmediatedatathatisaggregatedwith
noadditionaleort.Thedatacanbeeitheranonymousortiedtothe
individuallearner,asmanysystemscanassociatethenumberofthedevice
withagivenstudenttokeeparunningrecordforthatstudent.Once
collected,studentdatacanthenbeusedtodevelopeitheranindividualor
classroomlearningprole.
Usingclickerstoconductalearninginventoryisaformative
assessmenttechniquethatprovidesfeedbackforbothteacherandstudent.
Andforstudentswhoarechallengedwithdysgraphia,whichaectsthe
abilitytowrite,clickersfocustheirattentiononidentifyingtheappropriate
response,avoidingpreoccupationwithwritingsothatastudentcan
participateasreadilyashisorherclassmates.
Lessexpensiveandevenfreealternativestostudentresponsesystems
includewebbasedtoolslikePollEverywhereandPollDaddy,whichallow
userstocreatepollsthatcancapturedataonagroupofstudents.These
optionsrecordresponsesstudentssubmitthroughtextmessaging,
handhelddeviceslikeiPodTouches,orlaptops.PollEverywherealso
includesanoptiontostoredataforindividualstudents.
ThearticleUsingStudentRespondersResponsiblyoersathorough
discussionofhowtomakethemostofclickersandwebbasedalternatives.

Theteacherdependentdimension:Fourvariables
Theteacherwhodevelopsabasicunderstandingofhisstudentsreadiness,
interest,andlearningproleisreadytousethatinformationtoadapthis
instructionbasedonthefourvariablesofteacherdependent
dierentiation:Content,process,product,andenvironment.Asinstruction
continues,theteachercanreturntothesestudentcenteredformative
assessmenttechniquestoadjustandenhancehisunderstandingofhis
studentsneeds.

Dierentiatingbycontent
Dierentiatingbycontentcanhappeninavarietyofways,butthetwo
primarymeansinclude1)usingdierentcontenttoteachthesamesubject
tostudentswithdierentneeds,and2)enhancingoraugmentingexisting
contenttomakeitaccessibletoallstudents.Technologycanfacilitateboth
strategiesndingnewcontentandaugmentingexistingcontent.
Video:UsingTechnologytoDierentiatebyContent
Inthisvideo,classroomfootageandinterviewswith
educatorsillustrateavarietyofwaystodierentiateby
contentusingtechnology.

LO CATINGCO NT E NT
Theuseoftheworldwidewebtondinformationisnowsoubiquitousthat
itseasytoforgethowwetaughtorlivedwithoutit.Butitwasntlong

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agothatteachersandtextbooksprovidedthesolesourcesofcontentfor
studentsintheclassroom.Nowtherangeofmaterialimmediatelyavailable
tostudentsisalmostwithoutlimit,andincludesresearchbasedarticlesby
universityprofessors,digitizedbooks,manipulativeimages,archivedradio
programs,scienticvideos,andmuchmore.
Mostteachersalreadyunderstandhowtondrelevantcontentfor
studentsontheinternet.Whatisntalwayssoobviousishowtond
contentthatsupportsthelearninggoalsforalessonwhilemeeting
studentsindividuallearningneeds.Howdoyoundjusttherightpieceof
content,intherightformatandattherightlevel,toreachaparticular
student?Unfortunately,theresnomagicformulathatcananswerthis
questioncorrectlyeverytime.Formativeandsummativeassessment
strategiesarenecessarytogainfeedbackonwhetheracertaintypeof
contentissuccessfulwithaparticularstudent.Buttherearecertainbasic
conceptsthatcanprovideausefulstartingpoint:
StudentswithADHD
Studentswhohaveproblemsattendingtolectureorreadinglengthy
textsbenetwhenverbalandtextualinputcanbesupplementedwith
visualreinforcementbyvideoorimages.Videostreamingsubscription
siteslikeDiscoveryEducationStreamingoerauthenticcontent
producedwiththelearnerinmind.Theseonlinevideodatabasesare
easilysearchableandoerarangeoftopicsandlevels.
Englishlanguagelearners
StudentsforwhomEnglishisnotarstlanguagecanbecome
frustratedwhenpresentedwithinformationthatmeetstheirEnglish
comprehensionlevelbutisfarbelowtheircognitivelevel.These
studentsalsobenetfromsupplementingverbalandwritten
informationwithvideos.DiscoveryEducationvideosincludeclosed
captioning,whichreinforcesthelanguagebyprovidingspokenand
writtenspeechatthesametime,whilesupportingvocabulary
acquisitionwithimages.
Studentswithreadingorprocessingdiculties
Studentswhohavedicultyreadingorprocessingtextsimilarly
benetfromvisualreinforcementforareadingpassage.Supplementing
areadingpassagewithimagesprovidesvaluablecontextthatcan
scaoldthelearnersunderstanding.Beforesharingareadingselection
withstudents,theteachercanidentifytheelementsofthepassagethat
lendthemselvestovisualenhancementandcreatealistofimagesto
enhancecomprehension.ImagedatabaseslikeFlickrand
theWikimediaCommonsprovideeasy,searchableaccesstocountless
images,whichcanbedisplayedinslideshowformatasaprereading
strategyfortheentireclass.Alternately,imagescanbeinsertedintoa
multimediapresentationtobeviewedindividuallyalongsideatext
whilethestudentreads.Ifthetextisavailableelectronically,itmaybe
possibletoinsertboththetextandtheassociatedimageinthe
presentation.

AU GME NT ING CO NT E NT
Justastechnologyoersawaytobringdierentcontenttostudents,italso
providesawaytomakethesamecontentaccessibletostudentsforwhom
thatmightnototherwisebeapossibility.Areadingpassagethatmaynot
meettheneedsofeverystudentinaclassroomcaneasilybemade
accessiblewiththeaidoftechnology.Aswithalldierentiationpractices,
beginbyconsideringtheneedsofthelearner,andletthetechnologyfollow.

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Screenreadingsoftware
Ifthechosentextiswebbased,aninitialstartingpointtosupport
studentswhohavedicultywithreadingistousescreenreading
software.Thiscategoryofsoftwareassistsstudentswithlearning
disabilitiesbyreadingaloudtextfromawebpageordocumentusinga
synthesizedvoice.Insomeinstances,thesoftwarehighlightsthewords
astheyarebeingread,allowingstudentstofollowalongastheyhear
thetext.ThisstrategyisalsousefulforEnglishlanguagelearners,
althoughitsimportanttoensurethatthequalityoftheaudioinput
oerediscomprehensibletothelistener.Screenreadershavesuered
harshcriticismbecausethesyntheticvoicemaynotprovidetheuency
andauthenticityneededbysomelearners.Butinrecentyears,these
voiceshavebecomemorehumanlike.Mostscreenreadersoerafree
trialandsomeofthemoresimpleprogramsareavailableforfree.
Conceptmapping
Sometimesthechallengeposedbythetextisoneofunderstandingand
rememberingrelationships.Theabilitytounderstandthese
connectionscanfrustratethelearner,interferingwithcomprehension
ofthetext.Inanarrativepassagethatcentersaroundcharacter
interaction,studentswithprocessingdicultiesmayhavetrouble
retainingtherelationshipbetweenkeycharacters.Inasocialstudies
classroom,theproblemmaybeoneofgraspinghowkeyeventsrelate
toahistoricalconstruct.InanEnglishlanguageartsclassroom,the
challengemightbeunderstandingandrememberingthe
organizationalstructureofaresearchpaper.
Conceptmapssupportstudentscomprehensionbyidentifyingkey
conceptsandmakingvisibletherelationshipsbetweenthem.18These
visualrepresentationsallowstudentstoreadthesamepassageastheir
peerswithoutthefrustrationcausedbytheinabilitytosynthesize
information.Touseconceptmapsasaprereadingstrategy,teachers
cancreateconceptmapsandgivethemtostudentswithprocessing
issuesordyslexiapriortoreadingatext.Dependingonthelevelofthe
students,theteachermayusethistopreviewthepassagewiththe
wholeclassorindividually.Studentscanalsocreatetheirownconcept
mapsaftercompletingareading.Usedinthiswayasapostreading
activity,conceptmapscanhelpstudentsmorecloselyreviewwhat
theyvereadandcanserveasformativeassessment.
Conceptmapscanbecreatedusingwebbasedapplicationsorstand
alonesoftwareprograms.ToolslikethewebbasedBubbl.usallowthe
usertocreateasimpleconceptmapthatmaybeeitherprintedor
downloadedasanimagele.Standalonesoftware
likeInspirationandKidspirationforyoungerlearners,oerabroader
rangeoffeaturesincludingtheabilitytoinsertimagestorepresentthe
majornodes,andtheabilitytoinserttexttostatetherelationship
betweenthosenodes.Whilethissoftwareisnotfree,atrialversionis
availablefordownload.

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Thisconceptmap,createdusingthefreeprogramBubbl.us,illustrateskeyideasand
relationshipsfromareadingpassageaboutanimalhabitats.Clickontheimagefora
largerversion.

Digitaltextbooks,eBooks,andaudiobooks
Digitaltextbooks,bothonlineandCDbased,oeroptionsfor
accessingthesamecontentatdierentlevelsofcomplexity.Thedigital
formatoersanadvantageovertraditionaltextbooksbecausedigital
publicationscanincorporatetimebasedandinteractivemediadirectly
withinthetext.Forexample,NorthCarolinaHistory:ADigital
TextbookcontainsamapofNorthCarolinaagriculturefrom18602007,
illustratingtheacresoffarmlandbycounty.Bydraggingaslidingbar
underneaththemap,thelearnercanvisuallyseethedecreaseinland
devotedtofarmingovertime.Studentswhoaredyslexicorwhohave
processingissuesbenetfrommultisensoryinputaordedby
textbookfeatureslikethisone.
CDbaseddigitaltextbooksprovidedbytextbookpublishersoera
varietyoffeatures,includingpronunciationguides,texttospeech,and
vocabularysupport,aswellasfeaturesthatallowthereadertochange
theformattingofthetexttoimprovereadability.
Manydigitaltextbooksallowstudentstohearthetext.Thisfeature
supportsstudentswithlearningdisabilitiesandEnglishlanguage
learners,whobenetfromtheabilitytohearandviewthetext
simultaneously.Perhapsoneofthebestsourcesforaudioenhanced
booksofallkindsisthefederallyfundedBookshare.Operatingunder
anexceptiontoU.S.copyrightlaw,Bookshareallowsregisteredusersto
downloadbooks,textbooks,andnewspaperstobeaccessedviatextto
speechreaders.Bookshareisfreelyavailabletoqualifyingschoolsand
students.
CASTUDLBookBuilder
Somelearningsituationsmayrequirefurthercustomizationnot
possibleviaprefabricatedcontent.Inthesesituations,theteacher
mustseektoolsforenhancingtextasopposedtoalreadyenhanced
text.OneofthegemsofthewebistheCASTUDLBookBuilder,afree
digitalbookdatabaseandbookbuilder.Developedandhostedbythe
CenterforAppliedSpecialTechnology(CAST),BookBuilderhelps
educatorscreate,share,publish,andreaddigitalbooksthatsupport
diverselearnersaccordingtotheirindividualneeds,interests,and
skills.Thedatabaseandtoolintegrateanumberoftechnologieslike
screenreadingsoftwaretomakecontentaccessibletostudentswith
learningdisabilities,yetatthesametimeintegratingfunctionalitythat
engagesthereaderthroughtheuseofbuiltinavatarswhopose
questionsandoerideasasthestudentsreads.
Forexample,imagineastudentwhohasdicultyunderstanding
cellularmitosis.Theteachermaywritehisorherownexplanationof
theprocess,includingillustrations,anduploadthemintoabookon

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theBookBuildersite.Inaddition,theprogramincludesbuiltin
avatars,uptothreeperbook,thatappearunderneaththebookas
icons.Theteachermayelecttousethemtooeradditioncommentary
onapageortopostcomprehensionquestionsforthereader.Inthis
example,anavatarmightaskatacertainpoint,Whocaresabout
cellularmitosis?Whyisitimportant?Justlikethetextofthebook,
thetextoftheavatarscanalsobereadtothestudent.
MicrosoftWord
Oneoftheeasiestdierentiationtoolsforareadingpassageisa
softwareprogramthatmostteachershavereadilyathandMicrosoft
Word.Smallerreadingpassages,copiedandpastedintoMicrosoft
Word,canbeeasilyenhancedtoaidcomprehensionusingstandard
formattingfeatureswithintheprogram.Usingthehighlightingfeature
canhelpstudentsfocusonparticularaspectsofatextlikepartsof
speech,literarydevices,orkeyelementsofaparagraphorresearch
paper.Teacherscanalsousethecommentfeaturetoprovide
scaoldingorcontextforastudentwhoneedshelpwithareading
passage.Commentsallowausertoinsertacalloutboxelaboratingon
adicultvocabularyword,idiomaticexpression,orcomplicatedidea.
Forexample,imagineanEnglishlanguagelearnerreadingapassage
aboutsummervacationactivities.Onesectionofthereadingmentions
afamilythatspendsthedayatawaterpark,enjoyingawaterslide.
Sincetheconceptofawaterparkandawaterslidearesomewhat
culturallybound,thementionofthisactivitymightimpede
comprehensionfortheESLstudent.Bycreatingacommentassociated
withtheterm,thestudentreceivessupportatthepointatwhichitis
needed.Thisstrategyallowsthestudenttocontinuereadingwith
relativelylittledisruption.

Dierentiatingbyprocess
Aswithdierentiationbycontent,usingtechnologytodierentiateby
processrequiresrstattendingtothestudentdependentdimensionof
dierentiation.Focusingonstudentreadiness,studentinterest,andstudent
learningproleyieldseectivedierentiationcenteredonlearnersneeds.
Video:UsingTechnologytoDierentiatebyProcess
Inthisvideo,classroomfootageandinterviewswith
educatorsillustrateavarietyofwaystodierentiateby
processusingtechnology.

F LE XIBLE GROU P IN G
Onewaytoattendtothosestudentdependentvariablesistoimplement
exiblegrouping.Inexiblegrouping,studentsareorganizedingroups
accordingtooneofthethreevariablesability/readinessgrouping,
interestgrouping,orgroupingbylearningprole.Thestrategyistermed
exiblebecausestudentsmaybegroupeddierentlyaccordingtothe
activityorlearningobjective,andbecausestudentscanmovefromone
grouptoanother.
Ateachermightdrawonaninitiallearninginventorytogroupby
learningprole,identifyingstudentswhohavesimilarpreferenceslike
learningthroughwriting,learningbydiscussing,orlearningbycreating
something.Groupingbyinterestwouldorganizestudentsbasedontheir
preferencewhengivenachoicelikeresearchingdierentcareersthatuse
biology.Groupingbyabilityorreadinesswouldorganizestudentsaccording

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totheirbackgroundknowledgeofthesubjectortheirabilitytoproceed
throughtheinformationatacertainpace.
Thestrategyallowsteacherstosimplifytheirplanningbypreparingfor
two,three,orfourbasicgroups.Andbecausethegroupsareexible
studentsdontfeelpigeonholedintoonenicheintheclassroom.

P ROCE SSIN GAND RE CO RD IN GIN F ORMAT IO N

Technologycanbeusedtosupporthoweachstudentworkstointegrate
newinformation,eitheraloneorinexiblegroups.Astudentwitha
learningdisabilitylikedysgraphiamayfeelfrustratedthatshecannoteasily
takenotesorrenderresponsestoassignedquestionsbecauseofher
dicultywithwriting.Usingalaptoporportablewordprocessorcan
alleviatethatfrustration,freeingthestudenttorendernotesoranswersby
keyboarding.
Technologycansimilarlysupportstudentswhoarediagnosedwith
dyscalculia,alearningdisabilityrelatedtomathematics.Theuseofahand
heldcalculatorcanhelpstudentswhohavedicultywritingnumbersin
thepropersequence.Forstudentswithoutaccesstohandhelddevices,
manyonlinecalculatorsoerthesamefunctionality.Alternatively,students
withdyscalculiacanusespreadsheetprogramslikeMicrosoftExcel,which
havebuiltinformattingoptionstohelpstudentsorganizeandseedata.The
abilitytocolorcodecolumnsorrowsofdata,forexample,canhelpa
studentwhoneedssupporttodistinguishnumbers.
MicrosoftWordalsooersafreeMathematicsAddinthatcanbeused
tocreategraphsandsolveequationswithinthewordprocessor.Theaddin
letsstudentschoosemathematicalsymbolsfromaspecializedmenuand
insertthemontothepage.Thislevelofscaoldingcanmakeadierence
whenstudentsarefacedwithablankpageandarenotsurewheretobegin.
Theavailabilityofmathematicalsymbolsaschoicesfromamenucreatesa
moreequitablesituationforthesestudents.

MANIP U LATING INF ORMATION

Forstudentswithprocessingdicultiesorkinestheticlearners,virtual
manipulativescanbeanotherpowerfulwaytolearnmath.Crawfordand
Brownnotethatvirtualmanipulativescreateaconceptualunderstanding
ofmathematicaltheoriesbeyondthemereformulaicmodelsoftraditional
mathematicalcoursework.19TheNationalLibraryofVirtualManipulatives,
supportedbytheNationalScienceFoundation,isadatabaseoffreely
accessiblemanipulativesandtutorialsforK12mathematics.Oneexample
allowsstudentstomanipulatethevariablesinalinearequationusinga
webbasedgraphicofabalancebeam.Thetoolhelpsstudentsvisually
understandtheconceptofbalancinganequation.Studentswholearnby
doingorbytouchingthingscangaintremendousinsightsinto
mathematicalconceptsbyusingvirtualmanipulatives.

E XTE ND INGLE A RN IN GT IME

(W ITHO U TE XT E N D IN GYOU RW ORK D AY )
Outsideoftheclassroom,studentswithlearningdisabilitiesbenetfrom
opportunitiestoaccessonlinetoolsandtutorialsthatenhancetheir
integrationofnewinformation.Extendingaccesstoclasscontentbeyond
theactualinstructionalperiodcanmakeabigdierenceforstudentswho
requireadditionalprocessingtime.Theabilitytorepeatedlyreviewmaterial
likevideotutorials,demonstrations,andarchivedlecturerecordingsoutside
ofclasscanaidstudentscomprehensionandprovideinvaluableaccessto
instructionalmaterialsfortheirtutorsorparents.

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OnlinecourseplatformslikeMoodleandBlackboardprovidea
structureforcontent,allowingteacherstoorganizematerialsinawayto
makethemeasilyaccessibletostudents.Teacherswhodonothaveaccessto
alearningmanagementthroughtheirschoolscancreatetheirownclass
websitesusinganyofanumberoffreetools,includingwikisandtemplate
drivenwebsitecreatorslikeGoogleSitesandWeebly.(Theprocessof
creatingaclasswebsiteisbeyondthescopeofthisarticle,butisaddressed
inthearticleKeepParentsintheLoopwithaClassWebsite.)
Teacherscanalsousewebbasedtoolsandscreencaptureprogramsto
createarchivedpresentationsthatcombineimages,video,andvoiceover
narration.Someprogramsalsofeaturetheabilitytoinsertscreenbased
annotationsintheformofcalloutstodrawattentiontoaparticularelement
visibleonthescreen.
Ascienceteachermightcreateaseriesofmultimediaslidestoillustrate
alaboratorysetupforstudentswhohavedicultywithtask
dierentiation,orbreakingaprojectdownintoitscomponentelements.
Then,usingascreencapturetoollikeTechSmithsJing,theteachercould
developatutorial,recordinghisorhervoicetolayoverthevisuals.Theend
resultisastandaloneresourcethatallowsthestudenttoviewitathisor
herownpace,asmanytimesasneededtounderstandthecontent.
Video:Screencapturedemonstrationofageometric
proof
Inthisscreencapturevideo,ahighschoolmathteacher
demonstratestheprocessofprovingthataquadrilateralisa
parallelogram.ThevideowasrecordedusingaMobidevice.
Mostinteractivewhiteboardsandassociatedtableshavebuiltincapture
software,makingitpossibletocreateorrecreateaclassdemonstrationor
tutorialtobeviewedatalatertime.Featureslikethesehelpteacherssave
timeinteachingandplanningsincethearchivedpresentation,includingall
thecomponentimages,demonstrations,anddiscussion,canbeused
immediatelyforstudentswhoneedtoreviewthematerials.

Dierentiatingbyproduct
Studentdemonstrationsoflearningreectwhotheyareasindividuals,who
theyareascreators,andwhotheyareaslearners.Dierentiatingby
productmeansoeringoptionsforhowstudentswillexpresstheir
understandingofthetargetlearninggoalsandobjectives.Allowingstudents
tochoosefromseveraloptionsempowersthemandincreasestheir
motivationandengagement.Andbecausenumerousstudieshaveshowna
positivecorrelationbetweenstudentengagement,appropriateacademic
activities,andhighachievement,dierentiatingbyproductoftentranslates
toimprovedstudentachievement.20
Therangeoftechnologiesavailableforstudentstocreateandstore
productsisvastandconstantlyincreasing.JohnassenandReevesconsider
thesetechnologiescognitivetoolsbecausetheyenhancethecognitive
powersofhumanbeingsduringthinking,problemsolving,and
learning.21Theoptionsandexibilityprovidedbythesecognitivetoolsoer
supportforarangeoflearningdisabilities.Aswithallotheraspectsof
dierentiation,thekeytosuccessfullyharnessingtheaordancesofthese
technologiesliesinusingtheTPACKmodelstartwiththelearninggoals
andmovethroughthesteps,selectingthetechnologyasthelaststep.
Eectiveselectionoftechnologyshouldalsobedonewithattentionto
studentsreadiness,interest,andlearningprole.Foreverylearning

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objectiveandstudentneed,theresanappropriatetoolthatcanplayto
studentsstrengthswhileengagingandmotivatingthem.
Video:UsingTechnologytoDierentiatebyProduct
Inthisvideo,classroomfootageandinterviewswith
educatorsillustrateavarietyofwaystodierentiateby
productusingtechnology.

BLOG S, W IKIS, AN D OT HE RW RIT IN GP LAT F ORMS

Forstudentswhodowellwithwrittenproducts,onlinetextplatformslike
blogsandwikiscanincreasemotivationbyoeringthepromiseofan
attractiveproductwitharealaudience.Somebloggingsitesoerteachers
theabilitytocreateaclassroombloglinkedtoindividualstudentblogs.For
example,theLandmarkProjectsClassBlogmeisterisfreetoteachersand
providesasecureenvironmentwherestudentscansafelyshareand
commentontheworkoftheirpeers.
Beforestudentspublishtheirwrittenworkonanonlineplatform,they
shouldrstcomposetheworkusingwordprocessingsoftwarelike
MicrosoftWord.Builtinfeaturesinthesoftwarecansupportstudentswho
havedicultywithwrittenlanguageandprocessing:
Spellcheckhelpsstudentswithdysgraphiaandotherlearning
disabilitiesalthoughitsimportanttoacquaintstudentswiththe
pitfallsofrelyingonthisfeature.Theautocorrectfeaturecanbe
enabledordisableddependingonstudentsstrengthsandneeds.
Grammarcheckhelpsstudentsidentifyawkwardgrammatical
constructionslikepassivesentences.
Texttospeechaddinssupportauditoryproongbeforestudents
submittheirwork.NumerousfreetexttospeechaddinsforMicrosoft
Wordareavailable.

D E MO NST RAT ING U ND E RSTAN D IN GT HRO U G H

MU LT IME D IA
Studentswhostruggletoorganizetheirthoughtsandstudentswhohave
dyslexiaareoftenparalyzedbyanxietywhentheyreassignedwrittenwork.
Whenwrittenworkisanecessity(andinmanycases,itis),appropriate
supportsshouldbeprovided.Butinsomesituations,theappropriateuseof
multimediaproductseithertosupplementorreplacewritten
assignmentscanbeusedtofreestudentswhoseexpressionisoften
impededbytheirlearningdisabilities.Freewebbasedmultimediatools
providestudentswithoptionsthatrespecttheirindividualstrengthsand
weaknesses:
Digitalposters
Digitalposterdisplays,likethosecreatedusingGlogsterEDU,
incorporatemediaelementslikeimages,videos,audiorecordings,and
drawingswithtext.Giftedstudentsandstudentswhothriveoncreative
freedomndengagementandchallengeinsuchaformat,andstudents
withlearningdisabilitiesndsupportintheoptionsforexpression.For
athoroughdiscussionofusingdigitalpostersintheclassroom,seethe
articleDigitalPosters:CreatingwithanOnlineCanvas.
VoiceThread
Voicethreadisanonlineplatformwherestudentscanrespondtoa
topicusingtext,audio,video,orimages.Thevarietyofoptionsmakes
itpossibleforstudentswithlearningdisabilitiestocontributetothe
presentationusingthemethodthatworksbestforthem.Theoptionto

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recordanoralresponse,ratherthandeliveringitliveinclass,benets
studentswhoneedtimetocomposetheirthoughts,aswellasstudents
whohavespeechdisorderslikestuttering.Inthisthirdgrade
exampleofapicturebookofpoetry,studentshavecommentedwith
bothtextandaudio.(SeethearticleUsingVoiceThreadto
CommunicateandCollaborateforathoroughexplanationonhowto
useVoiceThreadwithstudents.)
Digitalstorytelling
Digitalstorytellingprojects,inwhichstudentstellctionalortrue
stories,areanotherexampleofdierentiatingproductbystudent
interest:Eachlearnerdrawsonhisorherbackgroundorinterestto
providethecontentfortheproduct.Digitalstoriescanbecreatedina
rangeofformats,includingpureaudio,imageslideshowswithstatic
text,imageslideshowswithvoiceovers,andpurevideo.Theoptions
thatprioritizeaudioovertextbenetstudentswhohavedicultywith
writing.TheUniversityofHoustonoersausefulintroductiontousing
digitalstorytellingintheclassroom.
Free,downloadableaudioeditingsoftwarelikeAudacitycanbeusedto
createandeditdigitalstories.Studentswhoneedsupportinmapping
outthecharacters,setting,events,andsequenceoftheirstoriescanuse
conceptmappingsoftwaretoorganizetheirthoughts.

E VALU AT ING S T U D E NTPRO D U CT S

Allstudentsneedthesupportofclearprojectguidelinesinorderto
succeed.Butstudentswithspecialneedsmayneedadditionalsupportto
stayontaskandcompleteeachstepincompletingaproject.Creating
separaterubricsforstudentswhohavedierentskillsetscanprovidethe
appropriatelevelofsupportforthosestudents.
Forexample,anoralpresentationrubricmightincludecriterialike,
Sharemultipledraftswithteacher,toremindstudentswith
organizational/proceduralissuesoftheimportanceofviewingthenal
presentationasaseriesoftasks.WebbasedtoolslikeRubistar,afreerubric
generator,canhelpteacherseasilycreateamasterrubricandthenadaptit
forstudentswithspecialneeds.
Alternatively,projectbasedlearningchecklistscanhelpstudentswho
havedicultyorganizingtheirwork.Checklistsbreakdownprojectsinto
smallcomponentpartstomakeiteasyforstudentstoseethestepstoward
completionandtheorderinwhichthosestepsshouldoccur.Consistentuse
ofthesechecklistscanscaoldstudentstowardtheirownunderstandingof
howtoorganizetasks.TeacherscanusetheonlinePBLChecklisttoolfrom
4teachers.orgorcreatetheirownusingawordprocessor.

Dierentiatingbyenvironment
Theimportanceofthefourthelementofteacherdependentdierentiation,
manipulatingtheenvironmenttosupportalllearners,hasbeenestablished
innumerousstudies.22Theenvironmentreferstothephysicalspacewhere
learningtakesplaceandalltheelementswithinthatspacethathavean
impactonstudentlearning.Whileitisimportanttoknowstudents
backgroundsandneedsinordertoeectivelyteachthem,wemustalso
attendtohowstudentslearnbestandhowenvironmentalfactorsimpact
theirabilitytolearnoptimally.
Obviously,someelementsoftheenvironmentcannotbemanipulated.
Wheredesksareboltedtotheoororthetemperatureiscontrolled
elsewhere,teachersfacelimitationsonhowmuchoftheenvironmentthey

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caninuence.Butevenintherealmoftheclassroomenvironment,
technologycansupportdierentiation.
Video:UsingTechnologytoDierentiatebyLearning
Environment
Inthisvideo,classroomfootageandinterviewswith
educatorsillustrateavarietyofwaystodierentiateby
environmentusingtechnology.

CO NT ROLLE D CHAOS
Dierentiatedclassroomsarenotquietplacesoflearning.Studentsmove
throughouttheroomastheycollaboratewithclassmates.Tablediscussions
occuronaregularbasis.Studentslistento(andcreate)audiorecordings,
andtexttospeechdevicessoundo,makingreadingpassagesaccessibleto
allstudents.Whilethismaysoundlikeasymphonyoflearningtoateacher,
astudentwithprocessingissuesmightexperienceitasanoverwhelming
cacophony.
Fortunately,wheretechnologyampliesthelearningnoiseofa
classroom,italsoprovidessolutionsforkeepingthatnoiseundercontrol.
Individualstudentheadsetsareacriticalcomponentofadierentiated
classroom,allowingstudentstoaccessaudioandvideoatanytimewithout
disturbingtheirpeers.Eectivedierentiationbyenvironmentalsorequires
carefulplanningsothatsomestudentsworkindividuallyusingheadsets
whileothersworkingroups.Thenoiseofstudentscollaborativegroups
doesntdistractstudentswhoareusingheadsetstoaccessaudiocontent,
andviceversa.
Inschoolsthathaveadoptedonetooneinitiatives,inwhicheach
studenthasaccesstoalaptop,studentshavetheirowndierentiationina
box.Whileeachstudenthasthesametools,thosetoolscanbe
manipulatedinwaysthatserveindividualneeds.Aonetooneenvironment
simpliesotheraspectsofdierentiation,becausestudentshaveready
accesstodierentiatedcontent,toolsfordierentiatedlearningprocesses,
andresourcesforcreatingdierentiatedproducts.Teacherswhodonthave
thebenetofaonetooneenvironmentcanusethesameprinciplesof
dierentiation,butneedtoplanmorecarefullytodistributeresources
equitablyandmakeeectiveuseoftheschoolsmediacenter.

T HE SE NSO RY E XPE RIE NCE

Sometimesthestandardtoolsweuseforteachingandlearningdonotmeet
theneedsofstudentswhoareaectedbyenvironmentalfactorsbeyond
anyonescontrol.Forexample,somestudentshavesensoryaversionor
motorskillsissuesassociatedwithusingcommonclassroomtoolslikepen
andpaper.Whilethesestudentsareperfectlycapableofcompletingthe
workandmayevenbeidentiedasgifted,thephysicalsensationand
auditoryimpactofputtingpentopaperinterfereswiththeirabilityto
participateinclassroomactivities.Thesestudentsmayndthatusingthe
computerenablesthemtodemonstratelearningwhilenavigatingaround
dicultorunpleasantsensoryexperiences.

CU LTU RA LLY INCLU SIV E CLA SS RO OMS

Environmentaldierentiationalsoincludesmakingtheenvironment
conducivetolearningforstudentsfromavarietyofculturesand
backgrounds.23Aculturallyinclusiveclassroomenvironmentincludesready
accesstomaterialsthatprovidearichandglobalperspectiveontheworld
andallowseachpersontofeelvaluedasaresultofhisorherbackground.
Classroomdisplaysprovideavaluableavenueforcreatingsuchan

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environment.InaclassroomthatincludesLatinostudents,forexample,a
displayforNationalScienceMonthshouldincludethecontributionsof
Latinoscientists.Theeaseofndinginformationonthewebmakes
creatingsuchadisplayfarlesstimeconsumingthaninthepast.Teachers
canalsousetechnologyaidedcommunicationlikeclasswebsitesorwikisto
learnfromstudentsabouttheircultures.Theabilitytointegratestudents
culturesandexperiencesintotheclassroomvalidateswhotheyareas
learners.

Breakingdownthebarriers
Theresnodoubtthateectivelydierentiatinginstructionpresents
challengestoeventhemostexperiencedteacher.Whiletechnologycannot
eliminateeveryobstacle,itcanmakedierentiationeasierforteachersand
moreengagingforstudents.Teacherswhoinvestthetimeandeortto
integratetechnologyintotheirdierentiationpracticecanreapenormous
benetsinclassroommanagement,studentengagement,andthepacingof
instruction.
Successfultechnologyintegration,however,reliesonintelligent
planning.Teachersmustunderstandthosevariablestheycannotcontrol
studentsreadiness,interest,andlearningprole.Planningshouldbeginby
acknowledgingthosevariablesandunderstandingthelearninggoals.The
selectionoftechnologyfollowsasanaturalresult,asteachersselect
appropriatetoolsformanipulatingthosevariablestheycancontrol
content,process,product,andenvironment.Dierentiatedinstruction
designedwiththeseprinciplesinmindensuresclassroomsthatarerich
centersoflearningforallstudents.
Next:Usingknowledgeofstudentcognitiontodierentiateinstruction

Specialthankstothefollowingeducators,whogavetheirtimeandexpertiseinthevideosfor
thisarticle:
JeremyCox,HighSchoolMathTeacher,MooresvilleHighSchool
BeckyGoddard,SixthGradeTeacher,MooresvilleIntermediateSchool
LeilaMoog,Librarian,ApexHighSchool
Dr.AlenaTreat,AcademicallyIntellectuallyGiftedResourceTeacher(AIGTeacher),
LuinRoadYearRoundMiddleSchool
ChristinaZack,HighSchoolMathTeacher,ApexHighSchool

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