It is with great excitement that I make this post about what happened in Learning Support today. It was a combination of differentiation with web2 tools and what I saw as a result was high engagement of the learner!
How did I do it?
I set up both a Voicethread and a Wiki for each of the boys in my group. Understanding that 3 of the boys are reading at the same level, hence reading the same book and one of the boys is reading at a lower level, hence an easier text. Each boy was able to listen to the text and then complete the task that I had created for them on their own wiki. One child who, if given pen and paper, would never have cared about spelling was asking me how to spell each of the unknown words that he wanted to write and then double checking those words he did know but had spelt incorrectly! The boy who reads at a lower level multi tasked in that he listened to the story, returned to the wiki, identified words from the story to complete the task in the wiki, returned to the voicethread to listen again.
At one stage I stood there thinking "OK now what do I do?" !!!
What were the drawbacks of the lesson?
It took a bit of setting up (the voicethread, the Wiki) but really probably no more than would have been given to finding a task out of a text book. It took time to set the computers up and to help the boys navigate the sites - probably about 15mins. But now that they know how to do it next time should be easier.
Does this mean that I would do this type of lesson all of the time?
No I don't think it would suit every lesson and the variety of what is done is just as important.
How does this fit with differentiation?
Now that is easy to answer. Every boy worked at his own pace and was able to complete the work at the level of which he was capable of. I was able to clearly see the responses and the differences between them. It gave me a good indication of what each boy was capable of and how I could further adapt tasks for them in the future.
I'd love to share this learning at one of our meetings! - TMS
3 comments:
Toni, I saw how engaged the boys were...& how you were then able to stand back & 'leave them to it!'. This was a wonderful activity that demonstrated the direct links between using ICT both as a motivator and effective tool for literacy learning. Congratulations on a very successful learning experience (both for the students & for us who will learn from this example)
I got to see this first hand... and the engagement! Well done Toni you are thinking of ways to use the tools of ICT to enhance Literacy outcomes
Toni,
I also am amazed at how all our students are embracing technology and are so engaged by it. Now that we know we don't need a microphone to record that should reduce the setting up time. I find the starfall reading site wonderful for the little ones - so colourful and so engaging. Now that I have had a tutorial from Sarah - I am going to give audacity ago too. I can't believe I am saying this but I think all these tools are super!!! yes Fran you have convinced me!!!
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