The Differentiation Station social network has provided a good basis for something I would like to see in my own school/district. We spend so much time in professional development that seems to be professional development in name only. It would be nice to have an online forum that colleagues and I could use to share ideas. This would eliminate the need to meet in person (a system that seems to only breed gossip and procrastination) and encourage the use of technolgy, which would be a plus.
One of the daunting things about moving my classroom towards UDL and DI is that it is largely uncharted territory. It is nice to have a resource to go to where others are going through the same thing. Even more helpful is that I do not have to spend a lot of time looking for resources. I can see what people have already used and what they thought of it. I think this sort of educational community is the future of teaching, and I feel I got more value out of it than in any meeting I have had so far this year.
In the past, I have taken "technology integration" to mean that students will be working more with technology. Essentially that is true, but I realized that in many cases they were working with technology simply to work with technology. There was no basis for students working with a particular tool other than their own personal preference. While interest is part of differentiation, it definitely is not the only part.
In the immediate future, I would like to place more emphasis on customizing technology instruction for each student. It was really helpful to learn about UDL as the basis for differentiation. This helps me see student strengths instead of weaknesses. I plan on using surveys to gauge student interest and ability levels to begin with and proceeding from there. It is a simple first step towards UDL/DI but it is one that I have skipped in the past, believing I would be able to tell what was best for the students just by knowing them. That has worked in some cases, but surveys will help me refine the practice.
