Articles
Leveraging Technology to Differentiate Instruction: Creating Rich Curricula for ALL Students (July 15-16, 2013)
Today’s technologies allow teachers to create flexible, individualized, curricula that can scaffold as well as enrich. In this session, we will explore how various technologies can facilitate differentiation, support diverse learners, and create rich learning environments that meet the needs of all students, from special needs to gifted, in the classroom.
Using the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework to guide our discussion, we will work through a series of case studies to examine how technology can be leveraged in order to meet the needs of a range of students. During this phase of the workshop, participants will have hands-on time exploring a series of Web 2.0 tools and iPad apps to support learning. On the second day, participants will apply the framework and newly acquired tool set to their own classrooms, leaving with concrete strategies and plans to apply in the coming school year.
By the end of the workshop, we will:
- Identify key skills for students to possess in order to leverage technology effectively to support their own learning.
- Investigate the Universal Access features on a variety of devices (Mac, PC, iPad, & other mobile devices) such as text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and search features to support all students.
- Explore a variety of web-based tools and apps to support communication, collaboration, organization, and alternative assessment.
- Collaborate to create and share a new unit, lesson, or project plan that incorporates technology and addresses a range of learning needs.
- Collect online resources to support further development of innovative, accessible curriculum
Who Should Attend: K-12 classroom teachers, reading specialists, curriculum coordinators, instructional technology specialists, special education instructors, and student support specialists.
Required Equipment
EdTechTeacher does not provide equipment for the workshop. Participants should bring a Mac Book, Windows Laptop, or Chromebook with wireless capability, as well as iPads, tablets, or other mobile devices that you may have available to use with your students. We strongly recommend that you update all apps before attending the workshop. A list of recommended apps and tools will be emailed to you in advance of the workshop. WiFi will be available.
Schedule
We will begin promptly at 8:30 am, and strongly recommend arriving 20-30 minutes early on the first day in order to get set up. Coffee and snacks will be available each morning. Lunch options are within walking distance.
- 8:30 am - 12:00 pm - Class
- 12:00 pm - 1:00pm - Lunch
- 1:00 pm - 3:30 pm - Class
Instructors
Tracy Sockalosky is an Instructional Technology Specialist in the Natick Public Schools.
Prior to working in Natick, she spent ten years working at the Carroll School in Lincoln,
MA, a school for students with language-based learning disabilities. At Carroll Tracy
served as the head of educational technology, overseeing the integration of technology
into the classroom and curriculum, as well as an 8th grade history teacher. While
earning her Masters in Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education in the
Mind, Brain & Education program in 2006, Tracy became intrigued with the possibility
technology presented students and teachers in terms of differentiating instruction and
curriculum access. Tracy is on the organizing team for EdCamp Boston and EdCamp
BLC, as well as a founding member of PLAYdate Boston. Tracy holds MA teacher
certification in History, Moderate Special Needs and Instructional Technology. She is
Orton-Gillingham and Project Read trained. Tracy earned her Bachelors in Art in both
History and History of Art from the University of Michigan, and is an avid Wolverine fan.
Go Blue!
Beth Holland joined the EdTechTeacher team in July 2011 to expand the online course offerings, instruct at workshops, and bring expertise in elementary education as well as working with assistive technologies to the team. In addition to working with participants, Beth has also increased the amount of content in our Teaching with Technology section of the web site - including the new iPad section. She has presented at the 2011 Global Education Conference, the EdTechTeacher Winter Conference, the Massachusetts Assistive Technology Expo, the MassCUE Technology Conference, Edscape, and the EdTechTeacher iPad Summit. Bringing over 12 years of education experience, she most recently served as the Director of Academic Technology at St. Michael's Country Day School in Newport, Rhode Island. During her tenure at St. Michael's, she implemented professional development programs to encourage faculty members to integrate technology into their elementary and middle school curricula, designed interdisciplinary, technology-rich projects, taught students in grades 2-8 during technology classes, coordinated with the Student Services Director to facilitate the integration of assistive technologies to support students, and helped to design their iPad pilot program. Before St. Michael's, Beth worked as a researcher at the Naval War College in the Innovation Lab where she designed knowledge management plans to support blended communication environments and researched the potential to create an online environment to streamline training and education which she presented at I/ITSEC. She has also taught 9th grade English at the Rocky HIll School in East Greenwich, RI, and led adventure learning programs for ActionQuest in the Caribbean and Polynesia. Beth holds an Ed.M. in Technology, Innovation, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a B.S. in Communications from Northwestern University.
Register & Pay Online
The cost of this workshop is $595. Please note that our Eventbrite registration system uses PayPal as a payment gateway.
You do not need a PayPal account in order to pay online.
Register & Pay by Check or Purchase Order
The cost of this workshop is $595. To pay by check or purchase order, please send your completed registration form and payment to Ileen Matthews at ileen@edtechteacher.org or 866-314-8214 (fax).
Your registration is not complete without both payment and a completed form.
Checks can then be mailed to:
EdTechTeacher
Attention: Ileen Matthews
41 Kinsley Lane
Mendon, MA 01756
Please note: Space in our workshops is limited and they have sold-out in recent years. Spots are guaranteed on a first-paid, first-served basis, so please expedite payment as soon as possible.
Cancellation Policy
Requests for cancellation must be submitted in writing to Ileen Matthews at ileen@edtechteacher.org. If you have to cancel, we will issue a refund (minus a $25 processing fee) until 21 days before your workshop. After that date, no refunds will be given.
Waiting List Policy
If the workshop is full, we'll put you on the waiting list, and let you know if a spot becomes available.
Professional Development Credits
We have received approval from Framingham State University (Massachusetts) to award 1 (one) graduate credit to participants at a cost of $75. To receive graduate credit participants must be in attendance for all onsite instruction and complete all assigned work. Once registered, participants will receive additional graduate credit details.
We can also award PDPs (Massachusetts) for attendance.
Directions & Travel
The workshops will be held in classrooms leased from Harvard Law School in Cambridge, MA - minutes from downtown Boston and near Logan Airport. You can reach the workshops by car or public transportation. It is a short walk from the Harvard Square T Stop (the subway), as well as along bus routes. The MBTA website has schedules and details.
If you have not experienced driving in Boston, know that it can be quite a challenge. Parking is limited and expensive - plan on approximately $27 per day in parking around Harvard.
Please visit our Directions & Parking page for more details.
We do also have a list of recommended accommodations in Cambridge.
Questions
If you have any questions, please contact us or call (888) 377-9518.
