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ALA (American Library Association) Best Digital Tools for Teaching and Learning 

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ALA (American Library Association) Best Digital Tools for Teaching and Learning 

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The application for this award is currently closed. The next award cycle will open on September 1, 2024, and will close on February 1, 2025.

Overview

AASL's Best Digital Tools are recognized for fostering qualities of:

Innovation/Creativity

Active Participation

Collaboration

User-Friendly

Encourages Exploration

Information/Reference

Eligibility

Nominations may be submitted by developers, school librarians, or the general public. For a tool to qualify as "digital," it must be accessible remotely (website, app, etc.).

NEW - Tools that have been recognized previously may be submitted for repeat recognition. For tools that were recognized within three years or less (2020, 2021, or 2022) the committee will consider tools that demonstrate progress, improvements, or changes since the previous recognition. Progress is considered both in terms of new features or tools, but also for improvements in usability and accessibility.

Tools recognized prior to 2020 may be submitted for consideration without the need to demonstrate progress over time.

Preparation for Application

Incomplete applications will not reviewed. Please prepare the following information prior to submitting:

If your tool has received the Best Digital Tools recognition in the past three years (see lists below) you must submit any improvements, changes, or progress to the tool for consideration.

Committee members must receive full access to your tool including any features that are behind paywalls. Access must remain available through April 1.

If your tool has a pricing structure that is not available for public viewing an example of pricing must be included.

Download copy of application
* Please note: This downloadable version is for informational purposes only. All nominations must be submitted online, via the Apply Now button that will appear at the top of the page when the next award season opens in early September.

Questions

Allison Cline
Deputy Executive Director

Write the World
A free online global community where teens write, review, and share. A non-profit dedicated to developing teens' writing and critical thinking skills and equipping them with the confidence and competence to change the world, one word at a time. Privacy Policy. Grades 7-12

ChessKid.com
ChessKid.com is the scholastic extension of Chess.com, the #1 online chess site, and serves more than 3 million kids around the globe with lessons offered in English, Spanish, French, Korean and other languages. ChessKid is working to introduce chess education to as many students as possible worldwide and we pride ourselves as being the safest place for kids to learn and play chess in and out of the school. Media Specialists use ChessKid.com in their centers to help students enhance their creativity, improve their power of concentration, develop and expand critical thinking skills, boost memory and retention, and achieve superior academic performance. Find out if your school is eligible for FREE ChessKid accounts through our annual grant program at ChessKid.com. Privacy Policy Grades: K-12

The Choices Program
The Choices Program, based at Brown University, creates engaging digital educational resources and makes innovative scholarship accessible to diverse classrooms. Choices curriculum empowers students to understand the relationship between history and current issues while developing the analytical skills to become thoughtful global citizens. Choices curriculum resources tell an inclusive, responsible history, while also encouraging students to challenge and grapple with this history in the ways that historians do. Choices provides educators with high-quality, digital curriculum content that is used in all levels of high school classrooms as well as many middle schools and introductory level college courses. Choices currently offers curricula for U.S. History, World History, Current Issues, and Geography, as well as many electives. "Teaching with the News" from the Choices Program is a series of free online lesson plans and resource guides that connect classrooms to current events in the news. The Choices Program also offers a free collection of more than 1,700 short educational videos. Privacy Policy Grades: 6-12

iVOX
iVOX is a storytelling app that not only gives young readers the immersive technology they have come to expect from hours of video gaming, but which has been proven to support literacy development. Students interact with the app, allowing them to view the story from many angles and in some cases bring up further information. The story is read aloud for them as the words are highlighted at the bottom of the screen - a multi-modal approach that has been proven to aid in literacy development. Privacy Policy Grades: PreK-4
Historical List (2009-2021)

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Best Digital Tools for Teaching & Learning

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Newsela - allows students to read about the same topic at different reading levels

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Newsela - allows students to read about the same topic at different reading levels

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It's time to improve literacy skills during social studies instruction and ensure that readers of all abilities have what they need to access grade-level social studies concepts.

Join us on Thursday, December 7 for a look at scaffolded materials that provide extra literacy support while building key social studies concepts and skills.

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Newsela | Content and assessment platform

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Content Aligned To National & State Standard, Flexible To Support Relevant Curriculum. Find the Perfect Piece Of Content For Lessons. Go beyond the book.

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Edpuzzle - edit informational videos with your narration, ask questions, track student progress and assess comprehension!

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Edpuzzle - edit informational videos with your narration, ask questions, track student progress and assess comprehension!

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Easily create beautiful interactive video lessons for your students you can integrate right into your LMS. Track students' progress with hassle-free analytics as you flip your classroom!

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Great article and resources with contributions from several educational specialists! 

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Great article and resources with contributions from several educational specialists! 

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Education Week - Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo

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The new question-of-the-week is:
What are ways technology can assist teachers apply differentiated instruction?
Differentiating instruction is a constant challenge to teachers. Can using tech help?

This two-part series will explore answers to that question.

Today, Dr. Nancy Sulla, Anne Jenks, Ge-Anne Bolhuis, Sarah Shartzer, Daniel L. Schwartz, Jessia M. Tsang, and Kristen P. Blair share their responses. You can listen to a 10-minute conversation I had with Nancy, Anne, and Ge-Anne on my BAM! Radio Show. You can also find a list of, and links to, previous shows here. By the way, you can also now listen to the show on Google Play and Stitcher, in addition to iTunes.

You can read my suggestions on this topic at an ASCD Educational Leadership article I wrote last year, Student Engagement: Key To Personalized Learning.

You might also be interested in previous columns appearing here on Differentiating Instruction.

Response From Anne Jenks
Anne Jenks is an educator with twenty-six years experience in teaching and school administration. She was the 2015 CUE Site Leader of the Year and the 2013 ACSA Region 13 Elementary School Principal of the Year. Currently, she is working as a consultant with an emphasis on edtech integration and STEM:
Teachers today have a wide variety of needs to meet in their classrooms. Students may speak different languages, have different educational levels from special education to gifted, or they may have a variety of social and emotional challenges to overcome. Technology, used correctly, can help mitigate these circumstances through differentiation and provide the opportunity for every student to access a quality education. Students who are learning English can benefit from using technology to present information. Frequently students who are not fluent in English are hesitant to make oral presentations in class. English Learners can create slide shows and videos to demonstrate mastery of a concept. Through these methods, students can show what they have learned without the anxiety of having to get up and speak to the group. Technology is also useful when special education students have to present information. For example, there are many applications that help students overcome barriers that are created by their disabilities. Speech to text is helpful for students with dysgraphia, a disability that makes it difficult to write. By dictating using assistive technology, their voice is converted into text. Students who are visually handicapped can have books read to them by turning on the text to speech feature in various applications. This is also useful for students learning English as it models the correct pronunciation and cadence. There are several Assistive Communication applications that are available for students who either cannot speak or have difficulty speaking. Some of these applications can support students providing them with a way to communicate by touching a symbol and having the device communicate for them with audio. Others have pictures and photographs that the student can use to communicate their wants and needs. Students who are accelerated can benefit from using technology in all subject areas. They can create presentations using various applications, take advanced online courses that meet their specific needs, and access information from colleges, universities and research sites throughout the world. They are also able to connect with mentors and specialists in fields that are of interest to them. By integrating technology into classrooms and taking advantage of all of the different modalities that it offers, the educational needs of all students can be addressed and true differentiated instruction can be achieved. Students can then have the individualized instruction that will insure their academic success.
Response From Ge-Anne Bolhuis
Ge-Anne Bolhuis, Ed. S. is an instructional technology specialist serving in NW Georgia and the mother of a child with special needs. She enjoys engaging with her PLN via Twitter chats, at local EdCamps and at CoffeeEDU meetups:
Ask three educators what qualifies as differentiated instruction and you will very likely get three completely different answers. Simply put, the term means serving students in the way they will learn best. Technology allows us to do this far better than ever. For example, students can use differentiated rubrics, checklists, graphs and other visuals to track their own progress while collaborative tools like using comments in digital work allow for teachers and students to collaborate in real time but in a confidential and supportive manner. Teachers who allow student choice with regard to assignments have apps, tools and features like Flipgrid, Buncee, Webcams, Voice Typing (within Google docs) and other tools that allow students to showcase their knowledge in ways that don't penalize them for lacking skills like fine motor control or grammar prowess. How can teachers choose which tools fit their students? Easy! Start with the strengths of the student. Does your student love to talk, but hate to write? Then using video tools and the integrated webcam are great jumping off points. Does your student love to write and/or draw, but hesitates to engage verbally? Use tools that showcase their natural abilities like slide decks, EduBuncee and others. Simply put, differentiation is nearly impossible without developing a relationship with each student. Good communication and the ability to allow students to choose what works for them are key factors for success. Keeping abreast of tools that help students is nearly impossible without developing a strong professional learning network, or PLN, a group of educators (online, real-life or a combination) who can share and help brainstorm ways to meet the needs of all students. Twitter chats and EdCamp experiences can go a long way towards growing a PLN. Differentiation is, by definition, complex. Technology can allow us to reach all learners, but only as much as we are willing to invest ourselves in the process.
Response From Dr. Nancy Sulla
Dr. Nancy Sulla is the creator of the Learner-Active, Technology-Infused Classroom. She is the author of three books on the subject of student-driven classrooms: Students Taking Charge: Inside the Learner-Active, Technology-Infused Classroom; It's Not What You Teach But How: Making the CCSS Work for You and Build; and Building Executive Function: The Missing Link to Student Achievement. You can follow Nancy's blog and find out more about her company at www.idecorp.com:
Meeting the needs of all learners can seem like a daunting task. I often ask teachers, if they had just one student, the lowest achieving student in the class, could they get him or her to succeed and master the content? The overwhelming majority of teachers say yes. I ask then if they had two low achieving students, could they get them to master the content? Again, the answer is yes. I keep on adding to the number. Somewhere around five students teachers begin to say no. The point I then make is, you actually do know how to ensure every student succeeds; you just need to clone yourself! Enter computer technology: the perfect "teacher cloning tool." Use computer technology to develop myriad ways for students to engage in learning. Videotape lesson for your students; identify Learning Activities A For most grade levels, I like to create a 3x3 grid for students to access a variety of learning activities. The middle column is for students who are ready to learn a skill or concept; the first is for those who need a little background work first; the third is for those who already know the content. The rows represent different learning modalities. Each can be set up with hyperlinks to websites. Here's an example of ways to learn about the concept of a Food Chain. You can encourage students to start at their level and move from left to right, and to try two different modalities in one of the columns where they want to spend more time. Understanding a Food Chain Complete any three: You can also add assignments for students to complete to demonstrate their knowledge after working through options on the grid. There's so much to share on this topic, but I thought I'd start with this idea that both differentiates instruction and empowers students to take charge of their own learning.
Response From Sarah Shartzer learning activity provides direction instruction on a target concept or skill, offering a step by step process and, where appropriate, feedback. You can find videos, interactive websites, online simulations, how-to sites, and more to offer students options. You can add learning activities that you design using various applications. Many of our I use technology to differentiate in my Algebra classroom in many different ways. Sometimes, I put this technology in the hands of students and sometimes I use it myself to streamline a process. FOR FLEXIBLE GROUPING Flexible grouping is a large part of differentiated instruction. With However, I have found that groups are best when they're not-so-random. I want to be able to quickly group by ability (hetero- or homogeneously), learning style, working speed, or sometimes just by personality/group work style, so I have used GAFE to create my own set of (Note: These cards were new last year. I'm working on a set of 16 and a set of 32 for smaller or larger classes and will Tweet links when they're ready!) FOR CONTENT DELIVERY I consider my classroom "semi-flipped." For most units/lessons, I try to allow students to choose their method and pace for getting the cut-and-dry concepts before they need to come to class the next day to apply them. There are some units that we do together in class in a traditional math lecture, but these also include a video and written link in case students need to see the content again or in a different way. Most students choose to watch my flipped videos, which I record using We do not use a textbook in my class, but for students who prefer a written explanation, I post links to the appropriate content on When we do reading/writing activities, I try to customize these to students' abilities and learning styles as well. When we practice writing with numbers, I allow students to use the FOR DIGITAL BADGING Because I allow students to pace themselves through (some of) our units and to work on activities/concepts until they are mastered, I have found digital badges to be very useful. Students and their parents can keep track of what units they've completed, what skills they've mastered, and where they're going next. I offer badges for mastery of concepts/test scores/project grades, but also for things like completing all homework in a grading period, being particularly helpful to another student, or coming in for extra practice during study hall. For some students, the content badges are most important, but for others, just turning in an assignment is a big step in the right direction. Every student can set their own goals for badges and every student can find some level of success to show off on their banner page. There are many free websites that can be used for creating and issuing badges - Response From Daniel L. Schwartz, Jessia M. Tsang & Kristen P. Blair MakeBadges, OpenBadges, ClassBadges, Delivering instruction tailored to the needs and interests of individual students is intuitively appealing. In practice, it usually takes the form of matching instructional content to students There are four challenges to differentiating instruction: assessing the child; finding the right content; tracking multiple personalized lessons; and finally, a bedeviling side effect, which we discuss below. For the first three challenges, there are innumerable software packages. The software provides the child with a task, and if the child does poorly, it moves the child to an easier level. If the child does well, it moves the child forward. It also provides the record keeping automatically. Not all programs are created equal. There are websites that help teachers navigate the fractured market of educational software. There is a paucity of research on specific products, so try to get a free preview to see if the technology passes the sniff test. There are also many creative support tools that enable interesting classroom models for differentiation. One service translates newspaper articles into multiple reading levels (and Spanish) so that, regardless of reading level, all the students can read the article and participate in a conversation on social studies, for example. The bedeviling side-effect of differentiated instruction is that it can isolate students. Tracking in math is one example. Low students become isolated from high students, which can trigger unfortunate problems for self-esteem and motivation. Full-blown individualization runs the risk of each student working alone, perhaps on a computer in the back of the room. So, here 's one idea. Ask students to work in teams to create a digital video on a topic of their choosing. It is highly motivating. The technology tools support all levels of sophistication, and the task is complex enough that it supports differentiation through students taking on different roles. Make sure to set the constraints so that students learn the key concept; for example, create a video that clarifies different points of view on a current event. Help the students differentiate into team roles - producer, writer, actor, techie, recorder. Try to find the role where a student can thrive. A student who may be weak in language may nevertheless be very good at editing videos, which will help the student engage and learn about the key lesson regarding points of view. It is also a good idea to have students rotate through roles, so they do not get trapped in a marginal role. This model of differentiation helps students develop islands of expertise regardless of their incoming abilities. It relies on the creative possibilities of technology such as recording video, downloading and splicing in online videos, transition effects, and more. It also requires students to take responsibility for their personal opportunities rather than having it scheduled for them. Lastly, instead of isolation, it capitalizes on the benefits of heterogeneous groups for learning; students typically learn more by teaching each other than they do learning for themselves in isolation. ' skills and interests. A simple example involves assigning a book that a child can read and finds interesting. One might also try to match student profiles to the type of instruction (e.g., project-based versus tell-then-practice). It is worth being cautious here, because differentiating instructional methods often devolves into Just a reminder--you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email or RSS Reader. And, if you missed any of the highlights from the first six years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below. They don't include ones from this current year, but you can find those by clicking on the "answers" category found in the sidebar. This Year's Most Popular Q&A Posts Classroom Management Advice Race & Gender Challenges Implementing The Common Core Best Ways To Begin The School Year Best Ways To End The School Year Student Motivation & Social Emotional Learning Teaching Social Studies Project-Based Learning Using Tech In The Classroom Parent Engagement In Schools Teaching English Language Learners Student Assessment Brain-Based Learning Reading Instruction Writing Instruction Education Policy Issues Differentiating Instruction Math Instruction Science Instruction Advice For New Teachers Author Interviews Entering The Teaching Profession Administrator Leadership Teacher Leadership Relationships In Schools Professional Development Instructional Strategies "Look for Part Two in a few days. weaker" students being told and then copying, which is a recipe for the neediest students receiving the worst instruction. There are very few rigorous studies that have documented success at matching instructional methods based on learner characteristics (e.g., learning styles), unless those differences achieve clinical levels. Good instruction works for most everyone, if the level and content are appropriate. Credly. Because we are a GAFE school and our students already use their Drive every day, I use my own in-house badging system created with Google Drawing and Google Sheets. MLA Handbook for a written explanation or this infographic for a more visual approach. When we read math-related current events, I always offer several different versions through Newsela so that all students can get the same content, no matter their ability level. PurpleMath. While this site is specific to math, there is online content available for almost any subject area (try SmartStudy, MIT Open Courseware, or a variety of other sources. Rather than asking students to search on their own for this kind of content, I give specific links and details about what to read. Screencast-O-Matic and post on . Students watch videos, take notes, and sometimes pause to answer questions (otten using EdPuzzle). If they don't like my explanations, they can always check out Khan Academy for another perspective. grouping cards. Teachers have been doing similar things with with popsicle sticks for years, but by using a spreadsheet to create and assign the cards, I can group my students purposefully. The groups usually seem random to students (they have no idea that when I call "colors" or "letters" they're being grouped by homogeneous ability level or when I call "shapes" they're being grouped by learning style), but I know exactly who is going where and can implement flexible grouping with a purpose. FlipQuiz Random Group Maker, you can create by number of groups or number of students per group. Using the ClassTools Random Name Picker, you can pick and remove students until groups are created. Students enjoy seeing both of these up on the screen if you're looking for entirely random groups. kindergarten teachers create videos of key skills (e.g., reading words) and have QR codes hanging next to images for students to scan with their iPads. articles that offer students the same content on different lexile levels; create lessons with formative assessment questions to further facilitate differentiation; and identify Apps that allow students to explore your content in more interactive ways. Let me share an idea on using technology to provide students with differentiated learning activities.
Sarah Shartzer (@SarahShartzer) has taught math at Kentucky Country Day School in Louisville, Kentucky, for fifteen years. She currently teaches a semi-flipped eighth grade algebra course and a STEAM elective focusing on the mathematics and the art of origami. Sarah is also the technology integrationist for junior kindergarten through twelfth grade classes at her school. Each summer, she helps to plan the Tech Teach Learn Conference ( techteachlearn.org), which offers technology-related professional development for teachers in the Louisville area:

Daniel L. Schwartz, PhD, is the Dean of the Stanford University Graduate School of Education and holds the Nomellini-Olivier Chair in Educational Technology. He is an award-winning learning scientist, who also spent eight years teaching secondary school in Los Angeles and Kaltag, Alaska. His special niche is the ability to produce novel and effective learning activities that also test basic hypotheses about how people learn.

Jessica M. Tsang, PhD, is a researcher and instructor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Education who studies how to design instruction that naturally recruits students' native capacities for learning and understanding. Her interdisciplinary research bridges between cognitive neuroscience and the design of effective classroom practices. She has previously worked in the fields of education philanthropy, urban school reform, and educational media technology.

Kristen P. Blair, PhD, is a Senior Research Scholar and Instructor at Stanford University's Graduate School of Education. She develops technologies to support students' learning in math and science, and she studies child development and learning in classroom and in family contexts. She holds a PhD in Learning Sciences and Technology Design and a BS in Mathematical and Computational Science, both from Stanford University:

Thanks to Nancy, Anne, Ge-Anne, Sarah, Daniel, Jessia, and Kristen for their contributions!

Please feel free to leave a comment with your reactions to the topic or directly to anything that has been said in this post.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it's selected or if you'd prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo.

Anyone whose question is selected for this weekly column can choose one free book from a number of education publishers.

Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It's titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching.

I am also creating a Twitter list including all contributers to this column.

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Response: Ways to Use Tech to Differentiate Instruction

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The new question-of-the-week is: What are ways technology can assist teachers apply differentiated instruction? Differentiating instruction is a constant challenge to teachers. Can using tech help? This two-part series will explore answers to that question. Today, Dr. Nancy Sulla, Anne Jenks, Ge-Anne Bolhuis, Sarah Shartzer, Daniel L. Schwartz, Jessia M.

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Resource for strategies to try in any classroom!

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Resource for strategies to try in any classroom!

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The 12 Best Differentiated Instruction Strategies for CTE

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Meeting the needs of your diverse CTE students is tough. Learn about the 12 best differentiated instruction strategies to help your students succeed!

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Examples of ways to differentiate assessments

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Examples of ways to differentiate assessments

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A test is one of the most classic ways to evaluate a student. And even with this traditional method, you can do varied evaluations.

For this blog post, Saskia Vandeputte from " Schoolmakers " gave me some great tips. She's a specialist when it comes to differentiated learning.

Differentiated evaluation means that you perform a student-oriented evaluation on those aspects that are relevant. There are many differentiated testing variations.

But before we jump into this, there are a few important things Saskia would want you to know.

5 must-knows about differentiating

1. What is "evaluation"?

Evaluating isn't the same as giving grades. It's more than just assessing: evaluation can also be used to guide a student on the right path. A good evaluation practice makes students learn and decide on their performance in relation to certain goals, so they make better and more informed choices.

There are two types of evaluations. Formative evaluations and summative evaluations. Find out the difference between both evaluation methods here. The significance of formative assessment is increasing within classrooms. Check out this blog post to learn more about formative assessment.

2. What does "differentiation" mean?

In this case, differentiated teaching is responding to the diversity among students. Diversity is very broad: it concerns all those differences and similarities between students that influence learning and teaching. Those who differentiate, accept diversity among pupils as a starting point.

3. Don't pamper

Teachers want their students to have high dedication, perform at their best, and be challenged. At the same time, teachers argue for support to meet the standard, for variation in evaluation methods, and for comparing performances with previous performances. It's very hard to meet all the expectations. Teachers aim to put 'the bar high' in, combination with fair opportunities to show what students can do. This means that differentiated learning doesn't mean you have to pamper students.

4. Goals, goals, goals

The internet is full of beautiful evaluation forms. But without targeting your evaluation, these are empty boxes. What exactly is it that your students have to (want to) achieve? First, set a goal. Then, choose an evaluation technique targeting that goal.

5. Feedback, feedback, feedback

In the examples below, you usually have to read between the lines: people only come to learning thanks to specific information about their own learning process. Meanwhile, books have been written about the power of feedback.

Keep these 5 tips in the back of your head when you want to differentiate your evaluations. Then, I can show you 11 examples of differentiated evaluations, according to Saskia.

11 examples of differentiated evaluation

1. Outdoor examinations

Give students the possibility to take the exam outside. Maybe the green environment gives students some inspiration. One thing is sure: the oxygen level outside is much higher than inside a dusty classroom.

2. Cheat sheet

A cheat sheet teaches students to learn in a certain way as well. When students aren't motivated to learn, a cheat sheet can help. When students are making a sheet cheat, they are actually engaging with the content. This way, studets will remember much better (and don't even need a cheat sheet).

3. 5-minute talk

In this tip, students get the chance to talk with each other for 5 minutes about the test they just got. That way, students are developing strategies to order the knowledge that was evoked by this brief conversation. Students learn to handle knowledge in a more functional way. Make sure to not just ask reproductive questions, because these make evaluations less effective.

4. Various choice options

Create a test with a common part and an optional part A or part B. Use bonus questions or two different choice questions that test the same learning objective. These are both ways to give students a "choice".

5. Not for everyone

Not every pupil must take the test. You're probably wondering how that would work? The concept is simple: students look at each other's test and provide feedback. It all starts when students come to the classroom for a test they've all learned for. At that moment, you choose about five or six students who do not have to make the test, but form the assessment committee. While the others go to work, the commission makes a check model. In other words: they have to come to an agreement with each other about the right answers, decide whether or not to count something good, and whether alternative answers are possible. In this way they prepare for the real check-up and at meta-level they think about the lesson material.

With every incorrect answer there is an explanation of the committee, and the students get the chance to check with the book if they agree with the judgement. Subsequently, they can discuss matters with the assessment committee in a classical manner, in which the teacher, as moderator, keeps as much as possible in the background. During the year, everyone eventually takes part in the assessment committee.

6. Collaboration on tests

A test that encourages collaboration? It's possible! The two-stage test is an easy way to integrate collaborative learning into an individual written test. In a two-stage test, the student first makes the test individually (part 1), and then makes the test in small groups of four students (part 2). During part 2, the classroom is filled with inspiring and effective discussions in which students actively participate. Through the involvement of students during the exam, the discussions ensure that students learn a lot from each other. Moreover, two-stage testing appears to have a positive effect on learning before, during and after the test.

7. Language support

Roughly you can say that a small minority of learning objectives really requires students to write. Within language courses, learning objectives of writing skills are included. Besides that, the importance of written evaluation is kind of relative. Measuring writing skills also quickly interferes with the measurement of students' actual learning objectives. Especially for multilingual students. So, make sure to provide language support (a bilingual dictionary, a glossary, a pre-structured answer). To keep an eye on the actual learning objective, you could also replace the written exam with an oral test.

8. Choose a test that counts

Lots of students get a large number of small test. Recognizable? Why not let them choose which 'small evaluations' count or not? Each student makes the test. But it's up to the students to choose when their test actually counts as a mark. Freedom of choice is motivating. Want to do this without your school becoming a pony camp? Make sure to set some ground rules and give your students guidelines that gives them certain criteria. They'll have to discuss, considering every criteria, which test count and which doesn't.

9. Students choose test questions

This one in probably more common than the rest of the examples. Ask students to think up test questions themselves. It is one of the ways in which bright pupils do not simply have to do 'more of the same'. It also keeps students busy with the learning material.

10. Take-home exam

Want to give students the time to find solutions (together) for a (very) difficult problem? With a take home exam, you stimulate students to integrate different subject matter components and process them in a demand-oriented way into a coherent whole.

In order to bring a take-home exam to a successful conclusion, a student must be able to do more than merely reproduce the information. The complexity of the assignment and the expected answer is relatively high in a take-home exam. The student almost always has to look for additional information at home. In any case, he must appeal to his insight into the course, his critical attitude, his ability to analyze and synthesise to solve the assignment.

11. A flexible testing policy

Here, students will be responsible for organizing their tasks during the semester. In this testing policy, students must become competent and self-reliant.

Students have:

to be able to direct studies: make a study choice.

to be able to organize studies themselves: to develop plans and independent study activities.

study skills: to reproduce, to acquire, to control, to relate, to repeat, ...

test skills.

to be aware of their own learning style with the strong and weak aspects.

So that's it for this post. I hope you can use some of these differentiated evaluation formats in your own classes!

P.S. Want to read this article in Dutch? Saskia wrote about it right here.

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Creative testing - 11 examples of differentiated assessment

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A test is one of the most classic ways to evaluate a student. And even with this traditional method, you can do varied evaluations. For this blog post, Saskia Vandeputte from " Schoolmakers " gave me some great tips. She's a specialist when it comes to differentiated learning.

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TONS of differentiated assessment strategies!

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TONS of differentiated assessment strategies!

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Make math learning fun and effective with Prodigy Math Game. Free for students, parents and educators. Sign up today!

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Differentiated tools for before, during, and after instruction

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Differentiated tools for before, during, and after instruction

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Great guide to connecting differentiation to curriculum and assessments, includes helpful strategies and a Q&A section

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Great guide to connecting differentiation to curriculum and assessments, includes helpful strategies and a Q&A section

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The Ultimate List: 50 Strategies For Differentiated Instruction

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Here are 50 strategies for differentiated instruction to better meet the needs of your diverse, evolving learners.

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Information on how to communicate to parents and students about your differentiated classroom

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Information on how to communicate to parents and students about your differentiated classroom

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Page 9: Communicate with Students and Parents

Because differentiated instruction is different from traditional instruction, teachers should discuss with students and parents what they can expect in a differentiated classroom. Among other things, the teacher should explain:

That all students will be challenged

That students may be working on different activities or assignments

That the role of the teacher is different (fewer teacher

How activities and projects will be assigned

How test results will be used (i.e., to evaluate student learning, make instructional decisions, provide feedback to the students, and document progress)

How grades will be assigned

Communicating with Students

At the beginning of the year, the teacher should set aside some time to discuss differentiated instruction with his or her students. This helps the teacher and the students to develop a common understanding of what the differentiated classroom will be like and why it will be beneficial. With this understanding, students are more likely to buy into the idea of differentiated instruction. Teachers can use the six questions listed in the table below to develop this understanding. In addition to student objectives, the table includes links to ideas on how to explore each question. Teachers might want to revisit these questions throughout the year.

Within the first week of school

1. Is everyone good at the same things?

Objectives:

Understand that the teacher cares about them

Share information about themselves

Consider how classmates are similar and different

Think about a classroom that addresses everyone's needs

2. Should I teach everyone the same way?

Objectives:

Understand that everyone has different learning needs

Recognize that instructional options are beneficial

3. What will classroom instruction be like?

Objectives:

Understand that classroom instruction will be different than what they are used to

Understand that not everyone will be working on the same activity

4. How can I find out about what you need to learn best?

Objective:

Understand that the teacher will monitor (e.g., giving quizzes, asking questions, observing) them throughout the year to find out how to best teach them

After students have experienced a differentiated classroom for a few weeks

5. How is it fair if we are all doing different things to help us learn?

Objective:

Understand that "fair" doesn't mean "same"; "fair" means that everyone gets what they need to be able to learn

6. How we will measure success?

Objectives:

Understand that grades don't always reflect success

Recognize that success is equal to working hard and growing, which ultimately leads to reaching or exceeding your goals

Communicating with Parents

Parent-school partnerships are essential to improving educational outcomes for all students. In order to establish good parent-school partnerships, school personnel need to remember the rules of basic courtesy when communicating with all parents, taking into consideration different cultural, linguistic, educational, economic, and racial backgrounds. Given the great diversity of families, teachers need to acknowledge that several means of communication (e.g., email, phone calls, notes home, Website notices) might be necessary if all parents are to be reached. At the beginning of the school year, the teacher should establish communication with the parents. In addition to explaining how he or she will be using differentiated instruction, the teacher can encourage parents to share information about their child so that he or she can learn more about each student and their individual strengths and needs. The boxes below offer some suggestions on how best to communicate with parents.

Written Materials

Personal Interactions

Provide information in the parents' native language, when possible.

Use simple language instead of professional jargon.

Use an appropriate reading level.

Attend to parental requests or responses in a timely manner.

Allow time for a response.

Be aware of personal space, touching, and eye contact.

Be sensitive to different communication styles.

Be aware of parent availability and their schedules (e.g., parents who work second shift and sleep during the day).

Michelle Giddens, MEd
Assistant Principal Intern
Former Third-Grade Teacher
Sarasota, FL

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IRIS | Page 9: Communicate with Students and Parents

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Because differentiated instruction is different from traditional instruction, teachers should discuss with students and parents what they can expect in a differentiated classroom.

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A sample letter explaining differentiation to parents

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A sample letter explaining differentiation to parents

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Explaining differentiation to parents can be tricky. As a society, we value fairness above almost all things, and a differentiated classroom can look unfair from the outside if the definition of fairness is "sameness."

One important step teachers should take in the beginning of the year is to share their differentiation philosophy and practice in the letter that has the information about the class.

By request from a great group of high school teachers in Katy, Texas, I'm sharing my paragraph about differentiation that is in my beginning of year letter (along with a few other ideas).

Explaining Differentiation Paragraph

This is what my beginning-of-the-year letter home says about differentiation.
Because students have different needs and abilities, I adjust levels of challenge and sometimes entire activities to meet the needs of all learners. This practice is called "differentiation." Your student may tell you that he/she is doing something different from other students. Your student may tell you that his/her work was "harder" or "easier" than that of other students. These are probably true. I promise you that your child's work will be respectful and appropriate. I promise that your child will have the opportunity to learn every day. I promise you that grading will be fair and aligned with the grade level. If your child requires adjustment frequently, you will receive more information from me about that. In our classroom, we have a poster that says: And these things are true.
How it works

I send this home as part of the longer letter about how the class operates, and I use Read Ahead Contracts and Work Ahead Contracts for students who consistently need those.

The poster hangs in the room, and is frequently referred to.

My experience has been that parents understand that children have different needs. After all, federal law requires that teachers adjust for students with disabilities, and and it's a very short leap to understanding that we adjust for high ability students as well.

As with so many things, early, accurate, truthful communication prevents many problems.

More Information

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Explaining Differentiation to Parents: The Letter Home - Gifted Guru

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Explaining differentiation to parents can be tricky. As a society, we value fairness above almost all things, and a differentiated classroom can look unfair from the outside if the definition of fairness is "sameness." One important step teachers should take in the beginning of the year is to share their differentiation philosophy and practice in the letter that has the information about the class.

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Great resource for explaining differentiation to parents, including a sample letter home and ways to include parents as participants in your classroom

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Great resource for explaining differentiation to parents, including a sample letter home and ways to include parents as participants in your classroom

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Pros and cons of technology in the classroom, interesting thoughts to ponder

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Pros and cons of technology in the classroom, interesting thoughts to ponder

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Technology in the classroom is a hot topic among today's educators. With students showing up to class with a smartphone or laptop in hand and districts constantly seeking funding to put technology in the hands of their students, teachers are left to decide whether or not this new trend is a good one. The truth is, technology, like all changes to education, has both pros and cons. Teachers and administrators need to understand technology in the classroom pros and cons, so they can make wise choices for their students.
Pro ― Technology Can Streamline Tedious Tasks
Taking attendance, tracking grades and even answering common student questions can take up a lot of a teacher's time. Adding technology to the classroom can help eliminate some of these tasks, freeing the teacher to focus on delivering quality lessons to the class. Programs like Top Hat, for instance, allow a teacher to manage tests securely in a digital environment that automatically grades and tracks them, while also allowing greater interaction with students and collaboration in the classroom.
Con ― Teachers Fear Adding More Screen Time
Today's students are getting far more screen time then they should have. According to the Common Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens study, students ages 8 through 12 spend an average of six hours of time daily on screens for entertainment. This increases to almost nine hours for high school and upper middle school students. Adding technology in the classroom may add more screen time to that statistic. While the screens are used educationally, the overall impact of screen time on the brain is going to increase.
Pro ― Technology Is a Part of Modern Life
A teacher's goal is to develop students who are prepared for life as an adult, and today's adult world is one that utilizes technology. The more opportunities a student has to work with technology in school, the less intimidation the student will feel when entering the workforce and trying to embrace technology in their occupation.
Con ― Technology May Not Be Utilized to the Fullest
Adding a computer to the classroom that students can play on when done with their work, use to search Google and access for word processing purposes is not using technology to the fullest in the classroom. In order for technology to be used effectively in the classroom, teachers must be trained on how to incorporate it into their lesson planning well, weaving their instruction around the use of technology.
Pro ― Technology Can Increase Student Engagement
When used well and woven through a lesson by a skilled teacher, technology can increase student engagement. One way to do this is through comprehension checks. Teachers can use tools to check students' understanding during the lesson, allowing them to make adjustments if students are struggling to grasp a concept. Some tools that allow for this include:

Padlet ― This free tool allows students to add their responses to a classroom display that allows for comprehension checks and collaboration.

Socrative ― This free tool allows teachers to track student progress, while also providing options for using questions to check for understanding during a lesson.

Plickers ― This tool uses QR codes on cards held by students, which means it can be used even in classrooms that do not offer student devices.

In addition, teachers who use technology to present lessons can engage students more easily, because technology is a format most students are drawn to naturally.
Con ― Technology Can Be a Distraction
Students who have a tablet or computer in front of them during a lesson are going to be tempted to play instead of listening. Teachers must set clear expectations for the appropriate use of technology in order to ensure that this is not a problem.

Technology clearly has both pros and cons when used in the classroom, but the bottom line is this: We are living in a digital world, and students are interacting with technology, and possibly even bringing it with them to school, on a daily basis. The benefits of using technology in the classroom are far-reaching and need to be embraced by modern educators who seek to prepare students for adult life.

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Technology in the Classroom: Pros & Cons

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Technology in the classroom is a hot topic among today's educators. With students showing up to class with a smartphone or laptop in hand and districts constantly seeking funding to put technology in the hands of their students, teachers are left to decide whether or not this new trend is a good one.

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Strategies for embedding differentiation into daily practice - great beginning steps to take

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Strategies for embedding differentiation into daily practice - great beginning steps to take

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How do you plan for differentiation in lessons? And how can you cater for every student?

You should not be expected to differentiate for every child in every lesson. Let me write that again for you. You should not be expected to differentiate for every child in every lesson.

Top 10 Differentiation Strategies:

It is an impossible task for teachers to offer a range of resources for every child every single lesson, and if someone is asking you do to this, then they have probably forgotten what it's like to teach a full-time timetable. However, despite the apparent expectation that teachers can do this day-in, day-out, there are several strategies that you can embed into your practice so that a) you can alleviate teacher workload and b) naturally embed differentiation over time so that it does become more regular. This can only be a good thing for your students and for your marking, planning and teaching.

10. Seating Plans

As daft and simple as it sounds, the seating plan works wonders. Put every child in a specific location in the room that works best for their learning and for you! Don't be fooled by the child that says, 'I work best next to my friends.' They don't!

9. Marking books with love and attention

Following a seating plan, this is the most sophisticated form of differentiation that you can offer your children.

8. Using data

Keep a close and careful eye on student data and communicate the information via formative feedback to your students is the best differentiation strategy - after marking - that you can use.

7. Verbal feedback

Your feedback must be meaningful, sophisticated and tailored to the individual child. A 'well done' or a 'that's very good', is enough to feed their ego, but it's an utter waste of breath on your part and will not help students make any progress whatsoever. Extend the praise comments with pinpointed formative assessment.

6. Classroom displays

Build up a bank of resources by placing student's completed work immediately on display in your classroom. But, be mindful that too much clutter display goes against what research says.

5. Scaffolding writing frame

Provide students with a scaffolding writing frame. This is probably worth the most investment on the teacher's part, but offers some long-term impact.

4. Choice of task

Offer at least two different resources, choices and tasks in everything that you do. Offer a choice of resources that vary in difficulty. Encourage students to select at least two choices they must complete. TakeAway Homework is the perfect example.

3. Forming and framing questioning

Forming and framing questions is probably my favourite strategy of all! How you ask a question can make all the difference in the classroom. Take a look on my blog for a resource called Pose, Pause, Pounce, Bounce or try the Questioning Matrix. It will transform your teaching and how you ask questions of students.

2. Students taking the lead

Nominate students to lead a starter or plenary activity. It's a high-risk strategy for some teachers to allow students to apparently take over their classrooms, but it something best-served in great lessons where teachers are always in control.

1. Students teaching their peers

Finally, challenge students to teach others what they have learnt and assess this by observing the outcome. This will need planning and can form some part of assessment criteria, but the rewards are great when students can begin to self-regulate one another.

Taken from one of the most popular pages from Te@cher Toolkit: Survive and thrive your first 5 years in the classroom.

Mark, Plan, Teach (repeat) Differentiation ...

Here are a few differentiation suggestions that you can use to help you develop a higher level of intelligence and cognitive thought in your teaching. From just reading and putting into practice some of the ideas below, you will be differentiating by input rather than waiting to respond to an output from the student.

Differentiated Marking:

*Just by marking, you will be differentiating your feedback to each and every child. Try verbal feedback and reduce your workload?

*Mark your books, but not every page. Just mark all of the books by targeting specific work. The Yellow Box is the perfect strategy for this ...

*Try ' Not Yet '. That's all I'm going to say here!

Differentiated Planning:

This aspect of teaching is probably the most difficult and the most time-consuming for every teacher. You never have enough time as it is, and then when you have to start thinking about creating alternative versions of resources for different student abilities and different student needs, minutes and hours can start to ebb away. My advice? Ask for help.

Look for alternative resources online, talk to colleagues to see what resources they use, or work with a specialist, for example an English as an Additional Language teacher or SENCo, to help translate or adapt your resources to suit particular groups of students. I have often been surprised by the wealth of information and expertise that lurks in the different pockets around schools, so get out of your classroom and go and see what other departments can offer you.

*Plan at least two lesson objectives so that you can pitch work at the correct level for students.

*Use scaffolding resources, templates and handouts - some with, and some without a framework.

*Encourage students to work within different expectations, for example, group A is working on X, group B is working on Y.

Top Tip:

The laziest form of differentiation that exists is going into every lesson, setting a whole-class task, waiting for students to produce an outcome, and then simply differentiating a follow-up task or feedback. Avoid this at all costs... Although in all honesty, occasionally we have to resort to this because we are pulled left, right and centre in a very demanding job with an incredibly high workload. Instead, aim to move away from this model as you develop your repertoire; as you develop your skills, differentiation planning will become more natural for you and it will take up less time when you intelligently plan your provision ahead of each lesson.

Differentiated Teaching:

To put it simply, offer a choice! You will be surprised how much happier you feel and how much more harmony you sense in the classroom when there is a choice of task. We all like choice and we all have choices to make. Always offer different options in every lesson. Allow students to work in different areas of the classroom or on different tasks that suit their preferences. This will help focus your students and will most often lead to better outcomes.

Whatever approach you take, it makes no difference if you are still providing students with one simple worksheet. Have at least two versions of the resource or task for various abilities to make expected progress; plus some other options for vulnerable students, such as pupil premium and various groups of students who may be identified as under-performing in your school. This can be as simple as referencing levels on the worksheet, providing a choice or adjusting certain elements of work for specific students. No matter what, always keep the same level of expectation for every child and teach to the top!

Consistently great teaching requires a deep level of planned pitch. This isn't difficult to achieve and something subtle such as a directed choice, can ensure students can access classwork and be challenged at the right level.

This is a chapter from the book, Te@cher Toolkit: Helping You Survive Your First Five Years.

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10 'Teach to the Top' Differentiation Ideas

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How do you plan for differentiation in lessons? And how can you cater for every student? You should not be expected to differentiate for every child in every lesson. Let me write that again for you. You should not be expected to differentiate for every child in every lesson.