Each student has an individual style of learning just as everyone has a unique fingerprint. Not all students in a classroom learn a subject in the same way or share the same level of ability. Differentiated instruction is a method of designing and delivering instruction to best reach each student.

Differentiating instruction may mean teaching the same material to all students using a variety of instructional strategies, or it may require the teacher to deliver lessons at varying levels of difficulty based on the ability of each student.According to Tomlinson, teachers can differentiate instruction through four ways: 1) content, 2) process, 3) product, and 4) learning environment.

The benefits of differentiation in the classroom are often accompanied by the drawback of an ever-increasing workload.

Benefits:

Research shows differentiated instruction is effective for high-ability students as well as students with mild to severe disabilities.

When students are given more options on how they can learn material, they take on more responsibility for their own learning.
Students appear to be more engaged in learning, and there are reportedly fewer discipline problems in classrooms where teachers provide differentiated lessons.

Drawbacks:

Differentiated instruction requires more work during lesson planning, and many teachers struggle to find the extra time in their schedule.
The learning curve can be steep and some schools lack professional development resources.
Critics argue there isn’t enough research to support the benefits of differentiated instruction outweighing the added prep time.

Differentiated Instruction through Technology

Many of the obstacles for implementing differentiated instruction can be overcome with the effective use of technology. Teachers who feel ill-prepared to address the diverse needs of their students, for example, have ready access to more options than ever before as a result of the wide range of software and hardware tools available. Technology can equip teachers to address students’ needs in an almost limitless number of ways, through content input, learning activities, and opportunities to demonstrate comprehension. And because many students come to the learning environment with a predisposition for using it seamlessly, technology can become an intermediary that bridges the relationship between teacher and student, allowing the teacher to meet a student in a familiar realm.

Technology also addresses the necessity to cover a wide range of content in a short amount of time by minimizing the need to take curriculum at a slower pace. Students with special needs may benefit from technologies that assist them, allowing them to keep pace with their peers. For example, a student with dyslexia who might normally struggle with a reading passage could benefit from reading the text while listening to an audio recording through headphones. By providing audio, visual, or concept-mapping supports while introducing new concepts, teachers lessen the need for review and remediation after the initial instruction.

Dr. William Cope and Dr. Mary Kalantzis emphazied that New Media and Technology can make differentiated Learning possible.

This video is one in a five-part series about integrating technology into differentiated instruction.

The other videos include:

• Using Technology to Differentiate by Process
• Using Technology to Differentiate by Content
• Using Technology to Differentiate by Product
• Using Technology to Differentiate by Learning Environment

The videos are associated with the article “Inclusion in the 21st-Century Classroom: Differentiating with Technology.”

List of Top 10 Online Resources for Differentiated Instruction:

• BrainNook A wonderful site/apps for Math and Language Arts that generates detailed common-core aligned reports allowing educators to set assignments targeting students weak areas  or areas for improvement.
• Clever Island - A fantastic site that covers a wide range of subjects: Math, Reading, Science, etc. Also, CI is geared for students to learn at their own pace as well adapt to children's different learning styles.
• Gummii - An innovative site (private alpha)/app for different areas of Math (fractions, addition, subtraction).  Gummi immerses students into a educational 3D world (similar to Minecraft) where they solve mathematical equations tailored to differentiated instruction.
• Infuse Learning - A terrific site/app that enables educators to create an educational environment tailored to meet the different needs of their students.  Also, IL has seamless integration with BYOD and mobile learning.
• IXL - One of the most popular sites around for Math that allows for student tracking with detailed reporting.  Also, with the ability to track student "trouble" areas a teacher can adjust their teaching (differentiation) to help meet the needs of their students.
• No Red Ink - One of the favorite sites for helping students with Grammar and Writing skills.  NRI uses differentiated instruction to help students with problem areas and adjust accordingly.  Also, teachers can track students and generate detailed reports.
• Power My Learning - A great way for educators to differentiate instruction by customizing the learning experience for students using Power My Learning.
• TenMarks - A common core aligned program for Math (grades 1st-10th) that uses differentiated instruction to help students learn.
• ZooWhiz - A fantastic site aligned to educational curriculums in a wide variety of subjects (Math, Grammar, Vocab, etc.).  ZW offers details progress reports that helps assess students learning needs.
• Zondle - A great site that interacts with Edmodo where educators can create educational games for individual or whole-class learning.

References

• http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/teaching-strategies/examples-of-differentiated-instruction/
• https://ldaamerica.org/educators/
• http://www.ldatschool.ca/technology/assistive-technology/
• http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/ww_technologytools.pdf
• http://www.techlearning.com/default.aspx?tabid=100&entryid=6226
• http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/every-learner/6776