At Chapel Hill High School, Chapel Hill, NC, social studies teacher, Holly Loranger uses technology to differentiate instruction for the wide range of ability levels in her classroom. Loranger used Web sites and teaching ideas from Curriculum Pathways by SAS inSchool to create a customized Web Quest for her students. Learners were able to focus quickly on the best Internet resources and presented their research in a PowerPoint presentation.
Loranger says, "Using computers provides a great way to get one-on-one time with kids who need more help. I have several special needs students, and I was able to work with them individually while other students worked independently. Sometimes I paired the more advanced kids with those who were struggling, and they really helped each other."
What was the biggest advantage to this approach? "The students were truly engaged in the learning process, and this reduced my discipline problems dramatically. Technology also allowed kids who were not academically strong to achieve at their highest levels. For us, technology was truly an 'equalizer'."
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