In my own work providing professional development for teachers, I struggle with how to differentiate my workshops. In most groups, some people like the pace of being led through how to do something and then having some time to try it on their own. But I also usually have a handful of people who would prefer a much quicker overview and then more time to explore on their own. And I often have a few people who would like a slower walk-through and a lot more hand-holding as they try it on their own.

This is a lot like the classrooms I’ve taught in. With 30+ kids, we all see many different learning styles. Add on to that different native languages, varying degrees of background knowledge, different reading levels, etc…. and well, that’s why differentiated instruction is a popular idea.

The problem is that with one teacher and 30+ learners, it’s tough to differentiate. That’s where technology comes in! With screencasting or other types of video or interactive materials, it’s possible to have a library of resources to draw on to meet different learners’ needs.

I’m going to be trying this out in some upcoming workshops about podcasting. In addition to the workshop, participants will get (hopefully….if this experiment pans out!) a CD with mini-lessons on various parts of podcasting software. The idea is that you can get “just in time” help on something when you need it. Or if the video tutorials don’t match your learning style, you can use printed instructions or the regular old analog version of me!

Another great use for this technology is distance learning. Face-to-face workshops are great, but if you can’t travel to Hattiesburg, Miami, Greensboro, Spokane, Austin, or any of the many other cities I tour, how about a CD with the basics? (Maybe some day, I’ll just stay home and send a CD instead.:)

Stay tuned for how this all works out, but I’m feeling very excited about the potential. Beyond staff development, this is a great way to teach math, vocabulary, or lots of other things.

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