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SqoolTools is an online service, brought to you by SqoolTechs, LLC, that provides instructional tools for the purpose of "Supporting Quality Online Opportunities for Learning". Specifically, SqoolTools is a virtual learning environment, built on Moodle open source software, that allows K-12 teachers to create interactive websites to either support classroom instruction or to deliver instruction completely online. SqoolTools provides a wide variety of tools that support most instructional and classroom management tasks.

"Project-Based Learning (PBL) naturally lends itself to differentiated instruction. By design, it is student-centered, student-driven and gives space for teachers to meet the needs of students in a variety of ways. PBL can allow for effective differentiation in assessment as well as daily management and instruction. PBL experts will tell you this, but I often hear teachers ask for real examples, specifics to help them contextualize what it "looks like" in the classroom. In fact, the inspiration for this blog came specifically from requests on Twitter! We all need to try out specific ideas and strategies to get our brains working in a different context. Here are some specific differentiation strategies to use during a PBL project. "

There is a debate taking place in the world of education. It is not a new debate but recently it has gathered new energy and the boundary between polite discussion of opposing views and hostility has been stretched. The debate is that between those who are advocates of inquiry based learning and those who believe direct instruction produces the best outcomes. - This article explore how the debate has gone wrong and fails to serve the needs of learners.

Innovative use of blended learning, using a rotating centres approach: Teacher instruction, Group work, Technology group. They are able to do more differentiated instruction within this model and looks like they're using some digital curriculum or an LMS.

"Whether you are just beginning your flipped teaching journey, or an experienced flipped teacher, YouTube offers a variety of ways to organize instructional videos for both teachers and students alike. Note taking with VideoNot.es is just one avenue teachers and students can explore to increase the benefits of video instruction."

"Science4Us is a standards-based digital science curriculum that teaches science using the 5E inquiry-based instructional model. In addition to over 350 digital games and online activities, there are tons of offline experiments and hands-on projects to keep students engaged and excited about science.  It's a great choice for teachers looking to include cross-curricular activities that connect science instruction to math and language arts. Students will also learn the importance of notetaking and observing, with their very own digital notebook."

This paper describes the findings of an exploratory, qualitative case study and examines problems and impediments faculty members encountered in blended learning environments in Turkish Higher Education system. A total of 117 faculty members from 4 universities responded to 8 interview questions. Findings were based on content analyses of interview transcripts. The results show that faculty members' problems with blended teaching resulted in the identification of three inductive categories: instructional processes, community concerns and technical issues. The eight themes emerged from these three categories include the following: (1) complexity of the instruction, (2) lack of planning and organization, (3) lack of effective communication, (4) need for more time, (5) lack of institutional support, (6) changing roles, (7) difficulty of adoption to new technologies and (8) lack of electronic means. This study indicates that teaching blended courses can be highly complex and have different teaching patterns, which, in turn, impacts successful implementation of the blended college courses.

"Blended Learning" is often used to define learning solutions that include parts of the content, or experiences, being delivered in different ways. Each may use different instructional methods more appropriate to each lesson or module of content. Whilst everyone seems to have their own view of what a blended solution looks like, most will agree that 21st century "courses" will contain lessons/modules that vary in their media selection, and mode of delivery." "Blended learning is not new. Long before the internet, and computer-based training, innovative teachers and designers of instruction have blended a variety of media, and methods, to present learners with a blended learning experience. However, today's use of the term speaks more to our history of migrating completely from the classroom to CBT, and learning from that experience. And finding a place where we all realize there will always be a place for ILT, and CBT, and all micro forms of learning in-between."

The debate over the most effective method of instruction continues as ever and where one stands on the topic is largely influenced by the purposes one attaches to education. Analysing a series of research articles reveals the nature of the debate between advocates of direct instruction compared to those who support a problem based learning methodology.

Constructivism is one of those ideas we throw around in educational circles without stopping to think about what we mean by it. They are the terms that have multiple meanings, are at once highly technical and common usage and are likely to cause debate and disagreements. Constructivism in particular carries a quantity of baggage with it. It is a term that is appropriated by supporters of educational approaches that are in stark contrast to the opposing view; constructivism vs didactic methods or direct instruction. The question is what are the origins of constructivism and does a belief in this as an approach to understanding learning necessitate an abandonment of direct instruction or is this a false dichotomy?

A nice infographic offering a visual Step-By-Step guide to assist teachers who want to give effective Instructions

differentiated instruction resources

Educators have traditionally helped parents teach young people about appropriate behavior towards others. Now, with the explosion of social media, educators can be part of a larger conversation with young people about digital citizenship and online behavior. We will discuss more about what digital citizenship means in Section 4. As educators you can instruct them in safe, ethical, and responsible Internet use

learning how to highlight a text as a part of a reading strategy requires some instruction

ccess public domain images from our participants, ready for you to download, mash-up and reload with new meaning into Picture Australia via our new Flickr group. Please read the Re-Picture Australia instructions for more information. Media Release

Access public domain images from our participants, ready for you to download, mash-up and reload with new meaning into Picture Australia via our new Flickr group. Please read the Re-Picture Australia instructions for more information. Media Release

This post offers a long list of links to ideas for or about differentiated learning

Some interesting tools and how they might be used mentioned in the post. "In the past, limited access placed a hardship on teachers to meet the diverse needs of their students, especially when school resources are limited. In this brave new world, we are fortunate to live and work in an environment where the possibilities are endless for getting students what they need when they need it, and in a format that works best for them. How are you tapping possibilities to meet learner needs?"