The tool that I chose to look at for this assignment was Blendspace. Blendspace allows a user to create lessons that include a variety of multimedia aspects, including videos, images, websites, and text. At the end of a lesson, a quiz can be created in order to assess what students have learned after completing the Blendspace lesson. Results from the quiz can be viewed. This allows teachers to see which questions most got right or wrong and can help aid future instruction. Blendspace reports results on two levels, the class as a whole and each individual student. By using the individual results, a teacher can form groups based on student needs in order to differentiate and customize learning for all students. Here is a video that shows the basics of Blendspace. This video shows how to create a quiz in Blendspace.
Blendspace is a great literacy tool because it allows the user to compile resources that are applicable to the required topic. Not only can teachers create lessons, but students can as well. Having students create lessons would allow students to practice research skills. It would also require students to practice critical thinking skills as they decide what information is most important and the best way to display this information. This tool can support different learning types because information can be displayed in a variety of ways, auditory, visual, pictures, and varying text levels.
One way to differentiate with this tool is to create a Blendspace for different groups of students. If a classroom has students that have lower reading levels, a Blendspace can be created that accommodates these learners. Perhaps a classroom has extraordinary students, for example students with ASD, a solely visual Blendspace can be created. Even though the Blendspaces can be differentiated, all students are still using the same application. In fact, the differentiation can be done in a way that no one knows that the Blendspaces are different. Each student can be sent an individual link that gives them access to the Blendspace that fits their needs the best. In addition, one Blendspace can be created that offers multiple levels of text and resources. In this way, one Blendspace is created but all students can have equal access.
In my classroom, I could use this tool as either a beginning lesson or a review lesson. As a beginning lesson, students can access the resources and gain basic knowledge on the topic. As a review lesson, students could access the resources and complete quizzes in order for future lessons to be planned. Additionally, this tool could be used as a way for students to present a topic, either individually or as a group. Finally, Blendspace can be used to give instruction to students that missed classes or on snow days. Students could access the information and could catch up on concepts that were missed while they were out.
The tool is fairly easy to use and I believe this translates into ease for students. Along the right side of the webpage, students can access the resources needed to compile a lesson. However, there are not many ways to customize the layout of the Blendspace. This could be a good thing or a downside. It is good because less time is spent on customization and more time is spent on finding resources. The downside is that creativity is limited. I have found that the website is not always supported. On my school device, the website is not support and therefore is harder to use and see the resources. I would worry that students would run into this problem when creating their own. Also, this is a web based tool and not all students have equal access to internet outside of school. This tool would have to be used mainly in the classroom in order to eliminate this issue.
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