Review of "Using Playlists to Differentiate Instruction"

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/student-playlists-differentiation/

I read Using Playlists to Differentiate instruction on the Cult of Pedagogy blogsite. When I first read the title I thought I was going to be reading about using music and how it helps differentiation. Instead of music playlists, the author discussed unit playlists. These playlists are individualized digital assignments that students work on at their own pace. There are hard due dates and teacher check-ins along the way, but other than that the student can complete the work at their own pace.

I absolutely love this idea. Every student gets the time they need to complete the work and the rest of the class isn’t held up. I would use this in my classroom for any big projects we have. I would also use this if a student has really specific learning needs. Another way I could use this is for students to work on their classwork at home. If I put the lists in a Google doc, they would be accessible to students anywhere.

It would benefit both students and families because they would be able to see exactly what we are working on in the classroom. Students will also get to take as much time as they need to complete their work. A few barriers exist, the first being access to that many computers or tablets in the classroom. I could overcome it by just having printed out versions available to my students. Another barrier that could come up is access to technology at home. To overcome this I could have printed versions available to take home or just make it optional for homework.