Tools to differentiate teacher instruction

There are many convenient Web 2.0 programs that can be used for differentiation in the classroom.  One that I learned about in my Georgia Teacher Open Online training is PollEverywhere. I immediately put it to use in my traditional classroom.  I used it with my AP Physics class to determine the overall level of understanding for multiple choice questions on circular motion.  I made a 5 question poll for use with that class.  

Here are three of those questions.

Question 1

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Question 2

Question 3

I used these questions in my class to poll students on answers (like a clicker question).  

• If most of the students got it right, I could tell they had a good understanding and move on quickly without much explanation.  
• If answers were scattered, I could tell that the class didn't really know and spent more time on explanation.  
• If most of the class chose one answer, and it was the wrong answer, I could tell that the class had a misconception.  I had to make sure to explain the correct answer and to try and get at the root of the misconception.

Now, let me speak to what shows up in my blog as "Question 3" (it was actually question 5 on my poll).  This question is designed in a different way.  This did not work with my live class as students could not text in the answers.  Rather, it is designed for the student to click at a certain point on the screen to select an answer.  I have not done so yet, but I intend to try to use this type of poll question with my online AP Environmental Science class

As a note, I also learned about a number of other Web 2.0 tools, some of which I was already using and some of which were new to me.  Some of these I rely on heavily and use every day - Google Drive, Google Classroom.  Others I use less frequently - Prezi, Soundcloud, and now Polleverywhere.  Still others do not fit with my teaching style - Wordle.  I'm not saying that I'd never use it, but it is not something I will use regularly.