Introduction
Technology-enhanced learning remains an opportune topic in the field of education as technological advancements continue to gain momentum in the current 21 st century. Many researchers, education practitioners, and policymakers acknowledge the influence of technology on teaching and learning. Since educators are increasingly faced with many diverse students, they adopt many different techniques in a bid to improve educational outcomes. Several teaching strategies are applied either independently or complementary in efforts of delivering quality education to every student. Differentiated instruction and collaborative learning are among the most acknowledged teaching strategies. Differentiated instruction involves tailoring teaching to the needs of every student. Cooperative learning, on the other hand, is a strategy where two or more students work together to explore a particular subject or acquire skills. The article analyzes the application of technology in differentiated instructions and collaborative learning teaching strategies through the analysis of two peer-reviewed journal articles.
The article titled “Differentiation in digital-based classroom: A universal design approach for inclusive settings in middle schools” by McCoy Kathleen and Mathur Sarup provides insight on how technology can facilitate inclusive setting for the diverse students in American middle schools. The article initially presents the characteristics of middle school students and asserts that students at this stage are different. The authors contend students in middle school are working to perceive the world and the society from their internal perspectives rather than relying on validation from adults and as such, they are very different from each other. Additionally, the article acknowledges the different types of students including autistic, those with behavioral disorders, English Language Learners among many other categories. The authors acknowledge the different students necessitate the differentiation instructions in efforts to positively influencing educational outcomes.
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McCoy and Kathleen (2017) rel y heavily on secondary data and develop the research paper through integrating the analysis and works of individuals from the various field including psychology, sociology, and education. The article combines three different aspects of learning including differentiated instruction, Bloom's Taxonomy and Universal Design Learning (UDL) model. The UDL model is a pedagogical approach that emphasizes all students can be successful through effective teaching planning. Taxonomy, on the other hand, focuses on building knowledge from the lower levels to the higher levels without necessary considering a particular student. While UDL and Bloom's taxonomy emphasize "one method fits all" technique differentiation instructions disregard the notion of generalizations. Combining the three concepts allows teachers to prepare and organize their classrooms using technology. Application of technology in this particular environment allows reading to be student-centered rather than educator-centric which improves educational outcomes.
The research paper concludes technology application in education facilitates the development and use of multiple formats that subsequently provide alternatives in instructional options. The application of differentiation instructions allows different students to engage in different activities either in higher or lower order depending on the needs of an individual student. Moreover, the research article suggests the application of technology reduces face-to-face interactions in the classroom that can be intimidating for students with particular learning and behavioral disorders.
The second article titled “Technology in support of collaborative learning” focuses on how technology is applied to facilitate collaborative learning in institutions of higher education. The article reviews research on Internet-based technologies and social interactions in the educational field in the past two decades (Resta & Laferriera, 2007) . Collaborative learning is a strategy in education delivery where two or several students work together in efforts of improving educational outcomes. The article asserts that the past twenty years have produced extensive research on the concept of computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) (Resta & Laferriera, 2007) . The authors contend the development of CSCL is facilitated by flexibility in both time and space and challenging learning environments that have prompted the improvement in teaching strategies.
Relying on several studies on the influence of technology on collaborative learning, the authors make six recommendations throughout the paper. Firstly, the authors emphasize the importance of evidence-based research with in-depth explanations of the respondents and analysis techniques. Secondly, the article insists the attention should shift from whether CSCL is better than face-to-face collaborative learning to the analysis of the dynamics of how the two concepts indeed differ especially in educational outcomes (Resta & Laferriera, 2007) . Moreover, the authors assert it is important for researchers to apply what they know regarding face-to-face collaborative analysis to online analysis. Another recommendation is related to the attributes of the individual students in institutions of higher learning. The researchers cite that the current millennial students entering institutions of higher education have embraced technology mainly outside the classroom and as such, it is imperative to analyze how this important fact affects CSCL.
The authors also endorse more studies on design components of CSCL software with the intention of analyzing the extent they either support or constrain student-teacher relationships. Finally, the authors suggest there is a necessity of research in the analysis of the implementation of CSCL to ensure their practical use. The article concludes that theoretical and empirical research on technology and collaborative learning illustrates vast possibilities and various challenges as CSCL continues to develop (Resta & Laferriera, 2007) . The report suggests the level of technology in cooperative learning as such depends to no small extent on the educator's perceptions on the issue of teaching.
Each research focuses on a different teaching strategy; the first one concentrates on differentiation instructions while the second one concentrates on collaborative learning. The initial article considers middle school students as respondents while the second article focuses on students in institutions of higher education. Researchers in both studies conducted qualitative research that relied on previous theoretical and empirical research. The reports acknowledge the positive influence of technology on students learning outcomes (Stanford, Crowe, & Flice, 2010) . The first article uses past research to showcase how technology facilitates differential instructing in the present analysis while the second research analyzes previous study with the intention of improving future research on collaborative learning.
Despite a decade apart between the publications of the two articles, the analysis of both articles indicates the advancements in technology are a significant determinant of reading and learning and subsequently educational success. Today, students in different levels of education from middle school to universities and colleges have embraced technology outside the classroom (Kirkwood & Price, 2013) . Their familiarity with the devices, tools, and software makes them more accepting of the application of technology in reading and learning. While the two articles discuss two contradicting aspects where differentiation instructions insist on separation of students while collaborative learning emphasizes increased interactions both illustrate the applicability of the technology in education. The articles indicate technology can separate isolate students but also bring them together depending on the strategy that an individual educator adopts.
Conclusion
The review of the two articles postulating contradicting strategies displays that the nature of technology allows it to be applied on different levels, categories, and avenues of learning. Differentiation instructions enable instructors to acknowledge the needs of each student and tailor teaching and learning that each student gains the maximum possible outcome. Application of technology in differentiation instructions provides alternatives that would otherwise be unavailable. Technology in collaborative learning, on the other hand, highlights how students can cooperate to deepen curriculum and improve educational experiences. The analysis of the two articles showcases how different tools, devices, and software are used in education, in what ways technology is implemented to facilitate educational outcomes and the extent to which technology enhances reading and learning.
References
Kirkwood, A., & Price, L. (2013). Technology-enhanced learning and teaching in higher education: What is enhanced and how do we know? A critical review. Learning, Media, and Technology , 1-44.
McCoy, K. C., & Mathur, S. R. (2017). Differentiation in the digital-based classroom: A universal design approach for inclusive settings in middle schools. Journal of Education and Development, 1 (1), 1-11.
Resta, P., & Laferriera, T. (2007). Technology in support of collaborative learning. Educational Psychology Review, 19 , 65-83.
Stanford, P., Crowe, M. W., & Flice, H. (2010). Differentiating with Technology. Teaching Exceptional Children, 6 (4), 1-9.
