Top 5 Differentiation and Customization Tools in Boom

In today’s diverse classrooms, a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer effective. Differentiation is central to what most teachers do. With that in mind, here are our top 5 differentiation and customization tools . . .

Hide Cards

Hiding cards is a game-changer for educators looking to fine-tune their activities for different learning levels or objectives. This feature allows you to selectively hide specific cards within a set of Boom Cards, giving you the power to:

• Create tiered assignments by hiding more challenging cards for struggling learners or revealing additional cards for advanced students.
• Focus on specific skills or concepts by hiding irrelevant cards.
• Gradually introduce new content by unhiding cards as students progress.
• Customize content for a learner’s life circumstances.

For example, in a math deck covering multiple operations, you could hide division cards for students still mastering addition and subtraction. As they advance, you can reveal these hidden cards, ensuring a smooth learning progression. Similarly, in a language deck, you could hide advanced vocabulary for beginners, gradually introducing them as students progress.

You can also remove content that might remind the student of a sad event, like the recent loss of a pet. As an educator, you know your students best, and you can easily hide anything that could distract them from learning.

Custom Play Settings

Every student has unique learning preferences and needs. Within the Boom platform, custom play settings allow you to adjust how students interact with activities, creating an optimal learning environment for each individual.

Key customization options include:

• Shuffle cards: Ideal for reinforcing recall and preventing memorization based on the order of the questions.
• Limit cards: Limit the number of cards in each play session to make a large deck more manageable. In contrast, you can challenge a student by giving them all the cards at once.
• Limit attempts: Control how many times a student can attempt a deck. Limit the number of attempts for formative assessments and post-tests.
• Show Answers: Show the answer if a student gives up in early practice sessions. Then, remove that support over time by hiding the correct answer in subsequent plays.

By adjusting these settings, you can create varied experiences with the same content, catering to different learning styles. Scaffolding has never been easier, since custom play settings allow you to introduce supports that can be removed over time.

Custom Sound Settings and Recording

The Boom player allows students to adjust custom sound settings. They can also record and play back their own recordings to add an exciting auditory dimension to digital lessons.

• Multi-sensory: From within a Boom Card, students can record themselves speaking and listen to the recording. This engages auditory learners and reinforces proper pronunciation for all students.
• Sound to Text: Students can elect to read sounds as text within any Boom Card. This can be great for English Language Learners (ELL), loud classroom environments, or deaf and hard of hearing students.
• Interactive elements: Sound objects can be clickable or draggable, creating fun and engaging activities.
• Gamification: Sound effects can be used as rewards or feedback, adding a game-like element to lessons. Auditory feedback can also be turned off for sound-sensitive learners.

Using custom sound settings, learners can control their own experience, toggling sounds on and off—including feedback sounds or all sounds. They can choose to display sounds as text. Within some Boom Cards, they can also record themselves speaking and play back the sound file. Together, these features accommodate individual student preferences. Whether a learner is an auditory learner or a sound-sensitive learner, they’ll be able to enjoy learning with Boom Cards.

Audio Instructions

Clear instructions are crucial for student success. Boom recently gave creators the power to record audio instructions directly within the Boom Studio. That’s why more and more resources in the Boom Store include audio instructions alongside written directions.

• Support: Auditory learners process information more effectively when they hear it. Receiving instructions in this format help them absorb the content of the lesson.
• Accessibility: The combination of audio instructions with written text is aligned with Universal Design for Learning best practices.
• Equity: Recorded instructions ensure that all students receive clear directions. Those who are learning the language of instruction or who have better listening comprehension than reading comprehension will still have an opportunity to answer the question correctly.

To use this feature, simply select pre-made resources that mention audio instructions in the description. If you make your own resources, you can record your instructions directly in the Boom Studio. Use custom sound files to provide detailed explanations, pronunciation guides for language learning, or step-by-step directions for complex tasks. This personal touch can make a significant difference in student engagement and understanding.

Individual Assignments

With Boom, you can assign individual assignments to students, which can be a powerful tool for differentiation. Pick any activity within your Library and assign it to particular students, enabling truly personalized learning paths. You also have the option to assign resources to the entire class at one time to save time.

• Targeted skill practice: Assign focused activities to individual students who need extra support.
• Challenge high-achievers: Provide more content and more advanced content to high-achieving students who speed through regular classwork.
• Mastery-based learning: Monitor individual student performance to see when mastery is achieved. Remove assignments the student has already mastered.
• Discrete support: Provide additional practice or modified content without singling out students in front of their peers.

To leverage this feature effectively, regularly assess student progress and adjust assignments accordingly. You might, for example, assign a basic phonics deck to one group of students while providing a more advanced vocabulary deck to others, all within the same Boom Classroom.

After some time, you may choose to create leveled sub-Classrooms, where you can assign differentiated content in batches. Or, you might assign everything on a more individual basis to make sure each student gets exactly what they need next.

Hide cards, custom play settings, custom sound settings and recording, audio instructions, and individual assignments. These five differentiation and customization tools empower educators to create dynamic learning environments that cater to their students’ diverse needs. Let us know how you’re using these tools to encourage better learning outcomes with your students!

We Value Your Questions and Feedback!

Join the Teaching with Boom Cards group on Facebook to connect with fellow educators and share knowledge. If you’re not on Facebook, feel free to email your questions to help@boomlearning.com.