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3.2 Adapting a resource

When making use of other people’s resources, you will often find that they need to be adapted for use in your setting. For example, you may need to modify it to fit with the level at which your students are working or remove parts that are not relevant. Ensuring the resource meets your specific needs is key to ensuring its successful use in your lesson.

Activity 11

Timing: 45 minutes

Watch again this video featuring Raj. Pay particular attention to when she talks about how she adapted resources found on TES Connect.

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Raj
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Consider the resource you selected in Activity 10, which you will now adapt for use in a forthcoming lesson.

  • a.What factors will you need to consider when adapting the resource for use in your setting?
  • b.Make the necessary adaptations to your selected resource. You may wish to save it with a new file name to distinguish it from the original resource.

Answer

Here are some of the factors you may have considered. This is not a definitive list.

  • Is the resource at the appropriate level for your learners? Do the tasks, content or activities contained within it need to be differentiated?
  • Will the resource help you meet your specified learning outcomes?
  • Will the resource be effective in your context – do you have access to the equipment, tools or expertise to deliver it? If not, can you make adaptations or substitutions?
  • Would the resource be more effective if you personalised it, for example adding references to your school, class or local environment?
  • Are there personalised aspects included by the creator of the resource that should be removed, for example information about a particular class?
  • Can the resource be easily enhanced or extended? Could it be linked to or combined with other resources you already have?
  • Does the resource link to other websites or online resources and are these accessible to you in your classroom? For example, it may contain a link to a video that is blocked by your school internet security settings.
  • Can you be reasonably confident that the person who shared the resource had the right to do so and you are not infringing copyright by using the resource?

You will now have a resource adapted for use in your lessons. Use it in class and reflect upon its effectiveness. Did it meet the needs of you and your learners successfully? Are there further adaptations you could make to improve it?

Having viewed or made use of a number of different online resource sites in this section, you may like to consider adding them to your own personal learning network. That may simply involve visiting them on a more regular basis! Some sites, including TES Connect, provide tools that enable you to ‘follow’ individual creators whose resources you find particularly useful.