2. Blair Thallmayer
MCOM 526
April 18, 2009
Professional Development Plan
Goal: To provide students with strategies and tools to meet the needs of all learners in the
classroom.
Objective: To create a professional development class for K-12 teachers that is required by the
district.
Theme: Differentiated Instruction in the Classroom- Using technology tools to differentiate
instruction in the classroom for flexible grouping, enrichment, and remediation.
Time: 3 Hour Class
Technology Skills to be taught: DI With Technology- Process- TrackStar.4teachers.org
Requirements:
• Concept Map in Inspiration
• Lesson Plan
• Summary of Class for Advertisement to Teachers
o TrackStar is your starting point for online lessons and activities. Simply collect
Web sites, enter them into TrackStar, add annotations for your students, and you
have an interactive, online lesson called a Track. Create your own Track or use
one of the hundreds of thousands already made by other educators. Search the
database by subject, grade, or theme and standard for a quick and easy activity.
There is a fun Track already made for each day of the year, too!
• One Page Syllabus for Teachers in Attendance
• Examples or Handout for students
• Extension Requirement
o Skim over the Monthly Tracks
o Locate a Track within your content area
o Create your own Track for the end of the school year

3.
Differentiated Instruction in the Classroom: TrackStar
Scavenger Hunt‐ Http://Trackstar.4teachers.org
I. Finding a Track
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐Notes‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
a. Locating Tracks by
i. Number
ii. Keyword
iii. Author
iv. Related to Themes and Standards
v. Subject/Grades
vi. Of Particularly High Quality
vii. That Correspond to Special Days
II. Preplanning a Track
a. Planning Track Content
b. Checking Tracks that are Already Online
c. Choosing a Descriptive Title
d. Writing a Useful Description of Your Track
e. Searching for Useful Links
f. Organizing Your Links
g. Creating Annotations for Your Links
h. Building Your Own Web Page
i. Making a Quiz for Your Track
III. Logging In and My Account Page
a. Logging in as a New User
b. Logging in as a Returning User
c. The My Account Page
d. Make a Track
e. Manage Tracks
IV. Making a Track
a. Important Precautions for Your Track
b. Naming a Track and Choosing a Subject Area
c. Adding a Description and Choosing a Format
d. Adding Sites to Your Track
e. Using HTML Tags in Your Title and Annotations
V. Editing a Track
a. Starting the Editing Process
b. Editing Links and Annotations
VI. TrackStar FAQ
a. Passwords, Login, and Accounts
b. Errors While Using TrackStar
c. Editing a Track

4. TrackStar Handout
How to Find a Track
Return to TrackStar Tutorial
• Locating Tracks by Number • Locating Tracks by Subject/Grades
• Locating Tracks by Keyword • Locating Tracks of Particularly High Quality
• Locating Tracks by Author • Locating Tracks that Correspond to Special
• Locating Tracks Related to Themes and Days
Standards
By viewing several Tracks on a topic, an educator may find some sites that fit his or her needs exactly or
may see an approach to the content that sparks further creativity. Because educators have different needs,
we have provided several ways to find Tracks. All are listed on the TrackStar home page in the Find a
Track section.
Locating Tracks by Number
If you know the number of a Track, you can type it in the box provided next to the words Track ID on the
TrackStar home page and click Go, as shown in the image below. You will be sent to the requested Track's
Description page. This is an excellent method for your students to use when you want them all to go to a
particular Track to begin a lesson. Of course, you will need to know the number of the Track. This number is
listed on each Track's Description page under the title. It is also provided on the Confirmation page when
an educator makes a new Track.