"Blogging to Improve Instruction in Differentiated Science Classrooms" by Michaela W. Colombo and Paul D. Colombo

Colombo, Michaela W. and Paul D. Colombo. "Blogging to Improve Instruction in Differentiated Science Classrooms." Phi Delta Kappan 89 (2007): 60-64. 16 May 2009. (link)

While a majority of the articles written on the use of blogs in the classroom focus predominately on writing and literature courses, Michaela Colombo and Paul Colombo discuss the benefits of blogs in science classrooms.  In “Blogging to Improve Instruction in Differentiated Science Classrooms,” Colombo and Colombo indicate that the United States has a shortage of science teachers, a problem that could be somewhat alleviated through the implementation of blogs; therefore “extend[ing] the instructional impact of the teachers we [currently] have” (60).  By using blogs to house notes and study materials, in addition to podcasts and vodcasts that the teacher records, students (as well as parents and tutors) can have access to the information off campus, increasing instructional efficiency.  This could be particularly helpful for students who have learning barriers in the classroom, such as language deficiencies or learning disabilities.  Colombo and Colombo also include a very helpful section, suggesting various free and for purchase software for educators who are interested in blogging and producing podcasts and vodcasts for their students, such as Audacity, WordPress, ProfCast 1.5, and QuickTime Pro.

At the time of this publication, Michaela Colombo was an assistant professor of leadership in schooling at the University of Massachusetts, and at the time of this publication, Paul Colombo worked at Clinton (Mass.) Public Schools as a high school environmental and physical science instructor.  Acknowledging both the challenges of filling the need for capable and knowledgeable science teachers and teaching a difficult topic in a classroom with students of varying abilities and intellectual strengths, Colombo and Colombo present an interesting supplement to traditional teaching methods.  Although Colombo and Colombo’s article seems to be geared to middle grade educators, their resources and suggestions could be implemented in high school and college level classes, as well.  Unlike some of the other articles I have compiled in this annotated bibliography, such the ones written by Shelbie Witte, Steven Krause, and Lara Ducate and Lara Lomicka, “Blogging to Imrpove Instruction in Differentiated Science Classrooms” is the only one that focuses on a blog whose content is uploaded solely by the teacher.  Lisa Zawilinski mentions this type of blog in her article, “HOT Blogging: A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher Order Thinking,” but only briefly.