The document discusses using blogs to differentiate instruction for students. It notes that blogs can engage different types of learners through various multimedia. Blogs allow students to share their process and final work, and can be integrated across content areas. When students respond to prompts on blogs, there is flexibility in how they show their knowledge. The document provides examples of using blogs in content areas and recommends giving students advanced materials and links for extended learning. It also offers guidance on starting a classroom blog through different platforms.

1. Blogging as a Differentiation Strategy
Blogs reach learners of all kinds—visual, audial, kinesthetic, and tactile.
“A blog is a Web site that contains text, audio, and video postings on a particular subject.”
(Using Blogs to Improve Differentiated Instruction by Michaela W. & Paul D. Colombo, eddigest.com)
Blogs can differentiate the student’s process and/or product. Much of blogging involves students
sharing their process through the blog’s discussion and comment features. The blog can also serve
as a place to display students’ final pieces. One of the greatest qualities of using a blog in the
classroom is that it can be integrated into all content areas.
When students are given a prompt to respond to on a blog, there is a great deal of room for
students to complete the task within their zone of proximal development. The blog’s capability of
including images, text, video, podcasts (audio), and vodcasts (audio with video) provides oppor-
tunities for students to show their knowledge in ways that make sense to them.
Blogs in the Content Areas:
> Pose questions that make real-world connections
> Encourage collaboration among students
> Utilize current events in the news for social
studies
> Allow students to be expressive with their writ-
ing
> Pique student interest by encouraging them to
write about their personal readings
Key Points:
Provide students with links to
advanced materials.
Blogging can create extended
instructional time—students
continue their learning from
home.
PowerPoints with narration can
be incorporated into blogs.
Text readings can be incorpo-
rated and marked up in blogs
to help students learn to navi-
gate content area text.
Think about your teaching
strategies and how you can
integrate technology and
adapt content to be successful
in an online format.

2. Starting Your Classroom Blog
For the Teacher:
> Make sure to pay close attention to the blog plat-
form’s security and privacy
> Consider teacher blogs, individual student blogs,
and even small group student blogs
> A teacher blog can be used to foster a home-
school relationship
> Classroom blogs provide students an opportunity
to express themselves in a more “free” environ-
ment. Allow students to be creative and offer
them challenges!
Google Blogger/
Blogspot:
> blogger.com
> Most common blog
platform
> Free
> Pre-made themes
offered.
WordPress:
> wordpress.org
> Free
> Similar setup to
EduBlog
EduBlog:
> edublogs.org
> Very user friendly
> Many options to
control and person-
alize your blog
> In order to create
your own class,
must have a “Pro
Member-
ship” ($7.95/month
or $39.95/year)
> 260 themes to
choose from
For More Information, contact Allison Jimenez via e-mail:
allisonjimenez@u.boisestate.edu