As a future English teacher and writer myself, I am interested in adolescent participation in blogging, particularly because I, myself, have actively participated in many modes of blogging to further enhance and expand the quality and scope of my writing. The reality is this: adolescents are extremely tech savvy, and have access to infinite amounts of blogging websites such as Tumblr, WordPress, Weebly, etc. (think of how many One Direction fan fictions you’ve read on Tumblr that have been written by 13 year-old girls). With increasing access to technology, adolescents have grown prone to communicating digitally, finding comfort and confidence in socially and emotionally expressing themselves in a digitally written realm.

As educators paying mind to this new literacy toward which our world and students are constantly adapting, how could we not take this “safe space” or realm of comfort of blogging into consideration, and tailor our teaching toward engaging all of our students? Students who are hesitant to raise their hands and participate in the traditional sense of in-class participation (due to, perhaps, in-person social anxiety, a result of increased technological communication) find that blogging is a place to thrive in all forms of controlled expression; blogs are an alternative form of assessment in which an educator can palpably track the evolution of student progress, ideas, and comprehension, while also allowing them a free, low-stakes space to work on their writing skills. Blogs, however, encompass a large sphere of the Internet (and ambiguity), and with blogs come negative connotations of danger and harmful comments (internet trolls) that could damage the fragile adolescent self-concept. There are ways in which this can be mediated, depending on the teacher’s lesson plans and school restrictions. For example, if you would like to set up a class blog on WordPress and provide directions for weekly blog posts, requiring students to comment on one another’s posts in a constructive manner, then there is a degree of monitoring that would eliminate the “harmful” potential of the blog. If you are conducting a creative writing class and would like to use a forum such as WordPress or Tumblr to create a portfolio, and then have students comment on one another’s work in a low-stakes workshop, opening up the possibility for the Internet to also partake in the workshopping (providing feedback on the writing), you could have the class decide on a workshopping covenant founded upon respect, but also integrity and honesty in feedback for one another’s work. However, by opening up pieces to the entire Internet, there will always be potential for both positive and negative feedback; this is something that must be emphasized to students, but done so in a way that conveys the promise for real world preparation, as well as the promise for success. By publishing your writing on a public forum for review, you will receive valuable feedback that helps establish a reputation beyond the classroom walls; this is the first step of networking, a valuable asset that media and technology can provide beyond the confines of pen and paper. Teachers must properly facilitate this media, and should be certain to monitor all students’ participation, particularly if the blogs are more creative and free form (such as a creative writing WordPress portfolio), just to be certain that there are no consistent incidences of internet bullying; this is a fragile age for students and their confidence, and though blogs provide a free and comfortable space for expression, internet trolls can rip them apart and cause detrimental damage. Teachers should also consider facilitating classroom discussion regarding internet workshopping and feedback, and hold a conversation on the group and each individual student’s feelings regarding the comments they may or may not have received on their work (and how it made them feel), so as to better understand the process and the effects on the emotions of the student. Reflection upon this can only engender better writing, as well as mutual understanding and respect, which is key within a classroom community. Blogging will not only improve students’ writing (regardless of if they are provided with structured prompts or not), but it will also expand their minds, allow for self-reflection, provide them with self-confidence, and allow for insight into self-identity, which is crucial at such a perplexing stage in life. Blogging exposure could provide the impetus for self-actualization in a niche, and could provide the realization of future goals, while also enhancing the quality of writing and thought in the short-term.