I've run a Teen Writers' Workshop off and on for since 2012. The first two years were very active, and the students were productive. The group tapered off after that, and only this year did I have students who were interested in participating. They're seniors, so we'll see if I can stir up interest again next year. Anyway, I'm intrigued by the idea of having the group blog their writing, so I signed up for an account with "Write the World" that was listed in the Resources on the Cool Tools site and requested a group. I'm excited to get this started with my teens!
I think "Write the World" will be a great platform for the group because they are used to working with technology and it will give them practice writing for an audience. I think it will be important for them to receive peer feedback as well, especially since a couple of them are not comfortable reading their writing out loud to the group. I know they want approval, but they also value effective feedback.
The writing prompts on "Write the World" will also be beneficial because we all have times when we struggle to come up with something to write. The prompts will help me facilitate the writing process for them by helping them jump start writing and loosen up the creative part of their brains. Who knows, maybe they'll get to the point where they want to take their writing to a more public forum, especially as they head into college. I believe that blogging will be an invaluable tool and outlet for my students to use as they develop their individual voices. They can use their blog as a digital portfolio of their writing, and watch it improve over time. I hope they learn to make it a part of their daily writing habit.
