When students do their writing on computers, a blinking cursor replaces the pen or pencil aligned with a blank page, but the overwhelming frustration of not knowing what to write doesn’t change.

“Miss, what does this have to be about?”

“Anything you want.”

“How long does this have to be?”

“As long as it needs to be.”

“Is anybody even going to read this?”

Writing is arguably one of the most important skills students need to take away from their years of education. But the act of writing an assignment in a classroom for a teacher is not likely on its own going to inspire a unique and memorable voice in any student. Such a classroom assignment lacks meaning and urgency. If the students don’t understand the purpose, they won’t invest the time and effort in writing that is needed to improve.

In the digital age, social media has changed the way that children speak with each other. Instagram, Twitter and Facebook offer spaces for short status updates and pictures of the world they see. Writing and publishing have become immediate and public – it’s no longer just for established authors.

Students no longer have to write only for an audience of one. From their cell phones, they can write blog posts to share with an authentic global audience whenever they want from wherever they want. We need to capitalize on the public spaces they already inhabit and show them how to be effective in those spaces. Those skills will carry over into their academic writing. Encouraging the use of a public space to develop the subtle intricacies of writing empowers our novice writers. Our job now needs to be to hone their unique voices and inspire deep levels of reflection on our students’ terms, not just ours.

There are many free, easy-to-use platforms that are age-appropriate for all levels of students. Whether using a Google account with Blogger or starting with Edmodo or Edublogger, teachers can help students express their thoughts publicly, if they so choose.

If our end goal is to get students writing more, then we need to allow some of that writing to be less structured. The mere act of communicating in writing often improves the way we think, even if the writing isn’t terribly good at first. More importantly, writing becomes a habit of mind, one that students enjoy doing as they manage their blogs and the blogs’ readers share feedback and comments about what the students have written. It’s less about the correctness and more about connection.

Currently, seniors in my classroom are blogging about their transitions from high school to college. Each student has been tracking their experiences all year. This space has become their reflection, their record, their memory of the time spent preparing for the next chapter of their lives.

Blogging doesn’t have to be limited to reflection, however. A blog can be used to modernize a student publication, changing the traditional newspaper column into a flavorful stream of thoughts that doesn’t have to wait until deadline to be shared.

Teachers can model good blogging behaviors by writing their own blogs and sharing this work with their students. The more authentic we can be in what we teach, the more likely students will be to hear us.

Our students have lots to say about many things. We need to provide them with a safe forum and encourage them to sharpen their voices. Many readers can relate to the way a child thinks. Our job is to help our students get those amazing ideas into a public space where others can connect.

Imagine a classroom of kids engaged in writing because they like it and they want to do it. No more audible sighs and groans when it comes time to compose the first sentence. It’s easy, it’s fun and — best of all — it doesn’t feel like learning, but it is.