Beauty of blogging: but is it too much information?

It might have a bad rap, but blogging is growing on teachers and administrators across the U.S.

Among Internet-using teens, 57 percent are content creators, or those who have worked on a blog or Web page or shared original creative content, according to a Pew Internet and American Life Project report, Teen Content Creators and Consumers.

"It's becoming more apparent that [blog sites] are easy ways to publish content to the Web and there are potential learning opportunities for kids to connect to other people," says Will Richardson, teacher and supervisor of instructional technology at Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington, N.J.

The biggest downfall of blogging is that a predator might prey on youngsters giving out personal information like cell phone numbers, which happens on some sites. Teachers can and often do warn students about controversial sites, says Richardson. also an author. But Richardson and others say their school blog sites have rules: No last names and no personal information. Richardson says that not allowing blogging in school won't solve risks. "If we don't teach kids how to use the tools properly they won't know what to do" when they are alone, he says.

The "real dynamic shift" is that it's no longer just for the teacher to read. which has huge ramifications for the development of curriculum, he says.