FLEMINGTON, New Jersey - In this New Jersey suburb, fledgling high school journalists are writing about everything from the war in Iraq to the pressure seniors feel to attend the prom. In the process, they're learning the tools of the trade: how to craft an interesting lead, how to write a paragraph that puts the story into context, how to quote sources. And though they're not yet finished with their introduction to journalism, they already know how to use cutting-edge technology. All their work is published electronically to a weblog.

Will Richardson, journalism teacher and supervisor of instructional technology at Hunterdon Central Regional High School, recently decided to add one more twist to his students' learning experience. In addition to working on their own writing assignments, they also have been mentoring a class of elementary students who happen to live outside Atlanta, Georgia. Although separated by 800 miles and at least five grade levels, the two sets of students are connecting through a weblog called "The Georgia-NJ Connection" (http://weblogs.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/georgia/*).

Journalists are using weblogs for instant reporting.

Richardson launched the collaborative learning project with Anne Davis, a longtime elementary teacher who is now providing technology help to districts through an arrangement with Georgia State University. The two teachers have never met face-to-face, but have gotten acquainted online. Both participate in an educational weblogging group that includes about a dozen teachers across the United States. And of course, each teacher publishes a personal weblog. (Richardson's is at www.weblogg-ed.com*.)

Richardson got interested in this new publishing genre a couple years ago when weblogging was in its infancy. "I could see a lot of potential," he says. "It's so easy to publish. There's great potential for collaboration and discussion."

Indeed, those are the same factors that are making weblogging a hot trend in journalism. The weblogs offer writers instant access to a worldwide audience. Because logs are posted to the Web, there's no publisher, producer, or editor to "filter" what's written. That can result in some raw, unedited prose. But it also allows for independent viewpoints and no-holds-barred writing. "A lot is changing in reporting," Richardson says. He helps his high school students understand that they're witnessing the birth of a new form of reporting, as innovative as radio dispatches were to a previous generation.

Richardson's students use class weblogs not only to publish completed stories, but also to have a dialog with their teacher about work in development. They keep an online account of the news stories they are reading, including their own reflections and reactions. The logs offer their teacher, and anyone else who cares to read along, a record of students' thinking and a glimpse inside their learning process. Richardson, classmates, and other readers can respond online, giving writers immediate feedback from an audience.

The role is reversed for high school students when they read and respond to the weblogs posted by the Georgia fourth- and fifth-graders. "They offer feedback about the younger students' writing," Richardson explains. "They might deconstruct a story, explaining the various parts: the lead, and so on. Sometimes they offer a mini-lesson about how to use quotes or how to write a news lead." That's exciting to observe, the teacher says. "The cool thing is, my students get to do a little bit of teaching. That internalizes the information for them. When they go back to doing their own writing, they see it more clearly."

The student-to-student dialogs have led to some unanticipated results. The older students discovered that the younger ones were nervous at first about sharing their work. The mentors took time to put the younger writers at ease and helped them overcome anxieties about publishing. Says Richardson, "I hear them talking about 'my' kid. They're eager to see what the students have written, and the younger students are more confident about their writing now, more comfortable with an audience." (To learn more about the elementary class experience, see An Innovation Odyssey Day 300.)

Richardson expects interest in weblogging to grow as other teachers hear about successful projects. Already, he has conducted a workshop for colleagues at Hunterdon Central Regional High, where there is ready access to computers and other technologies. "Using weblogs requires some new skills, which will take a few hours for teachers to learn," he says. But teachers who persist will find reason to get excited about this new forum, he adds. "I like the way it encourages collaboration, discussion, and the ability to give feedback. And the kids like it a lot. It's brand-new for them, but they see the purpose right away."