Fourth-grader Jacob Foster said he spends around an hour a day after school on the class blog. Denny allows students to take time to post messages on the blog about once a month during class.

They share Halloween pictures, video game accomplishments and sports preferences.

"It's fun because you can see what other kids say and you can stay in touch with friends when you don't see them," said fourth-grader Jacie Romera.

Sidney Brandon likes to leave her two cents on other students' posts, and Jordynn Buehner even used the blog to help sell some pit bull puppies.

The three girls have big plans with blogs when they grow up. They all want to be veterinarians, and they plan to have a blog that they will use to sell "pet stuff."

Safety is paramount to most teachers with classroom blogs. They keep them private, require parental permission and some use programs that allow the teacher to moderate the site and block any inappropriate messages that students attempt to post.

Gaisford said probably only a handful of teachers across the state are using blogs right now, but he sees it as a growing trend.

"We are seeing more of it, but I think it is going to grow — it has kids using a medium that they like, and it's getting them to write," he said.

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com