March 6, 2008 'Blogging Buddies' school program launched in Maine Play video

(NECN: Topsham, Maine) - A Maine school district has found a creative way to connect its students with college mentors. The two groups have never met face-to-face, instead, they are blogging buddies. It's a new concept that seems to be helping both sides.

Emma Lovering and Emma Etnier say when it comes to creative writing, they're pretty good at coming up with ideas, but, turning them into stories is a bit harder.

Etnier: "I start a story, but I'm really bad at finishing it. I have a lot of notebooks at home with just a few sentences of a story in them."

Emma has a new incentive to weave those sentences into stories. This year, a school district in mid-coast Maine started a new mentor program called Blogging Buddies. The students post their work on a website -- either writing, artwork or even movies -- then students at Bowdoin College in Brunswick log on and take a look, offering praise and suggestions.

Emma posted a story about her aunt and uncle's apartment in Boston -- a place she loves -- and hearing from a college student was a big confidence boost for Emma.

One of the draws for the college students is that they can mentor when they want to, either at 2:00 in the afternoon or 2:00 in the morning.

Even without a face-to-face contact, the mentors are having a positive impact on the students and their writing.

Lovering: "It's just nice to know there's someone other than your teacher who can tell you if it's good or

The college students also offer constructive criticism on each piece, delivered in a nice way. The younger students can make changes and get more feedback.

NECN's Marnie MacLean has the story from Topsham, Maine.