I am wondering if you know if there is an age requirement for students to use blogger since I am a middle school teacher?
There is no age requirement on the Blogger end of things. I don't know if your administration/district has an age requirement.
In the 'settings' tab on Blogger's dashboard, you can set up firewalls to keep search engines from finding a blog and to keep anyone from viewing the blog except whomever you choose. These safety features are easy to use and provide a level of security equal to or better than anything a school's IT department could produce themselves.
And it's free.
From the Blogger Terms of Sevice:
ReplyDelete"You must be at least thirteen (13) years of age to use the Service. Google reserves the right to refuse service to anyone at any time without notice for any reason."
There are other options. Edmodo or a private wiki.