Safety Concerns, Logistics & Policies
Now that you've had some time to explore and learn more about blogs, what safety issues might arise as a result of using this tool with students? How do you prepare for any issues? What things might you do to protect students' identities online? What if they need an email address to sign up or comment on a blog? What roles will parents play? What about responding to each student's posts? How will you handle evaluating students' work online? (Grade every post, right?) Copyright? Share your thoughts...
posted by Anna @ 3:23 PM
5 Comments:
I think that safety is a big issue, and even when you think you have drilled it into their minds you find students not thinking about their safety on the web.
As for email access I created a "junk" email address/account for students to use for their class web requirments so anyone in class can get access.
Just from what I have observed using the Wiki, students are crazy about these resources. To know that they are "publishing" work for anyone to read gives it much more meaning. They put more time and effort into creating that Wiki page than they ever would even consider to put into a paper, poster, or even a powerpoint.
-Katie
Safety, especially in regards to protecting students' identities, is always a huge issue when it comes to technology. To be honest, it frightens me and sometimes scares me away from trying new things. We are currently piloting the idea of issuing every student an email address through Gaggle, a program that is appropriate for school (no inappropriate junk mail) and can be well monitored. We're hoping this would allow students to use new Web 2.0 tools in a controlled, safe environment. I haven't played around with it much yet, so I'm axious to see where this will take us!
Safety is a major concern as students enter the middle school grades and are, should we say, a little more experimental? These students still believe that they are invincible and nothing wrong can happen to them.
A valuable piece to blogging is the forum itself. Students are engaged, excited, probing and questioning. They are doing this in response to posed questions and then reading and understanding what their classmates are sharing.
Grading can be something that is interpreted differently by everyone involved. Reflection has to be done by the teacher as to what the ultimate goal is. Will this be graded as a journal, formal piece or a freewrite? Obviously, the expectations need to be made very clear to the students but some freedom also has to be allowed the evaluator. Everyone brings different things to the offering.
There are definitely safety issues that should be considered. This would be new to me, so I would need to ask around for ideas on what works and what doesn't. First thoughts/ideas would include having students choose an online ID (nickname), make generic email accounts for my classes to use as a sign-in.
Other thoughts: Parents should, at minimum, be allowed to view the blog like any assignments their students complete. Grading always seems tricky and time consuming... I would also have to consider that student's work can be viewed by their peers....
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