Blogging in school offers a wide variety of opportunities for educators to get their students to communicate, collaborate, and participate in class activities. Richardson (2010) explains that blogs “can also be interactive, allowing teachers and students to begin conversations or add to the information published there” (Richardson, 2010, p. 10).
As of yet, I have not used blogs in the library. I look forward to next year when I introduce blogging with the new Destiny Quest library system. In Destiny, students can blog about the books they are reading in the library as well as, if the teacher chooses to use this tool, about other subjects and projects. Blogging in Destiny is only open to the school and eliminates the possibility of random people commenting on student work. I particularly like this feature of the program because as Richardson (2010) discusses, “With blogs, for instance, the ability for people to leave comments can be very powerful and positive learning tool. If, however, there is unchecked access to the commenting on a student site, it may open up the door to inappropriate or irrelevant feedback” (Richardson, 2010, p. 14). In Destiny Quest, the librarian, teachers, and administrators can monitor all student emails, blogging, and suggestions. I am more comfortable with an in school blog than a blog that is open to the public.
Safety is a very important topic when considering using blogging in schools. Egbert (2010) discusses the need for a school safety policy and a list of rules for students to follow. I agree with Egbert and would follow such a policy and set of rules before beginning a blog open to the public with my students. I would be interested to hear how others have gone about this.
References
Egbert, J. (2009). Supporting learning with technology: Essentials of classroom practice. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms, 3rd. ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
In my school district, students and teachers are to read and sign the district’s internet safety policy before going online. This form is sent home with students with all the other paperwork required to be returned on the first day of school. If students break the rules, this policy is in place to handle consequences. All computers can be monitored and reviewed for any inappropriate behavior that may occur by our internet technicians. This process is better left to the teacher who is monitoring the students at the time of the assignment.
ReplyDeleteWe also have an acceptable use policy, but I think an additional letter home to the parents is good advice. Parents and students need to have a complete understanding of the tools the students will be using. A little communication in advance can ward off many problems or misunderstandings in the future.
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