BLOGGING 101 - Mrs. Belden
Thanks to the following for the blogging guidelines:
15 REASONS STUDENTS SHOULD BLOG:
1. blog as portfolio (showcasing, learning, reflection, metacognition)
2. student voice (individual, creative, representative)
3. developing a positive digital footprint
4. authentic audience, which results in increased motivation and proofreading
5. improved confidence and pride in work
6. increased reading
7. sharing, collaboration, and communication
8. an easy way for parents to view their students’ writing and learning
9. work is permanently stored, easily accessed and valuable comparisons can be made over time for assessment and evaluation purposes.
10. an opportunity for students to be responsible and independent
11. prepares students for digital citizenship as they learn cybersafety and netiquette
12. fosters peer to peer mentoring - students are happy to share, learn from and teach their peers (often not in their usual social group)
13. increases online communication skills
14. students will be able to set the topics for many of their posts, which promotes deeper thinking, creativity, and ownership over their learning/education.
15. establishing an internet identity in a supervised environment
GENERAL BLOGGING GUIDELINES:
1. Your blog is an extension of our classroom — you should not write anything on a blog that you would not say or write in our classroom. Any speech that is considered inappropriate in the classroom is inappropriate on a blog. This includes, but is not limited to, profanity; racist, sexist or discriminatory remarks; personal attacks. Use appropriate language and be sure that anything you write you are proud of and are prepared to take responsibility (and face consequences) for! Use common sense, but if you are ever in doubt ask a teacher or parent whether or not what you are considering posting is appropriate. If you are going to err, err on the safe side.
2. Blogs are public. Whatever you post on a blog can be read by anyone and everyone on the Internet. Even if you delete a post or comment, it has often already been archived elsewhere on the web. When you put something on the Internet, odds are really good that it will ALWAYS stay on the Internet. Do not post anything that you wouldn’t want your parents, your best friend, your worst enemy, or a future employer to read. If you are not careful about what you write, what you write now could come back to haunt you in the future.
3. Never EVER EVER give out or record personal information on your blog. Please, no last names, phone numbers, home addresses, personal photographs, IM screen names etc. (It is probably not wise to give out your personal email address either). Don’t write about other people without permission; if you can’t get their permission, use first names, initials only, or make up a pseudonym. NEVER share someone else’s last name. Again, your blog is a public space on the Internet and anyone, anywhere, could be reading it. So….don’t share anything that you don’t want the world to know. Do not, under any circumstances, agree to meet someone you have met over the Internet. If you have a personal blog, please do not link to it from our class blog. Doing so may inadvertently reveal information that you don’t want to reveal.
4. Never disrespect anyone or anything in your blog posts. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a person, an organization, or just a general idea. When you write your opinion on a topic, you don’t want someone making a stab at what you are passionate about. So, don’t do it to someone else. Try your best to make sure you’re not going to offend anyone in your posts. Blogs are about ideas – therefore, agree or disagree with the idea, not the person. Freedom of speech does not give you the right to be uncivil. Use constructive criticism and use evidence to support your position. Read others’ posts carefully – often in the heat of the moment you may think that a person is saying one thing, when really they are not. Also, try not to generalize. Sentences that start with words like “All” (e.g., “All teachers,” “All administrators,” “All liberals,” “All conservatives”) are typically going to be too general and can often be offensive.
5. Be aware of copyright and link to your sources, but never link to something you haven’t read and understood completely. When you link to something, make sure it is something that you really want to be associated with. If a link contains material that might be in poor taste or make some people uncomfortable, you should probably warn readers by using a parenthetical note or some other word of caution. Be aware of copyright with sounds and images. Make sure what you use is copyright free (just because you find it on the internet does not mean you are free to use it without permission)! Use of quotations in a blog is completely acceptable. Make sure that you follow the proper formatting and cite the source of the quote.
6. Always check over your post for spelling errors, grammar errors, and your use of words. (HINT: Try pasting your post in a word processor first and using the spell checker or use an internet spellchecker before posting on your blog.)
