Are your students BLOGGING?

How far can a school go in restricting student use of blogs on the internet? What can we as educators do to help our students use this technology appropriately?

Blogs are increasingly used as a method for students to communicate their thoughts publicly on the web, much like an online diary. “Of the 21 million teens online, 19% keep a blog (about 4 million), and 38% read blogs. “ Numerous cases are documented where students have been arrested because of threats posted publicly to a blog. The article, “Student Blogs Mark a New Frontier for School Discipline” looks at the benchmark cases that are currently used in suits involving blogging and First Amendment rights.

The article also cites two recent instances where schools have attempted to inhibit student blog use. The first is a private school who declared that any student maintaining a journal posted on the Internet would be risking disciplinary action. In the second instance, the Community High School Board of Education, in Libertyville, Illinois has set a policy that students involved in co-curricular activities “must sign a pledge agreeing that any illegal or inappropriate Internet postings could result in school disciplinary action.“ These cases have not yet reached the courts. Both of these incidents involve preventative actions taken by the school in an effort to avoid situations that could create conflict or even dangerous situations in the school. To date, blog postings not created with school equipment or on school time have been protected as free speech, unless the postings have created a specific situation that significantly disrupts the educational process.

I found the article both interesting and informative, and agree with the authors that it is essential that our schools create clear policies that spell out the appropriate use of school technology and the Internet, and clarify the disciplinary actions that will be taken when the policies have been violated. Additionally, this information must be communicated to both parents and students alike.

WORKS CITED:
Kirby, Elizabeth and Brenda Kaillio. “Student Blogs Mark a New Frontier for
School Discipline.” Education Digest, Jan 2007: Vol. 72 Issue 5, 16-23.

Gender and the Internet

Who's using the Internet these days, and why has that been changing? Do women and men use the Internet for different purposes? Has the Internet changed how people interact in the world? Use the link below to access a brief PowerPoint presentation of the information I collected.

GenderInternet.ppt

Teaching Web Site of the Week for May 14th

Course: Interior Design (grades 9-12)

My site of the week is http://www.bhg.com

This is the home page for Better Homes & Gardens. The scope of the site
includes a wide variety of topics including Decorating, Remodeling,
Food & Recipes, Gardening, Holidays, Health, Family & Crafts. During
our Interior Design course, students learn to draw and design floor
plans, and select fabric, paint and furnishings. The BHG site includes
resources to research each of these topics, including an online floor
plan tool called “Arrange-A-Room” which can be found at:

http://www.bhg.com/bhg/category.jsp?categoryid=/templatedata/bhg/category/data/arrangearoomtest.xml

NETS*S Standards 2, 3, 5 and 6.

Should iPods be allowed in Schools?

For many school districts, this is just part of an ongoing technology policy discussion that keeps changing with each new technological development. This article picked up by the Associated Press focuses on the concern many schools have regarding the student use of digital media players to cheat on tests.

We’ve been focusing a great deal on additional ways to integrate technology and the Internet into our curriculum. Perhaps in addition to addressing safety concern on the Internet, we need to also talk about the ethical use of technology. One student is quoted in the article as saying that, “People who are going to cheat are still going to cheat, with or without them.” This may well be true, but I feel it is an issue that needs to be dealt with directly, putting a spotlight on the ethical issues. Sometimes the “cool factor” of new technology can obscure the line between its proper and improper use. It’s important to remind our students where that line is.

Sources:
“Schools banning iPods to thwart cheaters.” Detroit Free Press 27 April 2007. 6 May 2007.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070427/NEWS07/70427012/1019
/BUSINESS06

Hotlist of Web Sites

I've created a Hotlist of web sites that are useful in teaching the following high school courses: Art, Graphic Design, Interior Design, and Photography. You may find them useful!

http://cuip.net/~sverdon/VerdonHotlist.doc