Journal 3

Five Don’ts of Classroom Blogging.
Julie Sturgeon.

This article has great advice from learning experiences of teachers already using blogs in the classroom. The author discusses the first “Don’t” as “just don’t dive right in.” She states a teacher must have objectives and guidelines written about the blog for the students. Having the students sign an agreement about the do’s and don’ts for the blog and the consequences when the students breach that agreement is important. She also recommends the parents sign an acknowledgement of the blog and that their children will be using one is a good idea, too. It is also recommended to not use free blogging sites because they do not have the ability to manage the site that a teacher should have. She also recommends to not confuse blogging with social networking sites like My Space, etc. and to not force a sequential style that will limit the students’ ability to keep important information at the forefront of the blog. The author discusses helping the students understand what makes a good blog. The benefits of blogging in the classroom have been help in writing from short paragraphs to essays; helping each other with course work; and the advantage a blog gives to a typically quiet child in the classroom.

1. Why does the author state that using a free blog is a “don’t?”
The author quotes from an authority on classroom blogging who states that teachers do not have the controls needed to monitor sites like blogger.com. He recommends “Class Blogmeister” which has the management a teacher needs. He also complains about the advertisements on blogger.com and other free sites. I have not seen anything offensive on blogger.com and I do not understand why a teacher would not be capable of monitoring students’ blogs on these free sites. I would reconsider that advice.

2. What other warnings should students be given about blogging?
Warning students about copyright usage on the Web. Advising students about uploading pictures, songs and anything that is copyrighted should be discussed and included in the agreement students should sign before participating on a blog.