Blogging in Elementary School Classrooms At one time or another almost all parents will express some concern regarding their child’s safety; and rightfully so. It behooves us to spend some time with parents to explain/demonstrate what we are planning and most importantly, why. The perceived risks (http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/internet-crimes/) of posting students’ images, videos and work is debatable (http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2007/01/ the_one_percent.html) and much has been written about this (http:// macmomma.blogspot.com/2010/11/scott-mcleod-s-recent-post-in.html). What works for one teacher may not work for another, but I have been successful in sharing previous online work with parents and explaining what will and will NOT be published. I also let parents know that if they are ever uncomfortable with something their child has posted, or something posted on behalf or about their child, I will remove it immediately; no questions asked. My school district has a standard consent form (http://macmomma.blogspot.com/2010/11/scott-mcleod-s-recent-post-in.html) on which I add “including but not limited to blogs, podcasts, videos and videoconferences.” I also let parents know that if they choose not to sign it, their children will still participate as much as possible on paper but the work will not be published online. I start whetting the children’s appetites for their own blogs a few weeks before I’m ready to give them theirs. Daily interjections like, “Here is something you might want to write about on your own blog” and “What kind of ending do you think would encourage people to add a comment?” stimulate students to start writing notes to themselves, lest they forget when the time comes. When my students have a clear understanding of online blogging privacy (no last names, no photos of anyone else, no real names of anyone else, no names of school or teams, no email addresses, etc.) they are ready to write their first posts. I use Kidblog.org (http://kidblog.org)because it’s easy for me to set up and maintain, it’s free and it’s simple for even young students to use. I always make sure that post and comment moderation is turned on, so nothing goes live until I approve it. Teachers should take extra care when approving outside comments because sometimes email addresses or websites are included in the comments. One nice feature about Kidblog.org is that you can edit the comments. I always remove email addresses and preview websites before allowing them to remain in the comments.
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