Info+on+student+blogging+policies

=Student Blogging=

There are many issues to consider when beginning to blog with students.

Policy
 * What policies and guidelines will you put in place? (See examples below.)
 * Does your existing AUP need to be updated?
 * Do you have parent permissions for publishing student work (and/or pictures) online?
 * How will the feelings of administration, the board, and community be considered? How will these constituents be informed and educated?

Process issues
 * What are your goals for blogging?
 * Will students be keeping their own blogs or commenting on a teacher blog?
 * Will you moderate student comments and/or posts?
 * Do you have student email accounts? (This may affect your choice of blogging platform.)

Student guidelines
 * What guidelines will students have? (See examples below.)
 * reminder of public nature of the Internet
 * use of names
 * personal information
 * restriction to academic or school-related topics
 * respect for others
 * quality of responses
 * etc.
 * How will these be drafted?

Online safety and IP issues
 * What level of privacy is desired or needed?
 * How will you safeguard students, while teaching 21st century skills?
 * How will you address copyright and intellectual property issues with students?

The best blogging platform for you will depend on the answers to these questions. (See options below.)

Here are district policies and student blogging guidelines that may be helpful to you as you make these decisions:
 * Discovery Blogging Rules
 * [|On students developing blogging rules]
 * [|Bud Hunt's blogging resources](see especially AUP and student created blog policies)
 * [|Burnaby School District]
 * [|Amy Rasmussen's blogging rules]
 * [|Information from Edublogs](including sample guidelines, student handouts, etc.)

Related useful resources:
 * [|Unit on student blogging](elementary, but easily adapted) from Silvia Tolisano
 * [|Rubrics for evaluating student blogging]
 * Tips on peer feedback

Here are some common blogging platforms with quick pros and cons:
 * [|Wordpress](host it yourself) - Pros: Free, great functionality, excellent controls especially with WPMU; Cons: Requires hosting
 * [|Wordpress](they host it) - Pros: Free, they host, easy to set up; Cons: Limited functionality (embeds, multi-user support, etc.)
 * [|Blogger] - Pros: Free, they host, easy to set up; Cons: Blocked in some schools, links to other non-educationally appropriate blogs
 * [|Edublogs] - Pros: They host; lots of school functionality through Wordpress MU (see above pros); Cons: Small fee for teacher account