Great advice for student bloggers

Darren Kuropatwa posted some excellent advice for student bloggers back in February about keeping safe online, which were first posted by Bud the Teacher. These are so good I am going to cite them in full here:

1. Students using blogs are expected to treat blogspaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for our blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of this school.
2. Never EVER EVER give out or record personal information on our blog. Our blog exists as a public space on the Internet. Don’t share anything that you don’t want the world to know. For your safety, be careful what you say, too. Don’t give out your phone number or home address. This is particularly important to remember if you have a personal online journal or blog elsewhere.
3. Again, your blog is a public space. And if you put it on the Internet, odds are really good that it will stay on the Internet. Always. That means ten years from now when you are looking for a job, it might be possible for an employer to discover some really hateful and immature things you said when you were younger and more prone to foolish things. Be sure that anything you write you are proud of. It can come back to haunt you if you don’t.
4. Never link to something you haven’t read. While it isn’t your job to police the Internet, when you link to something, you should make sure it is something that you really want to be associated with. If a link contains material that might be creepy or make some people uncomfortable, you should probably try a different source.

As I’ve written before, these concepts of Internet safety are but a subset of a broader set of issues and skills encompassed in the concept of “digital citizenship.”

I am not sure exactly how I make these determinations, but I strongly believe there are several “educational bandwagons” we need to get on and stay on. Digital citizenship is one. Digital storytelling is another. Understanding authentic education as a conversation also fits in here. Anything else you’d add to this list?

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On this day..

• iPad Apps About Rockets, Spacecraft Design, and Astronomical Engineering – 2014
• Inspired to Dream BIG @NorthwesternU – 2011
• We need more constructive and positive Storychasers in The Age of Humiliation – 2010
• Welcome to OLD School Assignment Turn In – 2010
• Abandoning Juice Receiver – At least for now – 2008
• Beyond the Fear Factor with Internet Safety – 2008
• links for 2008-05-05 – 2008
• A growing global audience – 2008
• A warning that came too late – 2008
• Do you need a Second Life?? – 2007