Monday, September 17, 2007

Think before you Blog

A Colleague of mine Mr. Kuropatwa created this post for his students. Since it is Internet Safety Week please pay attention to the videos below.

Blogging is a very public activity. Anything that gets posted on the internet stays there. Forever. Deleting a post simply removes it from the blog it was posted to. Copies of the post may exist scattered all over the internet. I have come across posts from my students on blogs as far away as Sweden! That is why we are being so careful to respect your privacy and using first names only. We do not use pictures of ourselves. If you really want a graphic image associated with your posting use an avatar -- a picture of something that represents you but IS NOT of you.


Here are a few videos that illustrate some of what I want you to think about:



Two teachers in the U.S.A. worked with their classes to come up with a list of guidelines for student bloggers.

One of them, Bud Hunt, has these suggestions, among others:

  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.


Another teacher, Steve Lazar, developed a set of guidelines in consultation with his students. You can read them here.

Look over the guidelines and add the ones you like in the comments section below this post; either from one of Steve's students or one of your own. I think Bud's suggestions are excellent. We'll be using the one's I highlighted above as a basis for how we will use our blog.

Cheers,
Mr. K.

I could not have written it any better. Enjoy blogging and use your head. Thanks

Mr. Harbeck

17 comments:

KIERRA COOMBER said...

i really like the last video..actually i liked all of them lol .. this really makes me think about bullying, and giving a second thought to what you post online

davidhuynh said...

All of that is true and happening, but then the second one would be my favorite because it really packed a punch. No one in their right mind would be that mean, especially to another persons face.

♥.;:Chantel:;.♥ said...

I think The Last One Is The Best.
But They All Have A Good Meaning To Them.

JorDer 8-16 said...

the last one was the best.. and i think online bullying is pointless o_o
it makes me wonder how many people do this, and if theyre actually proud or themselves..

Anonymous said...

i liked all videos. but who would do online bullying anyways? how does that make them feel great? o_o

Drea said...

I think all the videos were really good. My favorite one was the last video because kids around our age could relate to us and see our perspective on bullying, but to think that some people actually do this is pretty rough. If you wouldn't like it to be done to yourself...don't do it at all.

kiahna 8-16 said...

i think the last one was the best because it was very meaningful. It is so cool that kids made that movie.

Danica16 said...

i think they are all good because they all have a point, but my favorite was the last one because it had the strongest point.

tasha 8-16 said...

I think all the vidoes were great! They all had the truth and told a very strong meaning! I also think online bullying is wrong and no one has the right to bully others!

JorDer 8-16 said...

here i am again (: with nothing to say

derjor1 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
derjor1 said...

i think all of them were great because they taught us things . . . not to bully -_-"

vina8-16 said...

i think the video are awesome. everything makes sense and all have a different meaning :D:D:D

ANGEL 8-16 said...

wow i like all of them it gives me thoughts about bullying ye know and that gave me an experience about getting bullied :|

dcfasge said...

I liked the fist and second on the best, because it had a good meaning, like who is weird enough to take fun of others online? thats just crazy . On the other hand why would you even make fun of someone in their face? . hmm.. makes me wonder :S

dcfasge said...

woah. i should think before I post. look at all the errors i made :S, gosh

CVB_207 said...

I think the videos tell you to think before you post something online........and i really like the 5th video because it really had a effect on me.