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As I teach adult learners and college students, I think its possible for me to have a somewhat more open acceptable use blogging policy than if my students were younger. However, my policy would require students to:

1) Post using their real name. Knowing that others will read their postings, they should not make comments that they would not make in person to another student's face.

2) Refrain from posting abusive or profane content.

3) Remember the purpose of the blog is academic and that they have a responsibility to contribute to the collective learning of the group. Posts should relate in some way to course content.

4) Refrain from posting links to content or materials that they have not thoroughly reviewed.

5) Strive for the best writing (including grammar use) and analysis that they are capable of.

Edited by author 03-26-2005 03:13 PM
Strangely enough, I've never really considered setting guidelines for myself with respect to my own class blog. This is despite the fact that I've discussed everything from meeting my girlfriend to poor academic performance on tests.

I think the best advice I've come across for posting to a personal blog - that is, one in which the author is known to the reader - is to follow Peggy's rule #1a listed below, which essentially says that one should only post entries with content that the author would be comfortable personally saying to the face of any potential reader.

I think the purpose of anonymous blogs is to post something that one would not necessarily be comfortable saying to the face of a potential reader, and I believe these types of blogs serve a different (lesser?) purpose than personal blogs - to be provocative and promote conflict rather than promoting understanding. (I hope this doesn't make me sound like I don't understand or appreciate their place, I just think the two hold different weights in the public arena)

As far as my experiment journaling project I think I would address the issue by having the students, either collectively or individually, come up with blogging guidelines. I could see it fitting well into their individual proposals for the project and could in fact lead very naturally into a discussion about scientific integrity with respect to stating results and conclusions gathered from data (not to mention a discussion on the integrity of the data itself).

I doubt I would accept from any student a blog content guideline proposal that did not state that their comments would refrain from profanity, slander, and off topic entries, but in my experience the students are consistently tougher on themselves with rules and regulations than I would ever consider being, so I expect the majority of them will cover at least these three bases.

While some dislike the use of certain less concrete words (respect, excessive, etc.) in forming behavioral guidelines I actually encourage their use because it always offers me as the teacher a sort of "out" when a conflict does arise. Ultimately, what is "excessive" or "respectful" is defined by me, and when put in the position of being judge and jury for certain students in specific incidents I like to have the wiggle room that those words allow me in the interpretation of those incidents and the subsequent punishment so many of them precede.

Thus, rather than seeing the immaculate breakdown of every potential blogging violation and their consequence(s) as a liberating thing, I see it as constricting. Better I think to make the students live up to standards of their own devising and then evaluate them on how well they adhere to those standards than to make them live up to standards I've set up for them. Might the latter actually encourage rebellion and increase the number of violations? I think in some cases, yes.

Personal Blogging:
1. No names or identifying characteristics
2. Allow comments
3. Make corrections, check links
4. Schedule updates
5. Support arguments

Personal Blog Policies
1. Anonymity is key. No references to myself or specific individuals.
2. I will allow non-anonymous comments to my postings, however I reserve the the right to delete any misplaced or grossly inappropriate material.
3. I encourage various points of view, however professional courtesy a required.

I think weblog policies should be the first think students need to know before creating a class blog.

Here are some preliminary ideas for weblog policies for my students:
 
  Disscuss classroom assignments
  Use appropiate language for school.
  Respect others opinions
  Be responsable for their own writing

In my own personal/professional blogs I would use anonymity in regards to myself and the people that I know. I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm not really interested in people knowing a whole lot about me and I don't want things to come back to haunt me! For my classroom, I will review the Student network Responsibilities contract and make sure that all students have turned one in to the office. At our school all students receive one at the beginning of the year. If it isn't returned signed by them and their parents, they can't use the internet. The district's AUP is very clear as to what the students can and cannot do. This makes my life easier because I don't have make one up! The less I have to do the better!

This advisory blog is designed to help students discuss issues at our school and issues relevant to students in grades 9-12. It is a four year long project.

For this blog, the following guidelines must be observed at all times.

1. The fundamental standard must be in effect at all times. ( it is like an all encompassing honor and conduct code for our school.)
2. The Acceptable Use policy must be observed at all times.
3. Acceptable language.
4. Do not speak negatively of others or belittle them.
5. Keep to the topic.
6. Keep the blog conversations limited to the students of this advisory. We are not inviting outside participants. The teacher will edit/delete inappropriate comments.
7. We will use fake identities because of the searchable aspect of the web, but we will know within our advisory who is speaking so that writers take responsibility for what they are saying in the group.
8. State the facts in a non-threatening, non-accusatory manner. It is not intended as an outlet to lay blame to anyone person.

Basic Policies for Bloggers
a. Be polite. Do not post abusive, inflammatory, or obscene messages to others.
b. Respect privacy. Do not reveal personal information about yourself or others. Keep all classroom postings anonymous.
c. Be considerate. “Our role is to be respectful of each other's contributions, but to encourage each other to stretch outside of the boundaries of the status quo.” June Dodge, 2004. No personal attacks.
d. Be relevant. Focus exclusively on topics and discussions that pertain to the purpose of the blog.
e. Proof read your work, and make corrections as necessary. Use language that is appropriate for an educational setting.
Non-Example: im rofl cuz ur blog was gr8.
Correct Example: I was truly amused by your profound posting.
f. All links or references should be thoroughly investigated prior to posting.

An acceptable use policy is key when working in a K-12 educational setting. Having clear cut expectations and limitations delivered in writing to students and parents can help demonstrate that the communication has been made between school and home and that should students choose to break those rules, they will be held accountable with consequences. What is uplifting is that those consequences need not be dire and permanent, but reminders of proper behavior when dealing with a public medium that give students the chance to earn back the right to use technology at the school.

Policies for student blogs:
DO:
Express yourself
Keep up with requirements
Use appropriate language
Content: Remember that your blog can be viewed by students, teachers, and parents
Ensure that the content you provide is to the best of your knowledge accurate and true
DO NOT:
Speak negatively of other students, teachers, or other persons
Use profanity

1. For my own blog, I will simply follow these particular rules, as well as expect those who post to my blog to follow the same rules:
a. Anyone who posts to this forum should not post anything that could not be comfortably said to the affected person(s) face(s).
b. While differing points of view are valued and encouraged, professionalism, courtesy and tact are the rules of this blog.
c. Any examples made of specific circumstances and/or individuals should have all non-essential and/or personally identifying elements changed to protect the identity of the individual(s) in question.
d. There will be no explicit comments of a sexual, violent, criminal, slanderous or libelous nature allowed. No harassment of any kind or anything that could be construed as “stalking” will be allowed.
2. My learners will be reminded about the following issues:
a. No activities that are not related to class assignments
 i. Games
 ii. Personal surfing
 iii. Commercial sites
1. ebay
2. online stores
 iv. Chatting
 v. Instant messaging
b. No criminal or inappropriate activity
 i. Pornography
 ii. Teen magazine sites (except if related or research)
c. No postings or uploads that will cause harm or distress to another individual or group of individuals.

Some preliminary thoughts:

Ques. 1: Content would be focused on areas of content and issues. One example is Joi Ito’s blog. After reviewing hers, I would consider different blogs for different content/issue areas. She has done that through content subject archives. The web of archives seems to be getting on the verge of being too complicated and off-putting to the outsider. Maybe that is OK. It seems to be serving the user’s needs.

The only current entry her blog presented was her personal response to a free speech/student growth issue she was aware of. Personalization of opinions would be limited content/issue matter that is of interest.

Ques. 2: The policy would set out the purpose of the blog in terms the students can relate to, e.g., blogging is like our classroom discussion in a way.

Limitations on use, content and access would be spelled out.

Cautions tied to limitations on use and to real world concerns to explain and sensitze the students such as public access, concern for others’ feelings, integrity, stalking potential, the need to consider the potential for damage to one’s own reputation by impolitic or imprudent disclosure.

The teacher needs to consider his/her response to student disclosures and to safety, security and privacy concerns

Edited by author 09-25-2004 02:25 PM
Blogger software will be used for this GROUP project.


Guidelines: This project is being invented as it is being implemented. Additional guidelines or rules or laws will be added and posted and enforced from time to time as they are conceived.

Respect: We are all learners and teachers. Our role is to be respectful of each other’s contributions, but to encourage each other to stretch outside of the boundaries of the status quo.

On-target: Entries to this blog should be about the project. Email should be used for comments to individuals.

Un-rigid: All participants in the project need to be flexible and to change based on growing guidelines.

Pre-plan: During the course of the project, students should be aware that postings are immediate. So they should take advantage of using a word processing program or the save as draft option available in Blogger.

Personal Standards:
To post only what I would find acceptable to read about myself in someone else's blog.
To post at least once per week, potential readers/friends/family lose interest with stale content.
To share daily life with others far away and bring them into the context of my world.
To write well with limited slang.
To provide the links and pictures to make the entries interesting.

Corporate AUP:
Internet access is now available to employees of COMFISCS. The access is offered as part of the knowledge management toolkit. Our goal in providing this service is to promote organization excellence by using blogging resources for professional purposes such as:
to further teamwork
to share knowledge
to learn together
to communicate current events
to enable a mobile and virtual workforce
to focus on the mission.

Users must use their NMCI name for their account, anonymous posting is prohibited.

Discussions are encouraged, personal attacks are not. Keep the exchanges polite and courteous, this doesn't mean that you have to agree with each other on every subject. People are entitled to their own opinions.

For readability, posts should be spell checked and grammatically correct. DO NOT use all caps.

Political posts are prohibited under the Hatch Act.

For blogs that are publicly accessible, posts must reflect positively on the Navy's behalf. Posts must be approved by the Public Affairs Office prior to posting.

The use of our Navy Blog Software and Internet connection is a privilege, not a right. Inappropriate use will result in a cancellation of those privileges. Before being assigned a Blog account and a password, each employee will meet with their supervisor to review the Blogging Policy and Guidance instruction. The Commanding Officer, Department Heads, and supervisors may request the system administrator to deny, revoke, or suspend specific user accounts if violations occur.

What rules do I want to abide by on my personal log?

My expectations for myself and those commenting to my personal log are to refrain from inappropriate language, vulgarity, and links to sites that are not relevant to the focus of the conversations. ...keep it clean and adhere to the subject matter being discussed at the time.

What language do I want my students to use in their blogs?

I like the sample AUP: which discloses the district policy on netiquette and provides a contract for everyone to sign before accessing the Internet at school.
I will use something very similar to this based on my district's policies and modify it accordingly.

Here is an example policy that I could use in my second grade classroom....

I would want to create some sort of a webpage showing my students the do's and don'ts of working with blogs.
1) Always write things that are respectful of others in the class and who may be reading our blog. Never write anything that may be hurtful or inappropriate for second grade. Also, respect the things that others have written.

2)Use the blog only as a tool for learning.

3)When using the blog stay on topic and only write about the posted discussion topic.

4)Use the blog to meet new peple, but please check with the teacher first if someone tries to contact you through the blog. Some strangers may not be appropriate for you to talk to.

5)Remember you want to remain anonymous to any outside users. Do not give out your password or any personal information for others to recieve.


The policy that I have in mind for myself when using my personal blog would be......

1)Keep the content professional and on topic

2)When writing about life do not use real names of friends, co-workers or students.

3)Do not give out personal information.

My own, personal policies....

I have always been guilty of telling people "too much." I often feel that I have left conversations with people that I just met thinking, "did I really tell them that?" or "I wonder how they felt about hearing me drone on about that...." Sometimes I realize that I didn't learn as much about them. Maybe I talk too much. This is what happens when you have a room full of 9-10 year olds all day and 5 children under 10 at home....I seem to have a need for adult conversation.

This attitude enters my personal policies on the internet. I have posted some very detailed information about myself on my website(s) and then realized that future employers can easily access this information.

I guess what I am saying is that I have a policy of being free with my information. I AM hesitant to use the internet for public rants against my employers or individuals. In these instances, if I cared to share my feelings in a blog, I would create an alias for myself and hope that it couldn't be traced back. I still have to operate under the guidelines that nothing is secure on the internet.

Weblog policies for my own blog
• Content will always be on topic and professional.
• Do not give out any personal information.
• Do not use student, co-workers, or parents real names on the blog
• All links should be appropriate to the blog

Weblog policies for students
• You can only use first names (which will be alias names)
• No pictures of students with names
• Discussion must stay on assigned topic
• Teacher must ok all posts
• All language must be appropriate for school (no bad words or put downs)
• Respect others opinions
• If the rules are not followed you will not be able to post

Edited by author 09-25-2004 02:09 PM
Without being aware of it, I developed my own rules when posting to my personal blogs. There are two personal blogs to which I contribute: a family one and my “private” one. For the family one—where the participants are solely myself and my brother—I am careful to write things that are not too incredibly revealing, like where I live. I am also careful not to write certain feelings about, say, my Mom and Dad. Someday, they may just figure out what the Internet is! I am aware that this blog is out there for anyone to read and I still need to censor some of the things I write. The same goes for my private blog. However, with that one, I’ve figured out how to use some code names to appease my need to express what I’m thinking and not censor myself completely.

As for the policies that I will provide for the blogging site techs, here is what I’ve come up with so far.

1. Thou shalt treat all others with respect in blogspace.
Be open to ideas and supportive of one another.

2. Thou shalt use the blog for professional matters only.
Please do not discuss The Apprentice 2 here.

3. Thou shalt not speak slanderously of another person.
Use this tool to work better and more efficiently, not to talk about others (bosses, colleagues, etc.).

4. Thou shalt not ever, ever type in all capital letters.
Follow netiquette rules.

---Revised---

I think that the lines are already clearly defined, and the policy should be simple: Everything you write in your blog should fall under the writing rules already in place in the classroom. For instance, a writer's notebook is a place for creative writing- NOT "journal" entries about your partying and sucicidal thoughts. Everything in a writer's notebook (and therefore in a blog) should be available to the teacher and peers for assessment and feedback. I always tell my students to stay PG or G rated, or I tell them to write as if their parents are also part of the audience. Students already sign and AUP before school, which would also pertain to blogs since blogs are a part of the internet, which states: Internet use is for educational purposes only. The end.

Neidhart's class blog policy:

1. Bogging is a privledge which can be rescinded at any time by me.

2. Your writing is for educational purposes only.

3. You will use standard english in your blog, and your writing will be profanity free.

4. Your links will be to informative sites only, from which others can learn. Links to plageristic, pornographic, or other non-educational sits will result in loss of all computer privledges in the school for the remainder of the year, as well has appropriate discipliary action from site administrators.

5. You will maintain anonymity for outside readers.

About ten months ago, I bought a domain name for my portfolio website. Speakeasy Designs soon became home to a blog that I wrote filled with little stupid stories about what had happened to me. Many of those stories would have been fine if a prospective employeer were to read it, but there were ones that weren't.

I ended up moving the blog, so that each of them remain separate. I stay careful not to link from my personal blog to my portfolio blog. I think its important to have a blog where you can say what you really feel where only your friends can read it. And another place altogether where you can promote your skillset without stories about dating mishaps or whiskey.

So, for me, I guess I had to establish a policy where I could use policy to determine where a post would end up. Professional blog, or personal blog.

The language I want students to use in their blog?
Hmmm, I feel that's a loaded question since what I'm really working with right now is to incorporate blogging into a digital media archive.

I enjoyed our talk with Anne Davis today. She's really got me thinking about using blogs for language learning. to keep this post from getting any longer, I'm going to have to stop.

Personal Standards:
To post only what I would find acceptable to read about myself in someone else's blog.
To post at least once per week, potential readers/friends/family lose interest with stale content.
To share daily life with others far away and bring them into the context of my world.
To write well with limited slang.
To provide the links and pictures to make the entries interesting.

Corporate AUP:
Internet access is now available to employees of COMFISCS. The access is offered as part of the knowledge management toolkit. Our goal in providing this service is to promote organization excellence by using blogging resources for professional purposes such as:
to further teamwork
to share knowledge
to learn together
to communicate current events
to enable a mobile and virtual workforce
to focus on the mission.

Users must use their NMCI name for their account, anonymous posting is prohibited.

Discussions are encouraged, personal attacks are not. Keep the exchanges polite and courteous, this doesn't mean that you have to agree with each other on every subject. People are entitled to their own opinions.

Political posts are prohibited under the Hatch Act.

For blogs that are publicly accessible, posts must reflect positively on the Navy's behalf. Posts must be approved by the Public Affairs Office prior to posting.

The use of our Navy Blog Software and Internet connection is a privilege, not a right. Inappropriate use will result in a cancellation of those privileges. Before being assigned a Blog account and a password, each employee will meet with their supervisor to review the Blogging Policy and Guidance instruction. The Commanding Officer, Department Heads, and supervisors may request the system administrator to deny, revoke, or suspend specific user accounts if violations occur.

I am currently setting up my blog policies. They will be listed directly on the blog, but also be discussed at length in the classroom.

Here are the policies that I have written so far...

1) Respect - All students are expected to treat each other with respect. Even if you disagree with someone, you can discuss your disagreement with respect and understanding.

2) Appropriateness - All language and discussion must be "school appropriate." No bad language. No making fun of others or name calling.

3) Stay on Topic - The discussions that we have should stick with whatever is the chosen topic. This weblog shouldn't be used for talking about your friends or relationships in class. It is ok to bring in personal experience, if it stays with the topic.

4) Privacy - We have set up an "alias" for each student (a fake name) to ensure your privacy from the outside world on the internet. However, the teacher has these fake names on record and students will also be aware of these names as well. Do not expect to post something "in secret." Although we are setting up the safest site possible, the internet is an open area where people from around the world can peek into your "space."

5) Teacher Monitoring - Be further aware that the teacher and your parents have the right to monitor (read and investigate) what you write.

This is still a work in progress....

As you nurture your own personal/professional blog, what policies will you follow about content, self-disclosure, etc.?

And what policies will you provide to your own learners as they blog under your direction?

Describe each set of policies in a separate paragraph. Write the learner-oriented policy in the 2nd person in language appropriate to your learners.