Has anyone in the states successfully convinced their admins to allow blogging?

I am up against "that" wall. I have provided the facts on blogging and the benefits. I have gone over the security measures involved(no material gets published without my OK, confidentiality, etc...), the cost(free). But still my admin says "NO, It opens us up to too many liabilities and lawsuit possibilities". Are there solutions, arguments, flyers, propaganda,? HELP!

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Hi Scott,

I haven't had to fight this battle myself, but I have been a proxy a number of times.

A blog is a Web page, no more, no less. People can argue about it all they want, but when it comes down to it, it's just a Web page. If you are allowed to publish Web pages at work, stop calling what you want to do blogging. Start referring to it as a class Web page. People tend to latch onto these words that they pull from the media and the words receive more power than they deserve. Cut it off at the feet by refusing to use the word.

I know, I know. This sounds so shifty. Well, if they are blocking your logic with ignorance, use their ignorance to further your agenda.

Good luck.
Dan
Scott,

Two years ago we were in the same boat as you were. We finally convinced the admins that blogging is no different than any other kind of web publishing and that essentially the students and teachers are under the same stipulations (as covered by our district's Acceptable Use Policy) when they blog, post a podcast, or participate in any other kind of online activity.

With that in mind, they were fine with allowing blogging and other web 2.0 activities.

Best of luck,

Darren
Darren thanks for the tip. Before you were allowed to blog, what kind of publishing did your school do? Let me just say that no publishing outside of what our DTC does with their class on the school website happens as far as students are concerned. As for us teachers, we have teacher pages, but they have to be done with FrontPage(I know!) and it has to sent to them and they post it on the server. We have no access to uploading anything ourselves, which would make blogging,in a word, difficult.
Sorry you are having such a hard time with that...my school is encouraging blogging...actually, my principal has been pleading with the staff to create blogs...

good luck...
I am allowed to let the students create blogs within the context of Moodle.
I was successful getting permission from my school and the parents by sending the attached letter, which draws attentiion to the fact that students are blogging anyway through myspace, facebook etc. By working through the whole thing at school, we can teach them about the pitfalls as we go. The problem now is that I'm struggling with the technology, but I hope to get there before too long. I have started a class blog, but need to make the students pages private.
Attachments:
Great of you to post your letter. I wonder if others might not do the same, or if we should try to collect them somewhere?
Yes, thanks indeed Christen!
Yes, I think its important we all press on with it in spite of objections. The more good reasons we can think of the better, particularly in light of what I was reading in the link Ed Jones posted. Here is another letter passed on by another keen blogger, Jon Pearce. He is happy for anyone to use it. Someone else referred to a link in their blog. There must be a few around.
Attachments:
Hi,

Sorry to hear about your administration. Where I teach, technology is strongly promoted. My district offers technology courses in the summer that includes blogging as a tool. My fifth graders have started blogging. Are you interested in e-mailing our technology coordinator?
Thanks Kelly! Here is an update to my situation. Kind of humorous actually. My technology coordinator originally told me that my principal and state technology guidelines wouldn't allow it. A quick talk with my principal insured me that he had never said that he was against it, and a quick email to our state's technology consultant told me that not only were they not against it, they were interested and wanted to know more about it.

I sent my principal and the email from the state down to the coordinator. She now had no legs to stand on. Instead of giving in, she offered to provide money for my department to purchase projectors. I figure this was to shut me up. My thoughts are that they really have no reason other that of ignorance to the technology. And the person is not one to learn unless they are getting something out of it. So for now I am just stuck, but at least I am stuck with a video projector. Maybe once it's installed I will start back up. I fear this is going to have to be one of those "wait till they retire" things. Thanks for all of your help!
So I think you're ready to go. Why do you need the school technology coordinator involved from this point on? Show the principal the email from the state technology consultant with your proposal for how you're going to use blogging with your students and some of the supporting material that has been recommended and get an ok from the principal to start your project along with a directive to your local technology coordinator to have her do everything she can to assist you in your educational project. Seems to me the technology consultant needs to read the job description for her position and try to figure out where it says that she should be an impediment to educational projects.

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