Best Practices In Educational Blogging

•    Establishing norms/guidelines for student blogging (student blogging contracts, parental involvement, inclusion of district AUPs or "acceptable use policies," etc.)

                      Before students begin blogging independently, they need to be given a tutorial by their teacher about the responsibilities associated with using social media, and the ethical and safety concerns social media can present.  They should become familiar with the school’s acceptable use policies, and their first blog should be about how they plan to be a responsible blogger, so there will be a written record of their understanding.  The class should then create a class blogging contract outlining their rights and responsibilities as a blogger, and the students, parents, and teacher should all sign it.  
    

        •    Safety issues educators should be aware of when blogging with students.

                     When blogging with students, educators should make students aware that other people can search and locate the content that they are posting to the internet.  Therefore, students need to be very careful what they post, since it is out for the world to see, and they can not take it back.  Educators also need to be aware of advertisements that pop up on free blogging sites, and whether these are appropriate.  Additionally, educators should be aware that students are not copy-writing work, and are not giving personal information that others can locate.  Through active monitoring of students while they are blogging, and preventative preparation measures (such as tutorials on responsible blogging) teachers can make sure that their students are blogging as safely as possible.  

Resources about Best Practices In Responsible Blogging:                        

                                             EDUBlogs-  Using Blogs With Students

                                             Fairfax County Public Schools- Internet Safety

                                             Edudemic- Blogging In The Classroom