1. With my English Ed background, I found the Kajder and Bull article interesting as it dealt with the integration of blogs within k-12 language arts. One issue I still have, though, is privacy. Students are interested in blogging because they can instantly publish and access material, but I wonder what conversations/discussions in class have been had about what is appropriate to post and what is not. With Facebook, MySpace, etc ... I think that some people don't really think about the consquences of putting their life online. If this was done/started as a school assignment, is the school/teacher liable at all if anything happens? If it is made private, does that defeat the purpose of a blog?
2. The Glenn article discusses scholars who blog. I keep several blogs, but I don't keep one about my "profession." Why? Well, first of all, perhaps I don't feel confident enough to publish my thoughts/comments in such a public forum. Secondly, and this happens with any post I make, I wonder how my posts will reflect on me as a future employee of a company/univeristy, etc. I understand that blogs offer easy discourse, but then again, it is discourse that is not generally accepted as furthering knowledge, for use in promotion/tenure, etc. Would potential employers be upset that I am using my time to publish freely accesible information without any sort of formal peer-review process? Would they think that this would limit my publications or perhaps my status in the professoinal community? Do they think that, for any argument in the field, I would use the public forum to air my dirty laundry?
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Hi, Chris. In my use of blogs in the classroom, I password protect students' work - admitting only those folks into our classroom community who have been selected to participate (or who have contacted us by knowing what we do or through the expertise they bring to one of our areas of inquiry). Privacy is a big concern - as is safety. This isn't blogging for the sake of blogging - it is connective, smart writing meant to amplify their learning and exchange within invested communities. I also work closely with students to explore and consider their digital footprints - you're right that they need an understanding of their online identities and presence.
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