Monday, September 27, 2010

Being a Safe Blogger

Four Safe Blogging Strategies I have found are:

1. Keep personal information personal. You don't want to post things like your birth date, social security number, or address on your blog. This will give people too much information about you and can bring danger to you. As a teacher you definitely don't want to share too much information about your classroom and/or school with the public. For example, don't mention students' first and last names.

2. Ensure your user name does not reveal too much information and be careful with pictures that you post. Try to use a user name that doesn't give away too much information to the public. Also be very careful with the pictures you post. As a teacher make sure you are careful with the pictures you post of students. Obtain permission from the students parents before posting pictures because otherwise it is illegal.

3. Post only things that are appropriate for the entire public. Future employers have been known to look at blogs. Be careful what you post. It could be the determining factor in whether or not you obtain a job.

4. Be aware of the things that you are posting. You don't want to tell the world that you will be gone all weekend or that you are home alone all night. This can potentially cause danger to you because the entire public can access your information.


http://www.teach2learn.info/docs/presentations/Safebloggingpractices10-24-06.pdf
http://www.networkworld.com/slideshows/2008/101308-12-tips-social-net.html#slide13

Blog Pedagogy

There are many different ways that teachers go about using blogs in the classroom. I know there are three different types of blogs we are supposed to write about, but I would actually like to write about four.

One blog I found was The Wocket Spot Blog. This blog is used to show others the students work, to show the parents links for the different units they studied in class, and it also has links for the students to find their spelling lists and "not homework". The "not homework" link has links for different learning activities. She tells the students it isn't homework, so it gets them more interested in reviewing concepts. I think this is a great thing she uses on her blog. I also really enjoy how she uses the blog to show the parents some of the different units the students are going through. I just think her blog is very accessible to many different types of people, not just students. She also shows some of the students' work on the home page, and I think it is really great because the parents can go to the blog and see what their children are doing in class.
http://thewocketspot.edublogs.org/

Another blog I found was Nicole Gleason's blog. This is a blog that she uses primarily for student work. She has links for teacher assignments (assignments students are supposed to complete on the blog), and she also has links to students writing assignments they have completed. I think it is great that the students are able to take their writing assignments and put them on a blog so that others can see their work.
http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=221080

Another blog I found that I enjoyed is Grade Three is Great!
This blog is used for the students' assignments. The home page has an explanation of a lesson the teacher taught that day and then poses a question to the students regarding that lesson. There is also a student work tab which I think is great because it gives the students the option of typing up their writing on the blog or they can record their writing. I thought this was a great resource! It is amazing the things that technology can provide to us as teachers and students.
http://mswift.edublogs.org/category/student-contributors/

The last blog I found that I fell in love with is Surviving a Teacher's Salary. The reason I decided to find three other blogs and then add this one at the end is because this blog is primarily for teachers. This blog has links for giveaways, freebies, links for educators and parents, and a do it yourself link. This blog is fabulous for teachers because it gives different resources available to us that we can afford on a teacher's salary. I thought her blog name was extremely clever. :)
http://survivingateacherssalary.blogspot.com/2010/09/publix-sneak-peek.html