http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines Thu, 29 Oct 2009 21:32:24 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The Ministry of Education has provided detailed guidelines for school on the topics of privacy and copyright. These can be accessed at http://www.tki.org.nz/r/governance/curriculum/copyguide_e.php http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-4-legal-requirements-and-considerations/existing-moe-guidelines/ Students have rights to the work they produce and each student owns the copyright to their own artistic and literary works. Schools cannot publish student work online without authorisation from the students and parents. Many schools have created a parent / student authorisation form that covers online publication in school newsletters ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-4-legal-requirements-and-considerations/copyright/ Before developing a school blog, educators should consider how the features of a blog and the regular communication it promotes, will contribute to the overall strategic plan or vision for using digital technologies in the classroom. Just as any school expenditure or Education Outside The Classroom (EOTC) must be justified in ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-1-why-use-a-school-blog/evaluating-your-use-of-digital-technologies/ The use of school blogs also has the potential to give parents and caregivers a unique view into their child’s classroom. The regular flow of information and student discussion about learning can strengthen the school partnership with families and whanau. Some schools may consider or actively encourage parents and caregivers  to make ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-1-why-use-a-school-blog/interacting-with-families-and-whanau/ Many teachers are making effective use of web 2.0 tools as a way to extend learning opportunities for students and professional development opportunities for themselves. There are potential benefits to students writing blogs as well as reading the ideas and comments of their peers. The effective use of a teacher-supported  learning ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-1-why-use-a-school-blog/the-benefits-of-learning-blogs/ For educators a personal digital footprint can impact on their professional lives. Educators who establish or make contributions to professional blogs where their employer is clearly identified are encouraged to discuss this online activity with school management. Clear social media guidelines for staff can pave the way for educators to be involved ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-2-establishing-an-educational-blog/social-media-guidelines-for-staff/ Staff and students may already be using social networking tools or blogs to keep up to date with friends in their private life. These have a different purpose and intent from a classroom blog. Teachers may need to help students understand this difference and provide ongoing guidance to help students separate ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-2-establishing-an-educational-blog/keeping-a-school-blog-on-topic/ The use of online web pages that inform parents about school expectations and organisation are common in New Zealand schools. These school web sites are generally static pages administered by a single individual with a certain level of expertise. By contrast, a blog is an ongoing chronicle of information created by ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-2-establishing-an-educational-blog/how-a-blog-differs-to-a-website/ Schools should also consider the challenges associated with allowing students to create links from their school blog to personal blogs or personal online content (i.e. gaming profiles, online photo sharing sites). http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-3-monitoring-and-managing-a-school-blog/linking-to-external-websites/ Having more than one blog account administrator is an important safety consideration for school blogs. Giving students administrator rights to a class blog needs to be made with very careful consideration of student maturity,  established school blogging culture and potential benefits and challenges to bloggers. http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-3-monitoring-and-managing-a-school-blog/admin-users/ Often educators who start class blogs have not considered what happens to the blog after it has served its purpose. Last year’s class blog may be a useful induction tool for new staff and students and contributors should be made aware of this potential and ongoing use. Schools might consider a blog ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-3-monitoring-and-managing-a-school-blog/archiving-and-deleting-old-blogs/ School blogs need to be monitored and managed to ensure that posts remain in the realm of an educational context and that all contributors are adhering to agreed policy and ethics. Monitoring and managing a blog with enthusiastic contributors can be time consuming. http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-3-monitoring-and-managing-a-school-blog/policies-and-resources/ The Privacy Act sets out principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information. These principals
 provide guidance to schools about the collection of student information and the subsequent use of that information. It is vital for those schools to communicate to students and parents: What information is collected The purpose for ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-4-legal-requirements-and-considerations/privacy/ There are a wide variety of tools that can enhance a blog: Site and traffic meters, image editors, RSS and Twitter feeds.  All need to be considered for their ability to enhance learning opportunities for students. http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-5-platforms-and-tools/enhancing-your-blog/ How will  class blogs contribute to our overall strategic plan or vision for use of ICT? How and when will we evaluate the blog’s contribution to educational outcomes for students? Do we have sufficient input and appropriate consent from students,  parents or caregivers to publish student work, images  and  videos? Do staff and ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-6-discussion-questions-for-your-school/what-do-you-think/ Some blog platforms are free to use but display advertising on pages as a source of revenue. A blog platform that is ad-free today has potential to introduce advertising at any point in the future. Reading the platform's terms and conditions is the first step. Be aware that free blogging environments ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-5-platforms-and-tools/free-versus-paid-for/ There are many blogging platforms to choose from some designed specifically for classroom and  student use. The decision about which one to use  should  start with  consideration of the education purpose and requirements  of the blog. What platform: best suits our education requirements, is easy for teachers and students to use. provides effective methods ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/blogging-guidelines/section-5-platforms-and-tools/what-platform/