1) Stick to the purpose or topic of the post. As one of the "Ten Commandments of Blog and Wiki Etiquette" attests to, bloggers should start a new post to deal with a new topic. Readers expect order and usually begin reading a post with the notion that the ending will be dealing with the same subject as the beginning. Stay on target.
2) Think before posting. The International School of Bangkok's guidelines remind bloggers that there are consequences to every action. Also, as stated in my first entry and as the Arapahoe High School's "Safe and Responsible Blogging" guidelines discuss, the internet is a public place. Only post something that will be appropriate for the entire worldwide web to view. Along with using my noggin while posting, I will check my spelling and grammar and be careful not to share any personal information.
3) Credit and cite information or evidence. Pete Babb in the "Ten Commandments of Blog and Wiki Etiquette" states it best when he explains, "People can come up with statistics to prove anything; forty percent of all people know that." As teachers, we will be more credible, reliable, and intelligent if we cite our information.
4) Be respectful. If I am inclined to argue with another, I will follow another one of the etiquette commandments and argue with the post, or idea, and not the poster, or person. Because no one is perfect, I also expect to follow the sixth commandment by happily owning up to my mistakes. After all, teachers are especially prime candidates to learn from their mistakes and adapt.
Creating a safe blogging environment includes sticking to the purpose, thinking before posting, citing evidence, and being respectful. If all else fails, my number one "commandment" is, as Arapahoe High School reminds me, not to write anything in a blog that I wouldn't say or do in a classroom. Or, in the words of one group of students from Bud the Teacher's class, "I will not be stupid."
In the second to the last sentence of your post, you use the personal pronoun "I" in reference to something you read in another form on the Arapahoe High School website. Seeing as you are studying to be a teacher, this presents an intriguing twist on the school's request that students avoid writing what they wouldn't say or do in a classroom. Students have the freedom to remain casual and, on occassion, off-topic. On the other hand, teachers should maintain a more professional demeanor. Similarly, these blogs will likely remain more professional simply by virtue future interaction with professionals. I do not know whether your choice to use the personal pronoun "I" was intentional or not, but the result says worlds more than a simple repetition of what the high school wrote. At the very least, thank you for the intriguing insight.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, I'm tickled that you saw profound thought in my closing sentences. I meant that, professionally, I will not say anything in my blog that I wouldn't say in a classroom environment. I agree that students do seem to have more freedom in a classroom than teachers. Why is that? Is it because we are "adults" and adults should possess plans and schedules and rules? However, teachers may possess a kind of curricular freedom and a different spatial freedom than students. We choose books, pick assignments, and lead lessons. We can travel in "teacher" spaces: the teacher's lounge, the copy room, or into any other teacher's room. Students, however, must (usually) sit in their desks, do what they are told, and follow a defined moving schedule based on ringing bells. There are places they should "be": class, lunch, or in the hall during passing time. Forgive me for my tangent on freedom, but maybe students and teachers have their own kinds of freedoms they abide by.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting point. Both groups do have unique freedoms. Students freedoms often appear to stem from adult beliefs that students cannot handle various expectations they place on other adults (whether this is true or not is another issue). Meanwhile, students often want the freedoms you associated with "teacher" spaces. I remember thinking it was the coolest thing in the world to spend time in the teacher's lounge or handle a teacher's keys. It makes the students feel like they have earned the respect of adults. Maybe to that extent, there is no need to differentiate between student/professional blogs. At least some students would flourish under an expectation that requires professionalism.
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