Blogging Rules & Guidelines

An important part of using an online tool with students is educating them on appropriate online behavior.  Just because your students grew up with technology doesn’t mean they appreciate or understand what is/isn’t appropriate to post online.

Your class blog provides an excellent opportunity to educate students, parents and other readers on proper online behavior such as:

1. Types of identifying information that is appropriate in posts and/or comments such as ‘What are your rules about use of last names, images and personal information?’
2. What should/shouldn’t you write in posts and/or comments?

Some guidelines may be specific to your school and your school policies.  So be sure to check your school’s policies and make sure they are included – especially when it comes to using student names and photos on a public blog.

Creating your blogging rules and guidelines is something you can do yourself or or as a whole of class activity.  Getting students to be part of a collaborative discussion on guidelines gives students more ownership of the guidelines and a better understanding of what is required.

Here are some ideas:

By posting or commenting, you are agreeing to follow these guidelines:

Posts

• Should meet the criteria given in the assignment (or any other assignment that includes a post)
• Model good grammar and spelling. Proofread!
• Write with your audience in mind (be clear and concise, include not only facts, but your own reflections and opinions – be clear about which is which)
• Ask questions and be open-ended – inspire the discussion!
• Hyperlink your source (if it was online) as well as anything else that adds to your post
• Post on time

Comments

• Should be 2-5 sentences in length (potentially more, but not less!)
• Write meaningful comments that add to the conversation.
• Show the author that you hear them. “I hear you saying….”
• Respond to others thoughtfully and respectfully.
• Use your comment to show why you think the topic is important/interesting/controversial.
• Read the comments posted after yours.
• Be respectful of other people and their opinions.
• Constructive criticism only, no derogatory or inflammatory remarks, critique the idea, not the person.
• Model good spelling and grammar.
• Support your comments with evidence.
• Only comment on posts after you have read the whole post.
• Suggested response prompts:
• This made me think about…
• I wonder why…
• Your writing made me form an opinion about…
• This post is relevant because…
• Your writing made me think that we should…
• I wish I understood why…
• This is important because…
• Another thing to consider is…
• I can relate to this…
• I don’t understand…
• I was reminded that…
• I found myself wondering…

Blog Guidelines

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1. Treat the “learnerblog/edublog  spaces” as “classroom spaces” — use appropriate language and be sure that anything you write you are proud of and are prepared to take responsibility for !! Your blog exists as a public space on the Internet. When you put something on the Internet, odds are really good that it will ALWAYS stay on the Internet. If you are not careful about what you write, what you write now could come back to haunt you in the future.

2. Never EVER EVER give out or record personal information on your blog.

Please – no last names, phone numbers, home addresses, IM screen names etc. (It is probably not wise to give out your personal email address either).

Again, your blog is a public space on the Internet and anyone, anywhere, could be reading it. So….don’t share anything that you don’t want the world to know. (Check out Blogsafety)

3. Never disrespect anyone or anything in your blog posts. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a person, an organization, or just a general idea. When you write your opinion on a topic, you don’t want someone making a stab at what you are passionate about. So, don’t do it to someone else. Try your best to make sure you’re not going to offend anyone in your posts.

4. Don’t write about other people without permission; if you can’t get their permission, use first names or initials only. Never share someone else's last name.

5. Always check over your post for spelling errors, grammar errors, and your use of words. 

6. Make sure things you write about are factual. Link to your sources. But never link to something you haven’t read and understood completely. When you link to something, make sure it is something that you really want to be associated with. If a link contains material that might be in poor taste or make some people uncomfortable, you should probably warn readers by using a parenthetical note or some other word of caution.

7. If you have a personal blog, please do not link to it from our class blog. Doing so may inadvertently reveal information that you don’t want to reveal.

8. Be aware of copyright — especially with sounds and images. Make sure what you use is copyright free !! (Just because you find it on the internet does not mean you are free to use it without permission !!) Please review Copyright Issues on the Web and be sure to see Copyright 1” and “Copyright 2” for more information.

9. Keep it education-oriented. Stick to tasks set in class. Unless it pertains to the assignment, stay away from discussing plans for the weekend, general rambling, or diary entries about nothing. Chances are your responses to class tasks will usually be far more interesting!!