Students and teachers who are not blogging (or anything similar) seem to be at risk for missing a brilliant opportunity to extend the 'conversation' of learning, but often one hears about security issues that keep classrooms from being truly dynamic in this manner. So often the boogey-man of MySpace.com and other social networking collectives are used to trumpet the wild-and-out-of-control fears we all have regarding the safety of our kids. But rarely is the discussion ever framed around the "think about your future" construct, where perhaps kids can begin to think through the potential consequences of their on-line work and identity.
To that end, my hat off to the folks at e-School News for the "Experts to Students: Watch What You Post" article that lets go of the boogey-man a bit and returns to the land of logic. Remember, it's not the technology that is the problem, but the uninformed use of it...and the disconnect between generations when it comes to thoughtfully engaging the issues.
An excerpt:
"This is a new arena for us," said Wendy Henrichs, athletic director for Lincoln East High School, where the seven suspended students were all varsity and junior varsity basketball players. "In the '70s or '80s ... people would say those things. Today, they write them."
She added, "The difference is putting it in print, basically documented proof of what's been said. I don't know if kids understand that."
...
While today's students are undeniably savvy in their knowledge and adoption of technology, they aren't always as savvy in how they choose to deploy it--and often they are only vaguely aware of the digital "footprint" they leave behind when they post personal information.
And this footprint could play an increasingly important role in whether students land their dream job or even get into the college of their choice, experts say.
One last thing that makes a terrific point...and reason to talk to your students (and administrators):
Experts say it's important for students to understand that, when they use MySpace and other sites like it, they are building up a virtual archive of their online behavior. How that archive might be used in the future is anybody's guess.
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