Due to the possible dangers of online activity it is understandable that some of the parents of Noelene’s students are concerned about their children being involved in such potentially public discourse. Upon clicking on the Dreamwidth link provided in this week’s module notes, one of the very first things that I read about this web tool on the site’s homepage was this reassuring message: “Control who can see your creation with our fine-grained privacy controls” (http://www.dreamwidth.org/). After digging a little deeper on the website, it is evident that there are a number of well thought out security features to help protect the site contributors. Students would be able to select permissions for commenting in their account settings and also have the flexibility of setting the level of comment security that they desire message by message as they add new posts to their blog. Making a ‘protected entry’ for example would allow only users that you have granted access to the comment to post their responses. Should the students end up in a situation in which they receive an unwanted comment, they are able to delete the unwanted comment permanently and the commenter cannot reverse this deletion. If a student felt uncomfortable with a particular user, they also have the option to ban accounts and or block anonymous comments. It seems like Dreamwidth has taken numerous proactive steps to ensure the privacy and security of their user accounts. If I were Noelene, I would inform the concerned parents about the site’s affordances in regard to this matter and direct them to the FAQ section of the website to seek further information (http://www.dreamwidth.org/support/faqbrowse?faqcat=badcomments).

Although the above outlined approach is one solution for Noelene, she could also try to validate to parents the value in students being involved in public discourse of this nature. There are a number of valuable aspects of students crafting blog posts knowing full well that anyone could potentially read and respond to their thoughts. Stephen Downes (2004) shares the observations of the principal of St. Joseph school, an educational institution in Quebec City that embraces blogging, as he notes the motivating factors involved in blogging and in particular, that the entire would can not only read, but respond to the students’ contributions. Ideas flow on the internet based on merit, this sort of built in quality control helps in breaking down barriers and enables quality ideas to filter across the internet (Downes, 2004). Many of the students in Karl Fisch’s video ‘Blogging: In Their Own Words’ shared their thoughts on this point as well. One particular student acknowledged that knowing that their contributions would be read by their teacher and classmates and could potentially be read by other people on the internet was both scary and exciting. This awareness of just how public their posts are forces the students to think their thoughts through carefully and really formulate what they choose to express in a deeper and more meaningful way than a quickly thought of and spoken response in a traditional classroom setting would require them to do. Although Fisch may have included only the positive responses from the students filmed for the video in his presentation, it is clear that the students themselves see a great value in the inclusion of the blogging process as a part of their learning. If I were Noelene, I would consider having a parent information night in which I would show the concerned parents the security aspects of the Dreamwidth site as mentioned in the above paragraph, but I would also arrange for student presenters to be a part of the information session. In a similar fashion to what was presented in the Fisch’s video, I would have the students themselves speak to the values inherent in the use of the blogging site and describe the way in which it has enhanced their learning environment. Parents hearing directly from the students themselves about the way in which the blogging aspect of their class work allows them to extend their learning beyond the school day and gives every learner the chance to weigh in on conversations and have their voice heard may be enough for parents to reconsider their reservations about their child’s involvement in the blog. Noelene seems to have sound pedagogy behind her choice to use blogging as a tool to improve the students’ writing, while encouraging and enabling them to work through the revision process in a very realistic manner (early submission of their drafts and the chance to receive constructive feedback to help strengthen their assignments). If Noelene can simultaneously ease the parents’ fears about online dangers while illustrating the academic value of incorporating blogging into the educational equation, she could effectively justify her use of this valuable learning tool in her classroom practice.

References:

Downes, S. (2004). Educational blogging. EDUCAUSE Review, 39(5), 14-26. Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/educational-blogging

Fisch, K. (2007). Blogging: In their own words. The Fischbowl. Retrieved from http://thefischbowl.blogspot.ca/2007/06/blogging-in-their-own-words.html and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcFeNdgr81s