School Blogging Bans

I posted this link in Essentials the other day about a Vermont high school that has banned students from using sites like MySpace.com from school computers claiming that it is not educational. I noticed Boing Boing pointing to it and the growing sense of indignation bloggers (especially) feel about this. I think there are a couple of issues at play in this type of decision:

1) The blogs that are being referred to are personal diaries on sites like MySpace.com, LiveJournal.com, Xanga, etc. They are typically used as a community tool for teens and their friends…i.e. another place to socialize. They are most likely not being used to chronicle a current event or some other school related project. That said, blogs can and should be used this way at school.

2) The principal in the article voiced fears (also as a parent) about teens sharing too much information and making themselves vulnerable to predators. This is valid. A lot of teens do overshare on blogs and this can and should be something parents and teachers discuss with teens as a safety issue. Talk first before you just start reading their blogs or snooping on their computers. I've talked to a lot of teens who get it and are pretty savvy about how much personal info they share.

3) Cyberbullying is real and teens are becoming victims of other teens on blogs being read at school. While cutting off personal blogging during school hours won't prevent this completely…coupled with education around this issue, it could help.

So my two (or 10) cents? I think it's ok to limit personal blogging at school. I do think that many educators need to get over their fears and hangups about technology and learn to integrate blogging into their curriculum in ways that are fun and cool. And parents need to just talk to their teens about how to be safe online before violating their privacy to find out whether or not they are….

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