Friday, July 19, 2013

Baysinger - Impressions of the Russel Street School

In looking through how this school - from teachers to students - use blogging as a part of their educational experience, what are your impressions of what you have seen?

Wow! The blog by the Russell Street School is very impressive. First, I was surprised by how much content the blog had tied together. This blog would be such a good resource for keeping parents and students connected to what is happening at the school.  I thought it was really neat that each class had their own blog that students and teachers could post to. I found the blog easy to navigate and looked at several classes. I saw "hands on homework" links and student reflections and projects posted.

One thing I wondered was how long the content stayed posted for. If  each school year they blog would start with a new class it must start fresh with the content too? I think having a blog like this has to take a good amount of time to maintain and that makes me  wonder if they have a scheduled time for teachers and students to work on the blog?

Lastly, I was just a little concerned for the security of the students. While this blog is an amazing resource to have for parents, teacher, students, and even the community, I felt there should be some level of privacy in place.  I don't think I would be comfortable as a parent knowing some stranger from America is able to view pictures of my child online. I was also able to access the students individual blogs which I felt was a little too personal for me.  Would there be a way to create a private blog?  I'm not sure on this one.

4 comments:

  1. Christina, I can address a couple of your questions.

    1. One thing I wondered was how long the content stayed posted for. If each school year they blog would start with a new class it must start fresh with the content too?

    I don't know the answer to this one.

    2. I think having a blog like this has to take a good amount of time to maintain and that makes me wonder if they have a scheduled time for teachers and students to work on the blog?

    I do know that students spend time in class working on their blogs. During my own visit to the school, I witnessed this in several of the classes I visited.

    3. I don't think I would be comfortable as a parent knowing some stranger from America is able to view pictures of my child online. I was also able to access the students individual blogs which I felt was a little too personal for me. Would there be a way to create a private blog?

    This is because the parent signed a multi-level consent form given permission for this to occur. There are allowances made for students where the parents doesn't provide consent for one thing or another.

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  2. Christina, I too am really excited about what RSS is doing with blogging in their school. It's my dream to one day work in a school where a system like the one here is set up. Also like you, I have some of the same concerns, particularly about privacy. I loved looking through the blogs and reading about what the teachers and students were learning and doing, but realizing the overall picture "a stranger from America reading the blogs" it is a little scary. However, I think as long as the parents are fully on board and the district has a solid policy in place, it would be ok.

    I appreciate the questions that Dr. Barbour addressed above. What an incredible experience to actually visit the school and see this in action!

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  3. Christina, you asked some important questions. I hadn't thought about how long information would be available on the blog before and I am glad you brought it up!

    I can see me combining my class website with a blog to help address this issue specifically. I have some information that I want available all the time, but I would want to start the blog fresh each year(I think??).

    Your concerns about security were well-founded, and I have been really thinking about this as I proceed next year. Dr. Barbour's comment about a multi-level consent form is what I am planning to implement as well.

    Thanks for sharing!

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  4. I am also concerned about the child safety aspect of it. I like Dr. Barbour's solution of signing multi-level consent forms so parents can decide their level of comfort.

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