I really enjoyed the readings from our text for this week. There is much controversy surrounding the use of weblogs for educational purposes. As I read about the importance of staying relevant in the classroom through technology and the resistance from schools to embrace this I felt a tad discouraged. I understand, and share, the fears that people have with the malicious abuse of these applications. Actually, until this week, these fears kept me from allowing my son to explore the use of his own blog. He and some friends have been trying to get together to establish one for the past year, but my husband and I wouldn't allow it. As my understanding of the paradigm shift that has taken place between our youth and technology grows, I see how I have been holding him back. He has a brilliant little mind and he wants to share it! Who am I to discourage this? Anyway, I am excited to introduce blogging to my students. I agree that we may not be able to protect our children from the abusers of the internet, but we can't solve that problem by trying to keep them locked away from the world. We are going to have to model and use the technology with them to show them the appropriate and most effective ways to use it. I teach my children how to deal with strangers and emergencies. The fact is that we are at a place where we are going to have to add internet safety and responsibility, too.
Erin, I understand your concerns. I am reminded of one the earlier course we took in this program that really made the case for internet safety. One of the fears I have for my students is that no matter how much I teach them about being safe, they are part of a risk taking generation. I love the idea of young people blogging, its an opportunity for them to express themselves and show us who they really are. I temper this excitement with caution and take every precaution I can to guide them, monitor and protect them.
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