Some Student Blogging Guidelines

Kim Cofino's (at ISB) grade 4 students created some excellent student blogging guidelines that they have found apply to all grades, they are simple and easy to understand and include rules, but also questions that lead the student to think about the guideline:


Student Blogging Guidelines

1. As a student blogger at ISB, you are expected to follow these blogging guidelines below. Use the questions in italics to help you decide what is appropriate to post on your blog.
2. Only post things that you would want everyone (in school, at home, in other countries) to know.Ask yourself: Is this something I want everyone to see?
3. Do not share personal information.Ask yourself: Could someone find me (in real life) based on this information?
4. Think before you post.Ask yourself: What could be the consequences of this post?
5. Know who you're communicating with.Ask yourself: Who is going to look at this, and how are they going to interpret my words?
6. Consider your audience and that you're representing ISB.Ask yourself: Do I have a good reason/purpose to do this?
7. Know how to give constructive feedback.Ask yourself: What will I cause by writing this post?
   
8. Treat other people the way you want to be treated.Ask yourself: Would I want someone to say this to me?
   
9. Use appropriate language and proper grammar and spelling.Ask yourself: Would I want this post to be graded for proper grammar and spelling?
   
10. Only post information that you can verify is true (no gossiping).Ask yourself: Is this inappropriate, immature or bullying?
    
11. Anytime you use media from another source, be sure to properly cite the creator of the original work.Ask yourself: Who is the original creator of this work?

Kim also writes about the guidelines for commenting. Students can learn true reflective commenting when guided through the process. Instead of the typical 'Great job' comment, she points out the need to leave a comment, that it must consider the purpose of the blog and be constructive, have a personal connection, add meaningful information, and follow the writing process. Comments are not short form text messages; they are a published piece of work. Teaching students to create appropriate and thoughtful comments would make a meaningful contribution to the quality of responses on the web.