Saturday, 4 September 2004 - 3:32 AM PDT

As a middle school administrator, I am constantly seeking new and innovative teaching and technology integration tools. I too have been watching the evolution of blogs and trying to figure out how I can fit this into my Language Arts teachers? instruction. I am convinced this type of public discourse will truly motivate students especially in the area of writing. I have hesitated implementing or endorsing blogs because of privacy concerns I have. Is there a way to create a blog environment that is secure from the general public and of course....low cost?

Saturday, 4 September 2004 - 5:00 AM PDT

I'm happy to be encouraged to explore this medium. It could become a tool for communicating with the six schools I coordinate for IT, as well as for my 11th and 12th graders who are creating portfolios linked to their transcripts. I wonder if they will take the time to blog a piece of work before entering it? This is certainly an easy way to get a conversation going.

Saturday, 4 September 2004 - 5:19 AM PDT

Susan,
I'll bite. I have been in Taiwan for most of the last three months. I have had a chance to see many things including the education program here. Very interesting. Very high "pride of place" factor in the students.
Have you seen the following blog?
http://www.joannejacobs.com/

Good luck here and I hope it catches on.
v/r
Michael

Saturday, 4 September 2004 - 8:25 AM PDT

Susan,

Thanks for taking the lead on this effort. I think we all share the desire to help administrators accomplish their jobs as effectively as possible in a whole new environment. After 18 years in the principal's office, I know that unless there is a very strong and supportive district network, it's very easy to end up feeling isolated and having to go it alone. I feel strongly that this blog, and the resulting spinoffs, will offer administrators great opportunities to generate new ideas and exciting solutions.
Stan
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MCI Community Outreach
Program Officer -- MarcoPolo
Trainer Certification & Strategic Alliances
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Internet Content For the Classroom

Saturday, 4 September 2004 - 10:08 AM PDT

When I set up this blog I was given a couple of choices about who could post. I was able to make it a community blog where I could determine whether or not people needed to be invited in order to post. I was also allowed to decide whether or not I wanted to moderate posts. This doesn't preclude outsiders reading it, just their participation. I believe I read about teachers being able to set up blogs in an Intranet-type environment. I'll see if I can find that reference and will post it, if I do.

Saturday, 4 September 2004 - 10:17 AM PDT

I'm a bit blown away by the fact that people have already posted here! When I set this up yesterday, I really did worry that I might be having a dull conversation with myself. I think I already see the beginnings of several threads: blogging basics (set-up, features, blog resources, etc.); personal use for administrators; as a district communication tool; and supporting teaching and learning through the use of blogs. I think my next step is to figure out how to do that!

I also need to figure out RSS. I think this capability allows people to get some kind of e-mail message that lets them know when something new is posted here and I did select that feature when I set this up. Anybody have any experience with this?

Monday, 6 September 2004 - 1:45 AM PDT

I have a typepad blog and I have the option to make my blog public. My understanding is that if I do not make my blog public, members of the internet community can't view it. But I can still send the address to friends and family and they can view it themselves.

The privacy issue is a growing one. A colleague and I at the School Technology Leadership Initiative at the Unviersity of Minnesota are trying to combine our knowledge of blogs and school privacy issues into an article for one of the national practitioner magazines. We are looking for a test case to work with - a school that is implementing blog use but aware of and working with privacy issues.

Monday, 6 September 2004 - 8:39 AM PDT

Amy, you could post a note to the ISTE SIGAdmin to see if anyone there is using blogs and dealing with the privacy concerns.