Rules are Rules

This is my post for the Teacher Challenge Student Blogging Activity 2.

We’ve all heard it before – “Rules are rules”. This is often followed by “they must be obeyed” OR “rules are meant to be broken” (and variations thereof). Either way, rules set the tone or more to the point, set the expectations. Working presently as a technology integrator, I don’t have a class and so will divide this post into two sections (1) my own rules for blogging and (2) process for setting up class blog rules

My rules

  1. Keep it professional. Use appropriate language. Stick to the focus of the blog, i.e. learning.
  2. Respect the privacy of others, students and adults alike. Do not name names (including employer/school) except when: there’s expressed permission, information is publicly available (e.g. pingback to someone’s blog or tweet) or if it shows the other person (adult) in a positive light.  With the latter, still use discretion to see whether this person/entity is okay with it.
  3. Consider the implications of this blog being public. Consider that for what and how something is written and presented – and how it can be perceived. Do not intentionally offend.
  4. Respect copyright. Give credit where it’s due.
  5. Engage in conversation. Ask questions. Answer questions.

Setting up class blog rules (if I had a class)

  1. Set-up in conjunction with class rules and adapt. This serves to emphasise that the blog is an extension of the classroom.  With the teacher I’m working with at the moment, we actually set up an online survey so class rules became a democratic exercise. The survey was linked off the class blog and students had to comment back.
  2. Discuss my rules above. It’s obvious that an emphatic thread is “Respect“. Respect oneself and others – privacy, reputation, copyright, ideas.
  3. Create visuals of rules and display on the blog. With the class I’m working with, the students were asked to create digital posters for each rule with a photo. This task broached concepts such as visual literacy (associate text with images) and digital citizenship (use of Creative Commons and copyright-free images) – pretty good for a maths class, I think. A blog banner will be created compiling the work of all the students, i.e. all the rules.

That’s it. Keep it short and simple, I say. Too many rules means too many to obey…or break.

Did I miss much?

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8 thoughts on “Rules are Rules

  1. Carla J. says:

    I really like the idea of having the students come up with the rules. That gives you an idea of how much they already know about blogging and internet safety rules. I especially like the digital posters….what a great idea!

  2. Jana says:

    Malyn,
    I really love the idea of students creating visuals for the rules and putting them into a banner for the blog. I would love to see the final product. Thanks for sharing!

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