______________________
Student Name
Parent Consent: Privacy Levels for Student Weblogs
Dear Parent(s),
As part of the 21st Century Literacy initiative in the high school, your child is required to practice reading, writing, and researching online.
How Do Students Benefit by Online Reading and Writing? Self-directed Learning, Improved Writing Fluency and Voice, and Networking.
In short, it's a way for your child to read more about subjects they have a genuine interest in; to learn more about that subject through reading about it; to write more - and better - in order to attract readers in the world who share their interest; and to develop a real-world network of students and teachers from schools around the world to learn with and from.
Choose Your Child's Level of Privacy
By school policy, your child will not be allowed to reveal personal information such as address, birthday, phone number, or email address. However, opinions differ about the use of a student's full name, and about images of students in photos and videos - so we are offering you choice in these areas.
Please read the brief "for and against" summaries about names and images below, and check the option you prefer:
a. Name: If the student's full name is used, his or her weblog will show up in Google and other search engines. Pro: For talented writers with maturity and good judgment, this can be a benefit, as a sort of "online portfolio" of the student's work. Con: For students with less maturity, skill, and/or judgment, showing up on search engines may not be desirable. A "first name only" might be a better choice.
CHOOSE ONE OPTION ONLY:
___ MY CHILD MAY USE HIS/HER FIRST NAME + LAST INITIAL (ex., "bobbyk")
___ MY CHILD MAY USE ONLY HIS/HER GIVEN NAME, NOT THE FAMILY NAME.
b. Image (photo or video): Pro: Like sharing your name, sharing photos and videos of yourself - an "author" photo, a "greeting to readers" video, for example - can be helpful in establishing connections with readers. We like being able to connect a face to a writer, to see and hear the writer on occasional video or audio clips. Con: Similar to use of full name, students with less maturity or poor judgment should perhaps not publish images or videos of themselves. Parents wanting to keep their child's identity private might consider not allowing this option.
CHOOSE ONE OPTION ONLY:
___ MY CHILD MAY USE HIS/HER IMAGE AND VOICE IN PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
___ MY CHILD MAY NOT USE HIS/HER IMAGE OR VOICE
c. Screening ("moderating") reader comments: In connective writing, reader comments are the way learning networks are formed. While rude or inappropriate comments from the world are extremely rare, they are still possible. One option is for teachers to moderate ("screen") all comments on a student's weblog articles before he/she sees them. A second option is to allow students to moderate their own comments. A third option is to simply not moderate comments at all, and let them be published as soon as readers leave them.
Student Moderation: Pro: encourages responsibility, ownership, and maturity; Con: sensitive students might be unable to deal with inappropriate comments (remember, these are extremely rare).
No Moderation: Pro: Readers like to see their comments immediately after they submit them, which encourages more commenting; Con: rude or inappropriate comments (e.g., "spam" or uncivil remarks) might appear without the student's immediate knowledge.
Teacher Moderation: Pro: shelters students from the possibility of a rude or inappropriate comment; Con: deprives students of personal responsibility.
CHOOSE ONE OPTION ONLY:
___ MY CHILD MAY MODERATE HIS/HER OWN COMMENTS
___ I WANT TEACHERS TO MODERATE MY CHILD'S COMMENTS FOR THEM
___ MODERATION OF COMMENTS IS NOT NECESSARY
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at [ EMAIL ADDRESS OR PHONE NUMBER HERE].
Please print your name, signature, and date in the spaces below. And thank you for your cooperation.
______________________________ ______________________________ _________________
Parent Name (print) Parent Signature Date
______________________________ ______________________________ __________________
Student Name (print) Student Signature Date
1 Want to know more about RSS readers? Ask your child to show you his/her Bloglines account. You might decide it's a powerful tool for staying abreast of the latest information about your own interests - many professionals around the world now use RSS readers in their daily professional life to remain competitive and up-to-date.
by Clay Burell http://beyond-school.org Creative Commons 3.0 USA License Applies: Attribution, Share-Alike, Non-Commercial
a) use "minimum standard" language; b) consolidate name, photo, comment moderation all in one paragraph; c) make page of student work to show parents