This report from USAToday.com writes about how millions of youth who grew up with a mouse in one hand and a remote control in the other are pourring out their hearts, minds and angst in blogs.
The section on “Advice for blogging” could be useful for teachers who may be embarking to allow students to blog for their subjects:
Anything on the Internet is public. For safety, Parry Aftab, executive director of WiredExperts, and others recommend:
– Treat everyone you meet online as if he were a stranger, even after you’ve traded information. Lying online is easy.
– Leave out identifying information like your name, where you work and go to school.
– Use e-mail addresses that don’t use your name and can’t be traced to your other online activity.
– When possible, protect your information with passwords.
– Obscure identities in pictures.
– Post only stuff you wouldn’t mind seeing on a billboard.
– Team up with a buddy to check each other’s sites for problems.
– Teens under 13 should only blog with constant supervision.