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Scenario A: Elementary Language Arts Blog
Your fourth grade class has been blogging for about two months now. They have shared several writing projects on their class blogs, including revisions of some short stories with illustrations. To protect your students’ identities, all students use only their first name and first letter of their last names (e.g., Kayla F., Joseph R.)

Your students have commented on each others blogs, and a few parents and other teachers have added comments as well. Your students have become accustomed to this feedback from your internal audience. Today, one of your students, Aaron, asked you about a comment on his blog. Someone complimented him on his story but Aaron doesn’t recognize the name. You review the comment and the link provided, and it appears to be someone from Canada doing educational research. Aaron asks what he should do next.

Provide your guidance below


 * Praise the student for coming forward and telling the teacher about the blog comment. This is something that could be used as a teachable moment to reiterate to other studen how important it is to make sure the teacher is aware of any unusual activity on their blogs.
 * Make sure to explain to students, again, that they are blogging to make connections, but at this time they are just making connections within their school community and with family.
 * This is a great time to go over the safety rules that have been presented by the teacher before the class started their blog. Rules listed below:
 * Any connection a student makes in fourth grade needs to be monitored closely by the teacher. We as elementary educators are trying to build a foundation for them to be able make connections in the future but right now their blog needs to be in a very safe monitored environment.
 * Explain to the students that you, as the teacher, will write back to the researcher explaining that the student blogs set up to only make connections with people within their school and family.
 * The students need to know that sometimes there are bad people out there that pretend to be someone else just to get close to them. This is why they are not able to interact with unknown people outside their school.

I agree that this is a teachable moment for the whole class. The teacher can approach this as an open discussion referring to the rules on blogging. I am not sure all the explaining above needs to be in written form. I have listed 7 rules that can be displayed in the classroom, as a handout in the student folders, next to the computer, and as a signed copy from parents that is included in their safety letter.

Our Blogging Rules:
 * 1) Only use your first name and last initial Never give out or use your email address, telephone number, home or school address (including town)
 * 2) Only reply to someone you know within the school or your family.
 * 3) Report to your teacher any unusual replies or comments that make you sad or confused
 * 4) Use words that would be said in a classroom setting.
 * 5) Do not copy or alter another students’ work to make it your own.
 * 6) Check your work for spelling.

I believe that as the classroom teacher of elementary age students, there needs to be constant monitoring and review of postings, so that students get into proper habits.
 * 1) ======As new students join the classroom, it is a good time to review with all students, the protocols for working and posting on the web. In keeping with CIPA **Children's Internet Protection Act** students should be routinely reminded of the goals and limitations of working with the Internet.======
 * 2) ======As the classroom teacher the blog should continue to be monitored for outside comments If need be some additional security measures could be added, such as having the students use an alias instead of their first name. Additionally, the blog could be moved to a passwird protected site, to limit outside contact, and yet maintain the integrity of the student work.======
 * 3) Blog postings and comments could also be restricted so that they are reviewed before "going live" . This again would help insure that the students are not inadvertenly revealing private information. Corrections could be made, and then re-submitted.

"Children's Internet Protection Act." //Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Home Page//. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. .