School Blogs

I know that Huntington University does not block sites social networking sites such as www.facebook.com. I have never tried to access a blog while online there though.
I definitely think that I could make a case for using blogs in the classroom--at least more so than www.facebook.com!!! Judging from the examples you have given already, they seem very useful and students love using the computer any chance they get. Obviously, we are using them here, so classroom use would be both beneficial and standards-based.

Views on Internet Safety

My views on internet safety are pretty simple. I think most privacy violations occur because content is not password protected. For example, when starting a blog about a private subject (such as your children), it seems logical to me to have all users access the blog with a password, account set-up, or by invitation only. That said, I have seen many students and adults who possess incrediable computer skills and can "hack" into accounts and get whatever information they need or want. It is both amazing and scary.

Internet safety, as far as children viewing inappropriate material at school and at home, is another whole issue. The availablility of information and pictures online is just mind-boggling. Just monitoring all students that are online (pretty much ALL OF THE TIME) seems to be the only way to help with this safety issue.

I have never personally been affected by internet safety or privacy issues, but I have known others that have struggled with this.