--- Forwarded Message from Barbara Sawhill <[log in to unmask]> --- >Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2006 12:54:47 -0500 >From: Barbara Sawhill <[log in to unmask]> >Subject: Language Lab Unleashed #15: (Edu)Blogging best Practices and Policy making >To: Language Learning and Technology International Information Forum <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-to: [log in to unmask] >User-Agent: Thunderbird 1.5.0.8 (Macintosh/20061025) Language Lab Unleashed #15 will begin broadcasting this Thursday evening (11/16) at 8:30 p.m. East Coast time. (note slight change in start time) As edublogging (that is, blogging for educational purposes) begins to take shape and form at our schools, many administrators are becoming increasingly concerned about students' rights, privacy issues, and an institution's liability when students' voices are"out there" as a part of their academic coursework (vs behind a password). Many schools around the country are trying to form policies on this topic. Some schools are just banning blogging altogether. LLU #15 will hopefully help bring people together from a wide variety of schools and jobs within those schools in order that we may talk about the educational mission that edublogging may serve, but also, in this age of FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and DOPA (Deleting Online Predators Act), what we need to know before we ask our students to blog. Indeed, we hope to work together and take some first steps in establishing some "best practices" and "guidelines" that can be shared in and amongst ourselves and our institutions (and others!) on this topic. Simply put: how --do-- schools create policies for the use of these tools that keep students (and institutions) safe and yet do not limit the creativity, communication, and expression that these tools can provide? We'll be checking back in with Mike Baker, IT Evangelist of Polaris Career Center (Cleveland Ohio), Brian Alegant, Professor, Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and Barbara Ganley, edublogger extraordinaire from Middlebury College (all of whom participated in our somewhat chaotic LLU #12 show on September 28, 2006). We will also be joined by other colleagues from around the country (perhaps the globe?) who are teachers, registrars, deans... each of them with a perspective and/or a concern about using these tools for teaching. PLEASE join us! This promises to be a very animated conversation and we welcome your comments, thoughts, etc...be they via voice or via the chatroom. For information as to how to join in, please go to: http://www.languagelabunleashed.com/join-us-most-thursday-nights/ If you cannot be there, please send your questions to [log in to unmask] and we will ask them to the group. The podcast of the show will be available by November 18 at http://www.languagelabunleashed.com Cheers! Barbara -- Barbara Sawhill Director, Cooper International Learning Center Lecturer, Hispanic Studies Department Oberlin College Oberlin, OH 44074 Voice: 440-775-8595 Fax: 440-775-6888 http://www.oberlin.edu/ilc President-elect, IALLT http://www.iallt.org http://www.languagelabunleashed.com Skype ID: barbarasawhill