Using blogs in the classroom without permission can been seen as a direct challenge to the authority of the School Board or District responsible for the well being of children. For many people the media has portrayed social networks and forums as deep dark places where children are stalked and influenced by strangers. It’s not an unfounded notion.

It doesn’t take much for School administrators to reject any kind of program that would bring harm to children and blogging in the classroom seems to fit the mold. So not only is there a rejection of blogging because it is has the potential to put a strain on teacher and system resources, it is also shunned because of the fear of abuse. And that is not all that creates tension. Abuse can also take the form of a disgruntled parent or an unhappy student attacking a teacher, principal, school board posting their comments to retaliate for activities that occur in a school or classroom.

While getting permission may seem like unnecessary censorship, it only makes sense to work collaboratively with any governing body to accomplish the goals of using collaboration tools to promote student learning. One step to alleviate the concerns of those in charge is to start with a closed password protected platform.

Read this post from 21Publish

Implementing classroom blogs in more classrooms, in my observations is going to take a lot of research and good modeling to convince administrators to embrace this technology - this type of collaborative publication of information

There are all kinds of blogs and websites demonstrating the effectiveness of blogging.

There are some pioneers working hard to integrate blogs in the classroom and Welsey Fryer is one great example offering a wealth of information and resources. http://www.speedofcreativity.org/ His directory of podcasts is a great starting place for any teacher to start.www.speedofcreativity.org

Not only is Wesley Fryer providing resources, he is engaging educators in building a community of like-minded educators.