Teach42

Not quite sure how I found this, but NevOn has quoted an interesting ‘code of conduct’ for bloggers (originally from a report on Forester). I think it could definitely serve as the basis for a code for students as well. Not just in blogs, but in comments, wikis and so on.

1. I will tell the truth.
2. I will write deliberately and with accuracy.
3. I will acknowledge and correct mistakes promptly.
4. I will preserve the original post, using notations to show where I have made changes so as to maintain the integrity of my publishing.
5. I will never delete a post.
6. I will not delete comments unless they are spam or off-topic.
7. I will reply to emails and comments when appropriate, and do so promptly.
8. I will strive for high quality with every post - including basic spellchecking.
9. I will stay on topic.
10. I will disagree with other opinions respectfully.
11. I will link to online references and original source materials directly.
12. I will disclose conflicts of interest.
13. I will keep private issues and topics private, since discussing private issues would jeopardize my personal and work relationships.

In particular, I love numbers 2, 8 and 10. Disagreeing with others’ opinions respectfully is often quite a challenge for students. I used to teach Junior Kindergarten, and the most important thing that I taught was social/emotional development. You’d hope that most students would have these skils by the time they are in middle school, but that isn’t always the case. Students need to learn that it’s alright to disagree with people and it’s also alright for people to disagree with them. It’s going to happen. What’s important is disagreeing in a way that doesn’t hurt someone, insult them, or close off the lines of communication.

I really like the part about striving for excellence as well. It’s so easy to be casual in blogs. This is something that I definitely need to work on more. I need to proof my work more often and strive to be more professional. That doesn’t mean that I can’t enjoy myself and have a good time, but I need to make sure that I think through what I want to say before sitting down to type it. It’s a challenge to me, but something I will strive for.

The list isn’t perfect. Nevon points out that a few of the numbers may not be feasible in the corporate world, and the same is true for the educational world. IMHO numbers 5 and 6 may need to be modified. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with removing a post or comment, depending on the reasons for doing so. We do need to keep our children safe and secure, and comments may be on topic but offensive.

I’d love to see this developed some more. Perhaps if we ever got blogs moving here at my school, we could use this as a starting point for developing a greater Code of Conduct for the read/write web.

No comments yet.

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI