I can't speak to this particular use, but I will say that when I've had my students use blogs to record and discuss the issues raised in our classes, I've made sure that they understand that their words are public (part of the point of class-based blogging) and that the authors they are responding to may in fact read their responses. Having said that, though, I did find that blogging as a practice is really not successful unless internally motivated (so I've stopped doing it for my classes, although we do read and discuss blog writing). But in terms of ethics -- in what sense would this be unethical? If the instructor asked students to blog without making sure they understood their activities as public, I could see this as problematic (and pedagogically unsound). If the instructor did explain that this is the case and asked students to be cognizant of the relationship of their expression to the world outside the classroom, then I would not see an ethical infringement here. Plus, you could comment on their posts. ;) Doug Barry Wellman wrote:
I have Google Alert set to identify anything online that mentions my name. (I want to know who is talking about me and perhaps learn from their comments.)
Recently, I have been disturbed because Google Alert keeps popping up Blogspot entries that clearly come from class blog entries.
While I am happy that folks are reading my stuff, I am aghast that their entries are on the web for all to read. (Altho I smile that they say nice things.)
I know that I don't post my students' term papers on the web [I only give 'em to Turnitin;-)], but this strikes me as an even greater invasion of the students' privacy. Shouldn't such within-class stuff be password protected?
I'm putting one innocuous example up below my .sig, but I've encountered at least four others.
Barry Wellman _____________________________________________________________________
Barry Wellman S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology NetLab Director Centre for Urban & Community Studies University of Toronto 455 Spadina Avenue Toronto Canada M5S 2G8 fax:+1-416-978-7162 wellman at chass.utoronto.ca http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman for fun: http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php _____________________________________________________________________
3) What was "Netville" in the suburbs of Toronto? Why's it important in relation to the paradox argument?
This was written buy our good friend Barry wellman again ( jokes) . The Netville in the suburbs was looking at the internet as a part of how it structures the community life if it hinders and brings people closer together within the community environment.
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman/publications/neighboring/neighboring_n...
It looks at how the internet is effecting community life whereby it is leading people away from the enclosures of the community social life by now engaging on the internet for their social activity or on the other hand is this use of the internet bringing the community closer together as a whole.
With relation to the paradox this is where the argument fell that the influence of the internet has decreased the social interaction within the community. This study looks at how the internet supports weaker ties within the community helps mend bridges and bring the community closer together but still looking it as a context rather than the paradox by stating the negative side.
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