Just thought I'd throw in my two-cents worth on this issue. I've been
requiring students to write projects on the web for about two years now,
and have thought a bit about some of these issues. First, most of my
students are very enthusiastic to learn about web authoring, and the
majority (but not all!) actually welcome the opportunity to express
themselves--despite the somewhat scary thought that anyone in the world can
see thier work. And I agree wholeheartedly with Paul that knowing up front
that their work will be posted is critical. Perhaps BECAUSE there is such a
large potential audience, I think that they work harder on their
assignments than they might have otherwise. Yes, we post papers that are,
frankly, not of as high a caliber as I (as the prof) might have hoped for,
right next to the gems. And yes, this reflects on everyone--the student, my
teaching, and, I suppose, the school. To me, that kind of openness and
honesty comes with the territory. All student projects are in areas on web
sites where it is clear to all that they are projects undetaken as class
assignments, and the usual "caveat emptor" applies... As far as maintenance
is concerned, I don't. Student projects on the web may be ongoing while the
student is working on them, but they are expected to complete more-or-less
finished products that then can remain on the web. As space becomes a
problem, I delete previous years' projects and keep only the most current
year, but that's about it for maintenance.
Your other point--student vulnerability--is a ticklish one. Frankly, I've
never had a student express any concern that their name, my course, and
Bryn Mawr College would be associated publically. That seems to me to be
just too thin a thread for any potential harassers to do too much with; in
any case, that level of information is easily available from other
conventional (and Internet!) sources. Of course, no address or phone
numbers are included. Some students do post their email addresses, but that
has yet to cause any problems that I am aware of. Admitedly, all of these
concerns may be somewhat greater for younger children than college
students, but if little personal information is presented I find it a bit
hard to see what damage could be caused by posting a name. Of course it's
up to you, as the first level reviewer, to see to it before the project is
posted, the a student hasn't inadvertently exposed her or himself more than
is prudent.
By the way, it is often possible to restrict access to a web site in such a
way that only certain domains can have access (e.g., only addresses ending
in ".edu" or "brynmawr.edu" or even ".pvt.k12.ga.us"); that may be an
option to help provide some additional security.
Web pages put up outside of assignments are another matter. School
credibility was a big concern at Bryn Mawr. I was on a committee to help
formulate web policy at Bryn Mawr and, as a bit of a libertarean, I took
the view that as long as Bryn Mawr absolved repsonsoibility (legal and
otherwise) then anything--literally--could go. We ended upo fairly close to
this; you might want to check out the policy we came up with at:
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Adm/Policy/
And, if you're interested, you can see some of my student's work on the web
by going through my home page:
http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Geo/Tierra/Tierra.html
An interesting and throny topic--thanks for bringing it up. I'll be
interested to hear how others feel about this. I suspect that the concerns
will be different in different locations, with different age students, etc.
Mark
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Mark J. Johnsson Phone: (610)526-5110
Department of Geology Fax: (610)526-5086
Bryn Mawr College johnsson@brynmawr.edu
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 http://www.brynmawr.edu/Acads/Geo/Tierra/Tierra.html
I'M ON SABBATICAL! MY ADDRESS THROUGH JULY 1998 IS:
U.S. Geological Survey Phone: 650-329-5223
345 Middlefield Rd, MS 969 Fax (650)329-4975
Menlo Park CA 94025 email still: johnsson@brynmawr.edu
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