I appreciated your thoughts very much - they mirror almost exactly my
experience and thoughts! Last Spring we at Westminster College did a
collaborative project
on the web between students at my college and another group at UCSB(Santa
Barbara); the experience was a great success overall, though we learned
a few things "not to do" as well. The course was evaluated by an educational
specialist and the results are being summarized in an online DRAFT article that
will also soon appear in a journal.
Anyone is welcome to see the article at:
http://128.111.134.12/GDP/geogcourse/JOGwebarticle/JOGarticleindex.html
If you want to see the collaborative web course and student projects go to:
http://128.111.134.12/GDP/geogcourse/index.html
As to concerns about security etc...I agree with Mark that there is much more
paranoia out there than is warranted--particularly in educational circles.
Just
take normal precautions just as one would with your own personal "junk mail"
issues--
there is probably more danger there than there is on the web.
There are many examples of excellent student work out there and I can attest
that
giving students the opportunity of "publishing" can be one of the strongest
incentives
ever to get involved in science. They love it!
Bob Ford
At 05:23 PM 12/4/97 -0700, Mark Johnsson wrote:
>Hi Flo!
>
>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
>
>
>
>--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--
>
>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
>
>--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--
>
>
>
********************************************************************
Robert E. Ford, Associate Professor and Adamson Chair,
International Studies, 1840 South 1300 East, Westminster College
of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA 84105
Homepage: http://www.wcslc.edu/pers_pages/r-ford/ford1.html
Tel. Office 801-488-1655 Home 801-944-1990 Email: rford@igc.apc.org
********************************************************************