Blogging is not an unusual practice. Lots of people do it for lots of different reasons. This week’s article looks at how the practice is used by universities for promotion purposes. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.
What positive things do you see about having student blogs on school websites? What negative things do you see about having student blogs on school websites? Is it ethical for a school to use student blogs as a marketing tool? Should our school website have student blogs? What would be the best way for the administration to choose students to blog on our school website? Should there be censorship of student blogs? Is MIT’s remuneration for student blogging appropriate? How else could students be “paid?” go to the link for the MIT Admissions homepage, read one of the student blogs and comment on it.
Student Bloggers Article
MIT Admissions Homepage
24 comments:
The positive thing is that students can share or discuss any school related subjects, but the negative is that if the internet connection is down, students will not be able to access the blog. I think it is ethical, and our school should have these blogs for educational purposes like students being able to see any assignments, and talk to other students about something. All students should be able to access the blog, and any censorship should not be necessary for the purpose of letting students speak freely of what they are thinking. The student bog is appropriate because it lets students express themselves and teach other students things. Students could also be paid online, the blog I saw was quite impressive as it conveyed what woodshop is like in that college.
The positive thing that I see about having student blogs on school websites is that you can discuss educational subjects and/ or school-related subjects. The negative things that can happen is when the internet goes down or by any chance something happens to the computers or the electricity. I think that it is ethical for a student to use blogs as a studying tool but not as a marketing tool.
Yes I think that our school should have student blogs that way we would have better communication with each other as a school and would see what every student thinks about a topic. The best way for the administration to choose students to blog is to let all the students write comments on the school website and then choose. I don’t think that censorship would be necessary because students should express what they are thinking freely, but at the same time we don’t want students to start fighting or write bad stuff, so I think that teachers should be responsible for checking the blog once a month, or something like that. Yes, it is very appropriate and from the first look you see that it is very educational, and I think that it is a very professional blog page. Students should be paid online since everything happens online now.
I think the positive things i see about having student blogs on school websites is that students can share there ideas about the topic and explain about the topic. The negative things are that maybe you don't have internet or your computer broke down. I don’t think it is unethical because the students can check what assignment they have to do. I think our school should have student blogs because the students can go online and check the homework they have in case they forget it. I think there should be censorship because the students can’t say what ever they want, it has to be respectful. It is appropriate because the students can share there ideas with each other and learn from each other. The students should be paid online because almost everything is online from homework to sharing ideas. I read this blog that tells you to put in work and energy into what you want to achive when in the future.
I think this is a great article, and there are many positive things that a student’s blog on a school website such as that you can discuss lots of school-related items, which could make you more educational. Bu the negative aspects of it are that Internet could easily go down and if it does it means no blogging for students.
I think it is also very ethical for a school to use student blogs as a marketing tool, and there’s no problem with that at all. Our school website should definitely have a student blog, and first of all it could be a good marketing tool or ACS, and a good way for students to interact together in a learning way. The ACS website should do the same thing Dave McOwen, Mr. Jones’s successor in the admissions office, by using a message inviting application to students. Censorship is vital for student’s blogs because you never know if they’re making fun of a teacher, or cheating etc. Everything that MIT is doing is appropriate but when the stepped up their game level and started remuneration for student blogging. Students could be paid in many ways such as to their online account on the Internet. I really like the blog “Advice for seniors.”The comment I liked was “The fruit you're talking about is yellower. I think this one is tangerine/clementine. it has softer skin than orange and is smaller in size, but tastes almost the same.”
-I think he’s totally right I asked my parents about it and they got the same answer.
I find that there are some positive and negative things about using blog spots to promote students. Such as one positive thing is that students can talk about things online and discuss topics such as like we are doing. But one negative thing is that people can view information shared world wide and if there is no connection there is no way to access your blog. I think that it is ethical to use the blogs since it is a good way to convey information and if we don't have internet we still have a way to discuss. Also it is a good way to remind people to do assigments or a good way to discuss with everone!
Jan Kuttab
Having students be able to access a blog to talk to each other about school related stuff but what happens if the internet doesn't work? Then those kids are going to be stuck in a bad situation. These blogs are a good idea though and I think that the school should promote them wothout the need for censoring stuff because the students should feel free to speak their mind as long as it's not offensive to the people in the school or anyone in general.
I think it is a positive thing that students can talk about school on their blogs and that they can talk with other classmates or friends about academics, but to use students blogs for marketing purposes is wrong I think. I think that schools should allow students to put links to the schools websites and maybe take excerpts of writing from their blogs with the students permission but not more than that because it is basically plagiarism or using students, it is wrong to do that.
The positive aspect of having student blogs on school websites is that it provides high school students with first-hand accounts of what life at college is like. Also, well-written blogs give a website character, balancing out the dry facts and statistics. A potential negative about having student blogs on school websites is that some students might post negative or even false information. I see no ethical issues in using student blogs as marketing tools because the bloggers are paid. Even if they were not paid, I imagine most students would be excited to see their writing on the school website. It would be cool if our school put student blogs on its website. We could have a writing contest to choose the bloggers, or prospective bloggers could submit a portfolio of their own writing. I am somewhat opposed to the censorship of writing. However, the school could give guidelines about what kind of things it finds inappropriate. As blogging on the website helps colleges market, I see nothing wrong with the bloggers being paid for their contributions to the school. I suppose that students could receive half of a credit or a quarter of a credit for blogging on the school website. I read a blog posted by a freshman. It talked about getting used to college and a strange blacksmithing class. It was very interesting and humorous.
I think the use of blogs for promotional purposes is a good idea, as it is a cheap and affective way of getting a first hand information from a student. Also for the universities it is very good to have their students answering questions from prospective future students. At the same time, the actual students could make some extra money that they need for their studies. It is important not to edit or censor in any way people's views, even if they are very critical. This will ensure free flow of information and that is the most important for the prospective students as they need to know everything about the university, even if it's not particularly positive.
Some of the positive things I see about student blogs on school websites are that other students or soon to be students get another students’ perspectives instead of a teacher who doesn’t actually know what’s going on for students. Another positive thing is that the soon to be students really get a feel of what college will be like. The only negative thing I see is that a student might say something that is offensive to a group of people and get the school in trouble or make the school less wanting to go to. I think it is ethical to use this as a marketing tool. I think the best way to see who should write blogs would be to have all the students write a practice one and just see which one represents the school well but also will appeal to other students. I think maybe in High School there should be censorship but not in college, by then they should be responsible enough to write appropriate things. I think the remuneration for the student blogging is fine. :)
The positive things I see is that studetns can share and discuss school subjects since they are the same age, and they could also have some fun since the system is kind of like a messenger system. But the negative things are that students might put false imformation and the other students reading the article might misunderstand. And, one more negative fact is that some students might be anxious or worried about the other students posting a negative comment on what the students have said. I think it is ethical, and I strongly suggest that our school should have blogs for educational purposes because students would be able to discuss to their friends about anything the school requires in a fun way. All students in the school should be able to blog, but some censorship might be needed because some students might talk about things outside school requirements. If censorship would not be blocked, the students blog system would be just a chatting messenger program to the students. I think the students blog program is appropriate if the censorship gets blocked since students can express themselves and ask questions which could be a little embarrasing to ask the teacher because the students all are same and are learning in the same point of view. I suggest the students get paid half the quarter for doing the blog program. I read David's comment and I agree with the comment, "The MIT blogs are a unique way of understanding a this school’s special culture".
What I liked about this article is, it's straight forward. It tells you the point right away. In most of the article there are positive's and negative's. To start with the positive's I think it's such an entertaining way to interest those students that are in the Massachusetts Institute College of Technology. Also, it's a great idea to keep their thinking active, and not shut down from time to time. I think it would give them more knowledge. The negative part of this situation is, how can you know that the internet would work each time you post a blog? What if there might me internet disabled connections? I think blogs should occur most of the time in school, I think it would be very helpful among students in ACS. It would be a great idea because, everyone can read each other's blogs, and get some ideas from them. Also know their thoughts, what their views are for each, and certain subject. The best way for administration to choose a certain subject for blogging is to make students pick what they are likely to talk about, what's the most popular of what students talk about? I think each student should pick a certain topic, and after all they can make a vote, and pick which one they would highly recommend to blog about.. No, no need for censorship, it might be needed from time to time, since students aren't fully free when it comes to talking, and language online, when guests like to visit the page, I don't think they would recommend seeing a full page of cursing from student to student. I think teachers should check the blog site from time to time, week after week. And check for sure that no students are misbehaving among other students, and should keep track to whoever. And I think they should punish that student each time it comes to something serious as this. The website should look highly educational.. And, yes. I think the website that I visited was highly ranked as a very educational look to it, it also has very good ideas. I really liked the website, it helped me a lot. And it looks very suitable to everyone. I think bloggers should be paid if the article deserved that money, I think they should be rewarded something since they write such professional blogs for everyone to freely comment, and write their own sides of views about it.
Sarah★
The positive thing is that students in school can share and discuss about subjects and school-related works. One of the negative thing is that it is unffair for those who have their internets down, or other electrical problems. I can't say that using students blog is not ethical, but I don't want to recommand it. I personaly do not think that we must have students blog in our school website, becuase it isn't going to be used as often as we think. People have other programs that we can use instead. the best way for the administration to choose students to blog on our school website is to let people to write or comment on the blog, then choose the best one who seems to fit for the job. I do feel that the censorship is essential, because without it, there are possibilities of chaos occuring by students. I think it isn't unappropriate; Students can be paid half of the credit. I read an article which was written by Dave McOwen. He wrote about how he hated spam mails, and that we should have technology to prevent from those spams. I felt the same way as Dave, because I also get tons of spam mails each night.
I think that the positive side of having student blogs on school websites is that it gives the school some type of advertisement. Also the students that are going to enroll in that school could get a better look on how things are like from the students themselves. The negative side is that the schools have to make sure that the blogs are appropriate and that they are not giving a bad impression of the schools. I bet that all school would like to set a good example for their upcoming students. I it is ethical for the schools to use the blogs as a marketing tool because they would want more people to enroll into their school. I would be great if we had a student blog. I think that the administration should first look that the people who are interested into telling others about the school. Then the administration should set rules to those people to make sure that their blogs are appropriate and safe. There should be censorship because you could never know what students might say. I think that remuneration for student blogging is fine.
-Rachel
There are many positive and negative aspects of this idea. If the internet is not working then the person will not be able to access it. I think it would be good for companies and schools to use this as a communication tool. The positive aspect is that things can be talked about and it can be 24/7 communication between teachers and students...maybe even parents. I personally would do this because it is ethical and easy to use.
Student blogging is a very good way for new students to learn about their new school and the students there, and also to read about what the students themselves think about the school. The negative thing about student blogging is that sometimes the blogs aren’t very good and about unimportant things and that makes the school website look unorganized and ridiculous.
I’m not sure if I think it’s ethical to use student blogs for marketing purposes. It’s OK for information reasons, but one shouldn’t mix marketing and information. I think ACS could have a blog, not for marketing, but it’s a school with a large turnover so it would be great for newcomers to get an impression of the school not just from the official side. I think blogging for the school website could be a part of a class, supervised by a teacher. In that case it would be natural for the teacher to edit the blogs, but the whole idea with blogs is to let different ideas be published, so the ”censorship” would rather be communicating with the teacher before publishing.
I think it’s fair that the student bloggers get paid in money because blogging takes a lot of time and it can be considered as a job like writing columns for a newspaper. The students could also get paid by getting it to be a part of the curriculum.
I read, "LET'S PLAY" posted by Jenny X. '13 on October 10, 2009. It’s not so much opinion as it is information about sport at MIT. It gives a great impression about student life at MIT.
Idunn
the good thing is that student can share or discuss any school material, but one of the negative thing is when the internet connection is down.
students wont be able to access the internet at all you wouldn't be able to go to blackboard, or do any blogs.
i think these blogs are great for education purposes and there also good because you can see your homework. all student should be able to access to these blogs.it is appropriate because the students can share there ideas with each other and learn from each other. The students should be paid online because almost everything is online from homework to sharing ideas. I read this blog that tells you to put in effort into what you want to succeed in the future.
I think that student blogs on school websites enhance the feel of the school and gives people who are looking to join this school a better concept of the school. The negative things about student blogs is that their information might be inaccurate or their point of view of the school is not what the school wants it to be or to show in public. It isn’t really a problem for schools to use student blogs as a marketing tool as long as the student is not forced to do it and has a choice. I don’t really think our school needs student blogs since we are not marketing anything and it doesn’t really have a point. The administration should choose the best students who have the most suitable topics to put on the website. If the student blogs are on the school website then yes there should be an amount f censorship but if its not for the school they should not get involved with what they do. Its fine if MIT pays students to make blogs since they don’t have to, so you cant really blame them for doing it. They could be paid to sell MIT products. The blog I liked the most was the “Advice for seniors” blog. The best comment by far was” The fruit you're talking about is yellower. I think this one is tangerine/Clementine. it has softer skin than orange and is smaller in size, but tastes almost the same.”, It was hilarious
=D
Positive things about having student blogs on school websites are that other students can learn much more about the school and the life of the students in a more honest voice. A negative thing about it is that some entries might be inappropriate, sloppy and biased, and therefore affect negatively on the school’s image. I think it is ethical for schools to use student blogs as a marketing tool because most students would want to be honest towards other students interested of the school, and as was said earlier, the best way for a student to learn about a school is from another student. Our school website should also have student blogs for other students interested in ACS to read. The best way for our administrator to choose students to blog would be by getting recommendations from teachers. There shouldn’t be censorship on the blogs. MIT’s remuneration for student bloggers is appropriate, because otherwise they might not want to do it or not take it seriously. Students could also be “paid” by giving them some extra credit. The blog entry I read by Hamsika C. ’13 was very interesting, because it gave you a glimpse of student life at MIT.
Positive things about blogging I think is you do not just get the “oh this college is so good and we have all the good teachers” junk. You get insight from students who were experiencing the same thing you are experiencing now. I think the negative things are that anybody can comment and people can fool around and be stupid and you would not attract any people with those comments. I think it is ethical to use student blogs because it would not be too formal and boring but inviting because you get to see what other people truly think or feel. I think our school should have a blog because it would be a cool way to get our ideas heard and say all the things we like about this school. I think the best way the administration to choose students to blog on our website would be by choosing people who are positive role models and also new student to say there opinion on the school. I do not think there should be censorship because if you are giving student the freedom to write what they want then you should follow through with that. Yes I think M.I.T’s remuneration is appropriate. Students could get paid by extra credit points on good comments that they give or contribute.
By Aya
I think that student blogging is an OK idea. It could be good to the school if the blog says positive stuff, but could be negative if the school seemed crappy. I would probably never do it, and if I did, it wouldn't be very academic, and the MIT site wouldn't put it up. It would probably on penguins or awesome sauce or something like that, but not much academic content. And I wouldn't be a suck-up and be like: Oh yeah, MIT is a great school, I really love it. I always promote it and I really wish that MIT would give me something in return...
I don't mind if the school uses the blogs as a marketing tool. It's fine unless they really are like: "Yeah, you see that? SEE!? That totally proves that our school is awesome! N--- No-- NO, shut up! Look at the blog- SHUT UP! LOOK AT THE BLOG!!!!!!!111oneone"
So if they do that it sucks, but if they just have it somewhere on the site (not posted on the front page in large BOLD words like <-- that)
I don't think that our school should have student blogs, because as soon as it's announced certain people like ***o or *u**** will try and suck up and make a blog. That;s my main problem with these blogs: people will just try and suck up soooooooo much and it will be very irritating. I mean, there would obviously be positive things, like a homework blog, but other than that I wouldn't be interested.
The people who do blog could be given extra credit or something, or maybe a choice between money or extra-credit.
Personally, I don't like blogs that much anyway, because it's a cheap way to make a website, when certain people spend so much time on making an actually good website instead of a 'blog'
By Andy
There are many positive things about the student blogs. It is possible for students to access work and information when they are at home and/or absent. They can also share ideas about school and work. A negative part of the blog can be that students abuse the blog to make fun or discriminate other students and teachers. I think that he blog should be checked once in a while be a teacher to make sure there is nothing negative written on them, but censor ship should be part of the students task, and they should be encouraged to do this.
I think that all blogs should be censored and edited before publishing to make sure that the content is appropriate, and that it should be checked to ensure that the information is school related and not pointless because they are getting paid. I like the idea however, because I would be much more interested in reading student blogs than reading what people have said on university websites or teacher lectures. Having student blogs on school websites is smart because it advertises the school to people and it makes them more interested. Having student blogs on school websites can also be negative however, because the content might change a person's mind about going, and it might not even be true or topic related. I think that using blogs as a marketing tool is perfectly ethical and that there is nothing wrong with it. I don't think that our school needs a student blog because it is a high school not a university, although it might be fun. Student blogs should definitely have censorship but not too much to an extent that it's not fun to read anymore. MIT's remuneration for student blogging is appropriate because it encourages students to write about the school. Students could also be "paid" with extra credit. I really liked the article on the MIT admissions homepage called "If the Obama was a unit of measure..." because it is very informative and interesting.
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