Parent Questions Concerning Blogs/GAFE

Hey everyone,

Glad to be learning with so many new people! I received the following questions from a parent this evening concerning permissions and security for our upcoming blogs and GAFE accounts (we’ve been a little slower getting things off the ground):

  1. (Concerning the website/blog): How long is the information retained?  Is it archived or destroyed and what is the time frame on this?
  2. Who owns the content – the school or the student?
  3. Is the information accessible to anyone on the internet or just the class? –> Initially, we’re starting with a class blog which would be accessible to everyone on the internet. Shortly thereafter, I’d like to setup individual student blogs, which I know I can make either public or private. I included this question to give you a general sense of the thinking that this family has done since the permission form went home.
  4. (For the google ed account): Is this shut down at some point such as the end of their time at Romeo, when they graduate or if they leave the board’s enrollment? –> Again, I can likely field this question right now, given what I know about the project’s aim of creating a legacy of learning and a digital footprint from one year to the next, but included it for context. Also, I know that after a student graduates high school from AMDSB they are able to roll their GAFE into a personal account with Google, but would all content come with them? I know this family is concerned with the adequate destruction of digital data, much like we shred OSRs after five years.

So, thoughts/ideas? How have you handled this situation? What the board’s stance on #2 (I looked into some applicable APs, but didn’t get a clear answer for this project)?











One thought on “Parent Questions Concerning Blogs/GAFE

  1. Hi Jonathon,
    These are some excellent questions. I will do my best to answer them here.
    The vision of blogs as digital portfolios is that these blogs stay with the students for the duration of their academic careers. The content belong to the students and will be there’s to keep once they graduate high school. For example, the Edublogs content can be exported to a WordPress blog after graduation.
    With regards to blog privacy, it is recommended that the blogs be public to provide your students with opportunities to connect with other students and experts who want to collaborate. That being said, a student blog can be private – however if the student has a private blog and is only writing for the teacher, then I don’t see much point in having a student blog. The whole purpose is to connect our students to the world of learning that exists beyond the walls of our classrooms. It’s about building relationships and making our learning visible.
    I how this helps. If you have any more questions please shared them here! We are so excited you have joined our TLC Blog community.
    Happy Blogging!
    Leigh Cassell


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