As you think about posting information online this school year, ask yourself the following questions:
Are you planning on making a class website?
There is so much to share on your class website to help students, parents, and the community learn how your classroom works. You could:
- Post homework assignments and due dates
- Links to helpful forms and online resources
- Your classroom newsletter (but be mindful of students whose images cannot be posted online)
- Class schedule, testing schedule...
Is the information private or sensitive student information? (i.e., IEP's, CSE meeting notes...)
If so, NEVER post that kind of thing on Web 2.0 tools like Google Docs, Google Sites, wikis, blogs, etc. That is a bad idea.
If you have questions, please ask first. We can work together to determine if something is safe to post online.
Are you planning to post student pictures on your class website or blog?
Please make sure that parents have given their permission to post pictures of their children online.
Does your school have a media release form for parents to sign? Does it include language about allowing kids' pictures to be posted on class websites and other class project sites? It is important to know about this stuff.
Even if it does include such language, you might still consider sending home a copy of the picture with an additional permission form before posting images of children, especially close-up photos.
Images of larger groups working on a project or participating in a fun school activity are safer to post online because it is more difficult to pick out individual faces.
Keep in mind non-custodial parents who are not supposed to have contact with their children and everyone else in the world might stumble upon your public website. When you give people a window into your classroom, make sure you don't open the window too far!
Are you planning to post student work on your class website?
Again, you need to get parent permission to post student work online.
Does your school have a form for that? They might have it as part of a beginning-of-the-year packet for parents.
Make sure each parent has signed it indicating whether or not they give you permission to post their children's work online. Check your list each time you plan on posting student work (and images, for that matter) online.
Are you working with colleagues on lesson planning?
Posting your lesson plans and supporting materials that you create online is a great way to access your resources from any classroom, home, or any place you have internet access.
Other teachers can benefit from your willingness to share your materials online, too. Win-win!
Are you keeping track of meeting notes?
As long as the information is fine to share with the public, feel free to post it online.
If you are discussing instructional strategies, helpful resources, etc., that is fine to post. If the information includes notes about individual students, don't do it.
Ask me for alternatives and we'll find a method that works for you! Are there topics that you discuss at meetings that should not be posted? What might they be? I'm sure there are. Use your best judgment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
That is really the heart of the matter: Use your judgment. Think about the information you want to post online and determine if it is appropriate to put online before you post it.
Remember to keep these things in mind when you are posting to the web. You would never want to post something that would put a child at risk.
