blogging workshop - thoughts

these are my notes from the blogging session while I can still remember them.mentioned both gaggle and epals. They use free services
blocked blogger.com / blogspot.com b/c "next blog" button could take kids to inappropriate sites.
http://edublog.org
http://www.weblogg-ed.com/
the general tone was that they used blogging to facilitate online discussions, esp with regard to literature discussions, and social sciences.
No district wide policies or guidelines. Some teachers moderate some don't. Emphasis on classroom management. All students are disciplined for online activities as they would be in real world. Online bullying has same repercussions as real world.
need some warning / instruction for teachers upfront. some teachers incorrectly set security so students had admin rights and were deleting other students' work.
Deadline is 2-3 days before grading to allow for "the internet was down" "my dad was on the computer, etc.