tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9347994.post6467662777804234678..comments2023-10-28T04:20:05.293-06:00Comments on The Information Conversation: Student safety, or can we ever publish anything about students ever again?Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05107738493220532602noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9347994.post-3816063038951220942007-07-21T10:49:00.000-06:002007-07-21T10:49:00.000-06:00Matt, you got my recommendation a bit wrong, so le...Matt, you got my recommendation a bit wrong, so let me clarify. I am a firm advocate of celebrating the successes of young people. I also believe that posting teams and times is valuable and community building. My recommendation however is that the level of access to this information be considered.<BR/><BR/>How to Make School Web Sites Safer:<BR/><BR/>In order to improve the safety of Web sites maintained by schools and organizations, administrators should consider implementing a two-tier information access policy or reducing personally identifiable information. <BR/><BR/>I recommend the two-tier approach as it allows the school’s community to openly share student’s successes, post team members and game times, etc. without exposing youth to any more risk than they’ve had in the past. <BR/><BR/>The Web site’s first tier should be public and show information like: <BR/>• School hours, location, emergency school closures, etc, any general policies and procedures, and low risk information about game times, events, etc. where no child is specifically profiled unless their information has already come into the public domain – national award winners etc – and then it should not include more information that is already public.<BR/><BR/>The Web site’s second tier information should appropriately limit access to students, their families, teachers, etc. <BR/>• Second tier information includes anything that could be used to identify an individual, like names, clubs, photos, biographies, practice and game schedules, event times and honors, principals’ letters etc. <BR/><BR/>There are two ways to provide access to the second tier of information. <BR/>1) Require an ID and password <BR/>2) Use an approved list of e-mail aliases that is created/reconfirmed at the beginning of each year to include relevant parent and youth email accounts (this allows those on the approved list to automatically view information without remembering a password).<BR/><BR/>In the past, school newspapers were sent home to families of students. My recommendation is that that was, and still is, the appropriate community to share with. <BR/><BR/>The University of California Santa Barbara is one example of two tiered functionality, and many other universities have also taken this route. Their main pages can be viewed by anyone. However, drilling into registers, directories, events, class notes and so on requires authentication. This way they have all of the benefits of community, without incurring unnecessary risk. <BR/><BR/>It’s time for K-12 schools to consider the same course of action.<BR/><BR/>Linda CriddleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com