STUDENT BLOGS (Guidelines)

STUDENT BLOGS

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(Guidelines): **

5.

Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for Education if there are any guidelines for students who set up blogs and discuss about their school activities and their teachers.

Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam: Blogging is a relatively new form of communication over the Internet. However, the existing guidelines and advice on Internet etiquette (netiquette) for students on the use of email, Internet forums and chatrooms remain applicable to blogging. With the increasing use of blogs in schools, MOE has also engaged in discussion with schools on the potential use of blogs for educational purposes, as well as the need to educate pupils on the responsible use of blogs.

We do not frown on blogs in schools. They allow students to express themselves freely, in an informal setting, and to make creative use of various media - text, sound, pictures and videos.

But blogs are not private spaces. They are publicly accessible. Hence, schools have to educate and guide their students on responsible self-expression in their blogs, just as with the e-mail and other media for communication. Students have to be reminded to respect others, avoid posting content that is offensive or abusive, and avoid plagiarism or using copyrighted material.

The specific strategies adopted by MOE to emphasise the importance of the responsible use of Internet in schools include:

(i) Core training for teachers

Issues and guidelines on netiquette and ethical use are integrated into core training programmes on IT integration in teaching, for all teachers in both pre-service and in-service training.

(ii) Responsible use of the Internet

In schools, topics on the responsible use of the Internet are included in the Civics and Moral Education (CME) instructional package. Students are taught to take responsibility for their actions, whether in cyber or physical world, as part of the values education that schools provide.

(iii) Resources

Through edu.MALL, a MOE website on the use of IT in education, MOE shares with schools on how to ensure the responsible use of Internet by students. Some examples include the need to set policies to handle use, misuse and abuse of Internet access by students in schools, enlisting assistance from parents, and copyright issues.

Schools also draw on support from voluntary organisations. Organisations such as Touch Community Services, supported by partners such as PAGI (Parents' Advisory Group

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for Internet) and the National Youth Council (NYC), have been conducting cyber wellness programmes for schools, as well as for parents.

MOE will monitor and assess the need to put in place additional guidelines on the use of the Internet, which will include blogs, by teachers and students.

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