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Yet Another Reason…

August 13, 2007

…why we need to start talking about Bebo and MySpace in schools!

You may have caught this story on the BBC’s website. On the surface it is a smallish ‘foreign’ news story with more than a touch of schadenfreude about it. What sets it apart from the crowd, and the reason it got me thinking is the way the story has been playing out on Bebo. Patrick Devine, the student concerned has had an horrendous experience by all accounts, and we may not know the truth of what actually happened… On the BBC, his family:

“…has requested no more publicity and will not be talking due to “the sensitivities of the case”.

Shame then that the BBC have posted a direct link to Patrick Devine’s Bebo site.

This might just be the thin end of the wedge. How long until everyone involved in a news story has links posted to their online presence?

It is becoming more and more incumbent on us to learn how to use these sites responsibly and then pass this knowledge on to our pupils. When your Bebo / MySpace / Facebook site can be thrust into the public eye, you need to know that you are comfortable with the public persona you’ve created. Whether we like it or not, schools are probably the only people that can do this in time for it to make a difference…

Shame they’re all blocked.

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from → Technoglitteratiness, What else...
2 Comments leave one →
  1. Marcie T. Hull permalink
    August 14, 2007 1:06 am

    Your last sentence is what both, drives your point home and drives me MAD! Now the question is, how do we get administrators of schools into this conversation? What can the edublogggers do to get the message out that schools need to take a long hard look at their policies. We need to be proactive in making them a living document that ensures safety and personal freedom. We know the problem now how do we fix it? Great post thanks for bringing this to my attention.

    Reply
  2. Ewan McIntosh permalink
    August 14, 2007 6:48 am

    You’d find the journalists’ point of view interesting. Robin didn’t write these stories, but has been facing the moral issues of cyber door stepping:
    http://www.cybersoc.com/2007/04/virginia_tech_b.html
    and
    http://www.cybersoc.com/2007/04/when_is_a_publi.html

    Reply

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