Blogging is not an unusual practice. Lots of people do it for lots of different reasons. This week’s article looks at how the practice is used by universities for promotion purposes. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.
What positive things do you see about having student blogs on school websites? What negative things do you see about having student blogs on school websites? Is it ethical for a school to use student blogs as a marketing tool? Should our school website have student blogs? What would be the best way for the administration to choose students to blog on our school website? Should there be censorship of student blogs? Is MIT’s remuneration for student blogging appropriate? How else could students be “paid?” go to the link for the MIT Admissions homepage, read one of the student blogs and comment on it.
9 comments:
In my eyes, the positive things resulting from having student blogs on school, specifically universities, is that you have more of a grasp on what you are in for rather than just paper knowledge from the admissions office. I think that the negative side, however, is what most people will put in their blogs. I think that having student blogs is a great idea because you know more about the university, and what your life will soon consist of instead of just a total surprise. I don’t see the importance in our school having but it wouldn’t hurt especially if there are new, nervous students who want to know what life here is like. I think that the administration should choose students that were once new, and are socially active in activities in and out of school. I disagree with the idea that there should be censorship however. I also disagree with MIT’s remuneration for student blogging because applicants should know what they are applying for, both the positive and negative aspects. Students could get paid with community hours or treats or something similar to that. I have noticed that the majority of these blogs seem positive yet although I know there are negative aspects. I think that bloggers should be completely honest with their blogs so applicants could know what they are in for.
As the article mentions, the positive aspect of blogs on university websites is that those who are deciding whether to apply or not really get an idea of what the school is like. Indeed what the actually admissions office sends is important, but really it's the student opinion that I personally would rather hear. But I also agree with the concern that many universities have about user bloggers on their sites-- people can lash out at the school or bring up issues that shouldn't been on a school website, be politically incorrect. It's hard to filter out the people who would post comments like those.
I think it is ethical for them to use blogs in order to market their facility-- as long as they have permission by the bloggers. It's the students opinions of their institution, they are valuable comments that can both draw in new students and can ultimately help improve the school.
I don't know if having a blog for our school would be beneficial since we are a small community to start with. But I think having a couple students from different backgrounds write a sentence about what they like at school would be nice to see on the website. Parents, prospective students, as well as many others, will see what students say about their school environment and probably believe that more than what the administration will tell them.
Choosing students to write the comment would be harder and I think they should be censored- at least at our school. I don't know if people have quite outgrown the "I'm cool for hating school". We could open it up to anyone who wanted to write anything, or a it could be a class homework assignment.
Censoring blogs could raise some issues with free speech. University student may not feel comfortable having their words manipulated for propaganda.
I'm sure that MIT would get blogs without paying students the $10. But it's a nice incentive, $10 is a trip to the movies or lunch. Not a ton of money that they are getting hundreds of blogs, but a nice reward for the people putting in the extra effort in their busy lives to give their two cents on the school. Students could also be awarded other things- credit at the school store, free meals, supplies that are popular among students.
The blogs I read were interesting. Each focused on a different topic or aspect on campus- sports, class, an organization, lunch- whatever is going on. Personally, it was positive and sounded a lot better than the packets I get from admissions offices full of statistics and over-edited, overly corny write-ups about how GREAT their school is. I want to know the positives, but I also want to know what things students don't like about their school.
I think that positive things of having the blog would be that the student gives their strong opinion about what they are writing about. I also think that it helps them to understand to give their thoughts instead of writing it down on paper for the administration to review. I think for the negative side would be that they will only stick to the blogs and not to be outgoing about things. I think that it isn’t ethical for schools to use blogs as a marketing tool, because if you think about how many students use the computers or are new to the whole thing about “blogs” they wouldn’t fully understand it. I think that our school shouldn’t have blogs, because I mean what’s the point of having a blog when most of us don’t get it, or some of us are to lazy to type. There is no real purpose to having a blog, when you have your mouth to speak from or paper to write on. I think that the administrative should choose the students as they are, for what they think, how they work, and the way they are social with people. I don’t think that there should be censorship. No I don’t think that the MIT is appropriate, because the students should have a right to choose what they want to do. Students can be paid by doing community work or to help out those who need it. I think that the bloggers should be honest with themselves and to the world, for those who read it. Why say something that they don’t really mean, or care about.
The positive things about sudent blogs on school webs, is that when some local student is willing to enroll themselves to a school, they can look at these blogs & see what students think of the school & whether they like it or not.
The negative thing is whether students will overrate or underrate the school; one school will start boasting about their school & one will just not say much about theirs.
One one hand, rephrase 'tool' to 'ploy' & you will soon get the picture. On the other hand, yes, it is ethnical because students get to show others what the schools are like. I support it because maybe students get to interact with the rest of the community on the recomendation of picking a school to go to from what students say.
Like the MIT, they should have a contest, yet in this case, a monthly. Censorship on the internet is the poison which wipes out the matter of virtual feelings, so no.
For now it is, but if retrogressing or staying the same no. Why, because it is only the beginning of student blogs.
Students should also be paid with extra credit in their subjects, or something as equally rewarding to that.
The positive things I see in a student blog is that seniors can ask people that went to the University questions about it. This will help the senior choose whether or not he'll like the University. The only negative things I can see is the people that blog very negatively about the University. I think it's highly ethical because the student will end up having a better experience in life. I don't think our school is known enough for it to be worth having a school blog. Also our school has enough students coming in. We shouldn't have a blog but a way to choose students is those who are very active in our community and who are online regularly. I think that theirs no need to censor things because you can't censor life also chances are the people reading it already use these "bad words' anyways. Yes I think MIT's remuneration is very appropriate. They could be paid with special privileges, late passes, off on detentions etc.
-Tristan Smith
I'd say that there are a good amount of positive aspects to student blogging. Most importantly, the college/school gets direct feedback from their students in a way that they feel they can truly express themselves. A survey would likely elicit generic responses, but blogging would most likely garner truthful and varied information from students.
As far as negative aspects go, I only see one: the image of the school being effected. Having student blogs on a university website makes it seem less professional. While it may be appreciated by students, the image of a site as an established business/foundation could be lessened by it.
No, that is not ethical in my opinion. There are sites dedicated to selling items online, so doing such on his/her university's blog (something that should be taken gratefully, as not all universities have them) is unnecessary, and is somewhat an abuse of the system.
No, not in my opinion. Our school is large enough for the general thoughts of our body to be known. For example, if one teacher is really unpopular, it is somewhat common knowledge. We don't need a blog to express things because our community is too small for such to work well.
Students could apply for making the blogposts, including their blog topic, and the administration could decide who to let post according to which topic was most relevant or interesting.
No, these are meant to be free expression of students. There would be no point in doing such, since the main achievement of having them is receiving raw feedback from the student body.
I don't think so. There shouldn't be rewards in my opinion - students should blog because they want to. Paying them will only push them into being more generic, like they would be on a survey.
If the pay process needed to be there, they could be paid with some kind of special site privileges.
Having the college student blog is a very good idea. People from highschools which are getting ready to enter that university can visit the blog and ask questions and see some college stuffs going on. When my brother went to college, he just tried to pick the university that has good reputation. I don't think it is a very good idea, because In my opinion, I think we should be able to at least have some visit session to university for seniors, and have them talk with teachers and students there. The blogs are new good invention to people who wants to check those college which are available to ask questions in blog.
The most positive thing about the student blog, as mentioned in the article, is that high school students get to know the university on a more personal level. A negative aspect may be that it may dissuade a student from applying but in the end, it would be better for the student. Yes, I think that it is perfectly ethical. In addition, MIT is paying the students for their blogs and students apply for the position; it is the student’s decision to join the blog process. I don’t think that our website should have student blogs because, truthfully, I don’t think anyone would read it. The best way for the administration to choose student would be to pick students who are social, involved in a lot of activities, yet still maintain good grades. There should be no censorship of student blogs because a blog is a personal account, much like a diary/journal; if you want possible students to consider the school, then the blogger, should be truthful. Yes, paying the student bloggers is appropriate; it is much like a job—they are (to some extent) promoting the school as well as giving up their time. Students could also be paid in terms of ‘community service hours’, if they need them… In Cristen’s blog concerning Spring Break, it was interesting to learn the different opportunities for the students (UROP).
Personally i believe that student blogging should be promoted to greater levels. Through the means of blogging, the students will be more engaged with the events and issues that are on going within the school. The level of participation will also increase by giving live and quick updates of those events the students are interested in. By creating a blogging site, the students will save time, by not having to go to the notice board everytime they are curious about an event that they find attractive. On the other hand the students who are doing the blogging, setting up the site and posting articles, would be wasting time. The traditional interaction between the students would decrease for, all they have to do is read the blogged article from their computers. I would think that creating a blog site for our school would be a great idea. By creating a secondary method of official communication, the students of ACS would be connected to their schools in more and varied ways.
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