Today's NYT Magazine contains another blogging story. This one is written by George Washington University law professor Jeffrey Rosen, who shares his concerns over blogging and privacy.
Rosen has "recently discovered that there are two anonymous student-run blawgs, Ambivalent Imbroglio and Life, Law, Libido" at GW Law School. (Regulars here will recognize ai as one of my Honor Roll blogs.) Moreover, he has learned that "bloggers also include verbatim transcripts of their conversations with my colleagues not only in class but during office hours, augmented by unkind (if sometimes wickedly accurate) comments." Rosen reacts to this newfound threat:
Now that I know that students may be reporting my after-class comments without my knowledge, I'm more likely to be circumspect in private conversations. Do I have any other remedies? One possibility might be to announce at the beginning of each term that all comments in the classroom are off the record to bloggers.
Only a law professor would speak of "remedies" against students reporting after-class conversations. What exactly is Professor Rosen saying to his students that he feels the need to seek remedies against them for publishing a transcript of the conversations?
Fortunately, Professor Rosen recognizes the futility of asking the students not to blog about his class. Unfortunately, he is so concerned about his privacy that he has not embraced blogging as a pedagogical tool. Contrast that with Christine, who facilitates student blogging about her class. In the welcome message for that blog, she wrote:
We believe that the best way to learn about a topic is not merely to read and to listen to class lectures, but also to identify issues, analyze issues, communicate a position on a particular issue and be prepared to respond to rejoinders and contributions about that issue.
Doing this in a public forum intensifies the experience for students, and my experience with Law & Entrepreneurship News has been that students learn more when they are placing themselves on the line. To be sure, Professor Rosen's nightmare could become a reality, and a student could write something horribly inappropriate or embarrassing. But even if you wanted to stop students from blogging, you are too late. Embrace blogging. (Hey, that sounds like a bumper sticker!)
UPDATE: Did anyone like the Rosen piece? Not here or here or here.
Posted by Gordon at December 19, 2004 12:05 AM | TrackBack