Memphis City Schools is going to start providing student e-mail accounts and message boards through a company called Gaggle.Net.
The first guinea pigs will be middle schoolers, notorious for their maturity, thick skins, concentration, and tech savvy. This is either (a) a green, paperless way to connect students and teachers with the conveniences of the Internet or (b) as crazy as giving each student a firearm, cell phone, squirt gun, an unlimited hall pass, and a six-pack of Coke.
Having no children in MCS, I don’t know. But I have heard of very rare occasions in which email and social networks have been used for non-serious purposes as well as a tiny number of accidents and technical glitches. I would like to hear from parents and teachers on such Gaggle.Net reassurances as “the teacher is in charge,” “safe, productive email for your students,” “easy for the teacher to control unwanted SPAM, pornographic mail, etc.”
Here are some more:
