Right tool, right task

I'm constantly challenged to find the right tool for the right task. I have the pleasure and privilege of working with educators at all levels from elementary to higher ed. Interestingly enough, I find the elementary and secondary educators to be the most innovative and interested in testing out new tools. They do this despite the fact that they are the ones with the most limited access and the greatest battles when it comes to filters. They also have far less time for playing. Do they feel they have less to lose? Are they just more focused on finding the best for their students? Are higher ed educators too tied up in tenure expectations? Maybe it's all of these.

Regardless of the answer, as I delve into working more closely with elementary educators I find new challenges. Many of their students don't have email addresses, or at least not addresses that they know and use. There are many concerns, and rightly so, about safety and privacy. These restrictions make it that much more difficulty to find the right tool for the right task.

An article I read also brought up an interesting example of where restrictions for safety of the students isn't always in their best interest. The blog entry Robbing Students of Recognition demonstrates the intersection between trying to keep our children safe and keeping them from being proud of what they do. The internet is one of the first places people search to learn about people. So, shouldn't the internet also be a place where students demonstrate to the world how amazing they are? Where should that line be drawn? Are we protecting them from the world, from themselves, or from the education system that's in fear of a law suit? And at what cost?

My job, as one who keeps looking for the right tool for the right task, is to keep searching for what will make everyone happy. Today's tool of choice is a blogging tool made just for elementary and middle school students who don't have email addresses. Check out Kidblog for a really easy to set up easy to use blog that you can jump into in no time with your students. It does offer very simple to use protection and privacy settings so that student content can be as open to the world or as hidden as the teacher chooses to make it. Students can have their own logins without an email address so they can each lay personal claim to the content they create rather than all posting under a single class login. If you're looking to blog, give it a whirl and see what you think. If you have another tool that you would recommend for this task, I'd love to hear about it so please share.