Putting Your School News Online - Part 3: Benefits of blogED

blogED is a blog host developed by the NSW DEC. All NSW DEC staff can create blogs, and then post articles. The following video gives a quick overview of blogED and how it can be used by teachers and students.

There are plenty of blog hosting platforms. So which one should you use to post school news? I'd go with blogED. Why? Mainly for philosophical reasons, and because I think data liberation and data security are really important. Some key points are:

1. Ownership: Since it’s developed and sanctioned by NSW DEC all the blogED data belongs to, and resides within, the department. Readers can be absolutely sure that the blog posts are authentic. Teachers can get to it quickly with their Portal credentials. blogED probably won’t be taken-over, sold-off, or closed-down soon. And unless the NSW DEC is really desperate for funds the site should be advertisement free (both undesired and inappropriate). 
2. Content Approval: The school Principal (and delegates) can approve all posts and comments before they go public on the web. That mimics the traditional proof-reading stage for a printed newsletter, and also protects against comment spam from fake readers. 
3. Privacy and Copyright: All new content must pass through a rigorous privacy and copyright test before it can be uploaded to blogED. This reminds authors (i.e. teachers writing news items) to check the text, images, and other media they are using before they post. 

Unfortunately the biggest downfall of blogED is the technical side. Reading is fine, but creating and formatting content can be a real headache at times. Since it’s not as customisable or user-friendly as you might expect, it may be tricky to convince your news writers to move from print to blog. (I'll blog more about the downsides once this series is complete.)

But the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The technical failings might be improved over time. And the benefits (particularly ownership) can’t be found anywhere else. So blogED it is.

NEXT: Setting up blogED to publish school news