Safe House in Urban Environment

That title from one of last year's articles comes to mind along with questions and concerns I have about infringing upon the rights and rites of our students as we try to impress them with our knowledge of technology. I do not mean to imply that they have the exclusive rights to technology, but I do cringe at the idea of using their apparent need for constant interconnectedness as a tool for learning. They frequent MySpace and Face Book and an intruder, such as myself, often cringes at the things they dare share in a public forum. When reading such information, I constantly remind myself that I am not the intended audience. The fact that many have requested and accepted me as a "Friend" indicates that they feel they own those arenas and that they can write on them without fear of criticism. That, I feel, involves a certain amount of trust, trust that the "friends" are not the critics, that they will not impose their lessons of grammar and moral judgements.
They write without being prompted. Does their love for posting and tagging translate to a love for blogging? Must they blog? Is this our version of finding them where they are and taking them (reluctantly) where we want them to go? They do not enjoy blogging! Blogging, for many, has the same effect as being in a book club has for others. Like many, I like to read, but being in a book club was not as enjoyable, because the rules changed. I had to finish books by a certain date, articulate an opinion.