Case study – Student blogs « Guide to Preservation of Web Resources

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Description: Your Institution runs a blog service for students and staff. One enthusiastic alumna wants to migrate the extensive blog she has kept for three years, but your Institution systematically deletes files and accounts held by students on Institution servers shortly after they graduate. How should the Institution respond if students wish to maintain or migrate the contents of their blog (plus embedded resources, comments, etc.)?

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Issues

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<blockquote cite='http://jiscpowrguide.jiscpress.org/case-study-%e2%80%93-student-blogs/#3'><ul>
<li>Should the option be open to   students to have their resources persist on Institutional servers after they   leave  perhaps as part of an Alumni programme?</li>
<li>Should this be an opt-in or   opt-out process, and should fees be involved?</li>
<li>Does an Institution have   permission to archive the content of blogs? This might include permission not   only from the blog’s author but also from creators of third party content.</li>
<li>Is it possible to excise   potentially offending material, or is the risk (probably negligible) that an   Institution might be sued for copyright breaches acceptable?</li>
<li>Are Institutional staff and   students well-informed about the issues of online copyright? Is it possible   to include a default Creative Commons licence in the terms of use of the   system?</li>
<li>Is it more sustainable for   the Institution to host and manage a blogging service or to use third party   providers such as Blogger.com or WordPress.com?</li>
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Should the option be open to students to have their resources persist on Institutional servers after they leave perhaps as part of an Alumni programme?
Should this be an opt-in or opt-out process, and should fees be involved?
Does an Institution have permission to archive the content of blogs? This might include permission not only from the blog’s author but also from creators of third party content.
Is it possible to excise potentially offending material, or is the risk (probably negligible) that an Institution might be sued for copyright breaches acceptable?
Are Institutional staff and students well-informed about the issues of online copyright? Is it possible to include a default Creative Commons licence in the terms of use of the system?
Is it more sustainable for the Institution to host and manage a blogging service or to use third party providers such as Blogger.com or WordPress.com?

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Approaches

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<blockquote cite='http://jiscpowrguide.jiscpress.org/case-study-%e2%80%93-student-blogs/#5'><ul>
<li>Decide that the issue is   predominantly one of policy, not of in-house hosting versus third party   hosting. If an educational Institution is encouraging the use of blogs to   support reflection, discourse and deep learning, it has a responsibility to   make that online environment as safe as it tries to make its physical campus.</li>
<li>Institutions could recommend   the use of mature hosted blogging services for students who will normally   only be at the Institution for a short period. Third party hosting might be a   reasonable alternative to the costs of service development and maintenance,   but the Institution must examine the terms and conditions and functionality   very carefully to ensure they meet standards it can recommend to those in its   charge.</li>
<li>Seek permission from the   owners of the blog content before making copies, investigate wider   application of Creative Commons licences and work towards resolving third   party issues.</li>
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Decide that the issue is predominantly one of policy, not of in-house hosting versus third party hosting. If an educational Institution is encouraging the use of blogs to support reflection, discourse and deep learning, it has a responsibility to make that online environment as safe as it tries to make its physical campus.
Institutions could recommend the use of mature hosted blogging services for students who will normally only be at the Institution for a short period. Third party hosting might be a reasonable alternative to the costs of service development and maintenance, but the Institution must examine the terms and conditions and functionality very carefully to ensure they meet standards it can recommend to those in its charge.
Seek permission from the owners of the blog content before making copies, investigate wider application of Creative Commons licences and work towards resolving third party issues.