Hi Emily,

 

In my experience, it’s important to stress that the students choose user names that are gender and age neutral – it helps to reduce harassment online.  It’s also a useful opportunity to talk about privacy and safety online … it’s amazing how many students try to use their street addresses or other identifying information in their user names if they don’t understand the risks.

 

Sincerely, Mylee

 

 

Dear GLAM librarians,

 

I’m coordinating a Wikipedia-editing workshop with a group of middle-school students in a girls’ math camp. I’ve never worked with an audience of this age and I’d love to draw on your experience and knowledge.

 

My main concern: What do I need to know or consider when it comes to participants’ setting up user profiles? Do we need to (or should we) get parental consent for the campers to set up accounts? If so, what kind of assurances should we convey to parents to assuage any concerns they might have?

 

Are there other considerations or best practices I should be thinking about?

 

Thanks,

Emily

 

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Emily Jack

Community Engagement Librarian

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill