How to Moderate a Homeschool Internet Group

By eHow Education Editor

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There are several Internet groups for homeschoolers. The Web provides a way for homeschoolers to unite and share ideas and outing information. Many Internet groups are experiencing members who get off the topic of homeschooling and begin discussing other issues. This is where a group moderator jumps in to rescue the weary eyes and ears of the group's participants. Following are steps to moderate an Internet homeschooling group.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Set ground rules from the beginning. Set the requirements for who may join the group, where they must reside, how often they must participate in activities, what they can talk about on the group posts and how they will be reminded of the rules. If it is a religious homeschool group, have everyone sign on that they are aware that some of the information will be from a religious point of view. If it is an atheist group, let everyone know up front that God will not be permitted to join in on the group conversation.

Step2

Have an active moderator. The moderator should be someone who everyone is familiar with and who is active in the homeschool community. Don't pick a closet homeschooler who no one knows because then the moderator may not be given the proper respect. The moderator is a type of leader who tells people when they are off topic and need to move on.

Step3

Choose a moderator with tact. It is easy to send the wrong message in an email, so choose a moderator with good email etiquette and a soft tone. The moderator should be forceful enough to step in and stop off topic discussions, but gentle enough to accomplish the job without running everyone away.

Step4

Send the off topic discussions to another Internet group. Yahoo! offers groups to almost anyone. When setting up a homeschool Internet group, set up two. One group will be for the homeschool issues and the other group will be for the discussions that start to veer away from homeschool issues.

Step5

Be nice and have fun. This is not a high stress job. Homeschooling may be high stress, but moderating should be enjoyable. Plan a few easy outings so they don't think you are the mind police and relax.