Others believe that access that is completely free and unfiltered is the only way to teach digital citizenship. I believe the answer lies somewhere between the two extremes.
I have heard several creative ways of explaining why extreme filtering of the Internet in schools is not the best practice.
To paraphrase Wesley Fryer: We don't give a 16 year old the keys to a car and hope they can learn to drive on the public streets. Nobody would think of throwing a five year old into a swimming pool and hope that the child can swim. Why do people think it is appropriate to turn children loose on the Internet without teaching them the correct way to use it.
I agree with Mr. Fryer. Children need to be shown the correct and appropriate way to use the Internet.
I was listening to a broadcast on the EdTechTalk channel last week and ended up skyping in and discussing filtering with Doug Symington and a few others. Most of the people on the show and in the back channel discussion were in agreement about Internet filtering in schools. Teaching 21st century skills includes teaching how to use the Internet responsibly.
I read an article this morning in Edutopia that inspired me to write this blog. Kevin Honeycutt and Maria Knee are quoted in the article; and both offer some valuable insight on the topic. Please take a moment and read the article. The replies at the bottom of the page are quite enlightening.
I think that we should have some Internet filtering in schools, but I believe that the students and teachers should do the majority of the the filtering. We all have blacklists and whitelists of some kind on our personal computers. Why can't the entire school collaboratively build their own filter? I see the process of building a filter like this:
- Known porn sites are blocked
- Teachers and students are given access to the Internet
- When inappropriate sites are discovered by students, a block request would be submitted to the IT department.
- Teachers and administrators would have the power to place an immediate block on an inappropriate site.
- A list (similar to a wiki) would be maintained to show who, when, and why a site was blocked.
- Teachers would have the ability to override the filter.
Would this model work? Could we teach the students how to responsibly use the Internet? Could students build a filter that would be good for all grade levels in the school?
It would be an interesting experiment.
The bottom line:
Children leave school and go out into the real world. The Internet is unfiltered at home. Students need to know how to use this powerful tool responsibly.
We don't lock out the power saws in the shop class. We teach how to use the power tools safely and how to adjust the guards. We show our students how to create without doing damage to themselves or others.
We've been teaching responsibility in shop class for years. It's time to do the same in the computer lab.
Photo credit: swait-t on flicker. Link to original photo.
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2 comments:
• Known porn sites are blocked
• Teachers and students are given access to the Internet
• When inappropriate sites are discovered by students, a block request would be submitted to the IT department.
• Teachers and administrators would have the power to place an immediate block on an inappropriate site.
• A list (similar to a wiki) would be maintained to show who, when, and why a site was blocked.
• Teachers would have the ability to override the filter.
A properly selected and managed content filter can do all of this and more. 8e6 is one example. It does require thoughtful and dedicated set up and management.
Having said that, I also believe that content filters give the majority of educators a false sense of security. Adult supervision is - and will be - the BEST way to manage internet access in schools. All content filters can be defeated; creative, intelligent people do this every day.
As you said, a combination of filtering technology and attentive educators is the best way to deal with inappropriate digital content!
Scott: There was a GREAT deal of discussion at the METC conference last week in St Louis about filtering issues and blocks, and this also came up in Norman at the OU K-20 Center's Midwinter Conference. I think we need a collaborative project (likely a wiki) which would help dispel myths and identify issues when it comes to web filtering. Multiple factors are at play here, but the bottom line ends up being schools where much of the constructive, potentially positive web is blocked because schools tend toward overcontrol and digital censorship beyond even the bounds of reasonability. Certainly the leadership of the district both at the supt/principal level and the IT level is very important in this regard.
One issue with keeping a public list about why particular sites is blocked that I think would be contentious is that it would give interested kids (and others) links to try... "Ooo, this was a blocked by the school, so let's go visit it and see why." As far as I know, content filtering companies tightly control and limit access to their block lists. There are open projects (like Dans Guardian) which have lists that I think you can access. That is a thought I had reading your post.
Certainly I agree with you that we generally need to do a better job preparing kids to "be the filter." As Dr Scott McLeod said last week at the OU K-20 Center's Midwinter conference, no one in our society today is "preparing kids for the unfiltered web." We need to find ways in our communities to do a better job of meeting that challenge. It's not something many school leaders want to consider at this point.
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