Safety on the internet is and always will be a huge issue.
While we definitely have to protect kids, we are much better off tackling much of the questionable content with the students as part of this discussion. Will’s recent post on this presents it very well. This is an issue being dealt with in San Antoino, Colorado, New Jersey and right here in Moose Jaw.
Our school division has been reluctant to implement any policy on filtering content. At present we have a content filtering system that filters sites based on a numberical score. For example if a site contains certain words from a pre-populated list or custom list, the site will receive a score. If for example the word “breast” is in the site, it might get a -3. However if the word “cancer” is also in the site, it may get a +5 giving it an overall score of +2. All these settings are customizable. We’re testing it over the next few months to see if/how we’d implement it.
We’ve got to stop trying to create a ban everytime a new technology comes along that causes disruptions. After all the internet itself is a major disruption. It’s unorganized, full of inappropriate material, very little on it is directly related to curriculum or education. Let’s go back to textbooks as our only source of information. That would be safe. Pencil and paper only. No wait! Doug Johnson’s already figured out why pencils should be banned as well:
- A student might poke out the eye of another student.
- A student might write a dirty word with one. Or even write a whole harassing note and pass it to another student.
- One student might have a mechanical pencil making those with wooden ones feel bad.
- The pencil might get stolen or lost.
- Kids might be doodling instead of working on their assignments
So the issue for some teachers is not only is a site like Myspaces inappropriate but it’s also a distraction. So let’s address both these issues. Will’s post address the first part and to the second part I’d say I hope that after dealing with part one, most students will begin to realize the danger of a site like myspaces and start to look at sites like Clarences’ as examples of not only safe, but meaningful expression.
Again, if you didn’t read Will’s post, you should read it now.
WOW!!
As The IT Coordinator of Dean’s school division I’ve heard every side of this discussion. I am a parent of children who have attended schools in our division and I’m also the spouse of a teacher in our division, so I’m exposed to many different opinions on the subject of censorship. Our industry (education) has, by far, the most challenges surrounding this issue. Private business can decree standards and implement very strict AUP’s (Acceptable Use Policies) as laid out by the owner and/or CEO. The consequences of violating any AUP is simple… you break the rules… your gone or in some cases even face criminal or civil charges! Even public entities (like Sask Tel or Sask Power) have AUP’s that can be used as grounds for dismissal if an employee chooses to disregard them. The bottom line for us is that the IT department does NOT create any AUP’s nor do we censor in any way shape or form based on our own beliefs. Our AUP’s come from committees and are forwarded to our Board for adoption… the IT department job at this point is to implement these AUP’s. I also know that many of the members of our committees discuss this subject with students, parents and other educators so that they can make informed decisions. I believe this is the model that works best for everyone concerned and I also believe our committees do an incredible job in this area. Let’s face it, AUP’s must be “living documents” that reflect the beliefs and opinions of many different people and sectors. I’ve seen far too many IT Departments dictate policy and to me this seems like the “tail wagging the dog”. That’s my 2 cents.