Comments on: Web filtering in schools: unnecessary or necessary evil?

By: Mike

Mike — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 11:35:02 +0000

I think youtube can serve as an educational tool. If it's blocked simply Unblock Youtube and use it from anywhere.

By: 43:53.6N

43:53.6N — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:11:31 +0000

[...] Swiatek, on his blog wonders about the reluctance of schools to open the service, referencing Kansas State [...]

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 14:04:17 +0000

Jerry,

Doing some online research on web filtering, and believe it or not ran across your site here! Nice job! I thought to myself . . . does that really say citrushightechnology.com? Could it be our Citrus High? Ha. I look forward to hearing how your FETC presentation went.

Mike

By: Mr X

Mr X — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 13:58:08 +0000

Hello all,

I am a technology professional at a school district. Unfortunately it is the collection of ignorance stated in this article and its subsequent comments as to why a web filter is imperative at a school district. To many people believe that there is “there is no risk of a virus infection from YouTube or Google sites”. Try working on computers for a living for even a month and you would encounter endless examples of virus’s coming from “safe” sites like myspace, google images, or youtube. Not to mention that everyone forgets that technology professionals protect servers that contain your financial info, addresses, SSID’s, etc. Everyone wants those protected but complains at the necessary steps to keep that data secure. Get over yourselves teachers! Do your research at home (gasp! work outside of our 7.5 hours a day/ 192 days a year, insane! ), save files to a flash disk that you want to show at school and try for once to understand someone besides yourselves….

By: jerthebear

jerthebear — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:31:11 +0000

Tim,
Thanks for the comment. I'm not talking about removing the filter for pornographic material. In fact, we are bound by law to do so. I am simply referring to the dozens and dozens of legitimate websites and we tools that are being wrongly blocked. I do agree with you with regards to teachers. If an unethical teacher is going to use the “open web” for inappropriate things, then that teacher should be dealt with swiftly and harshly. However, in the current situation, we penalize all of the ethical teachers (certainly the large majority) for the “potential” actions of a very small minority.

By: jerthebear

jerthebear — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 23:23:29 +0000

JC,
Thanks for the comment. I agree with you to a certain extent. I agree that a web filter an help with virus protection, but the filters have been taken much too far that it is affecting the way our teachers can teach. Certainly, there is no risk of a virus infection from YouTube or Google sites, yet many districts block them anyway. It makes it difficult to do our jobs at times.

By: JC

JC — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 22:31:42 +0000

I think it is warrented to look at additional factors that web filters provide a great assistance to. Most importantly is the amount of malicious web sites and sites that contain spyware or viruses that can bring down the schools network. With a web filter in place, their is an additional level of security that works with AV, by automatically blocking access to sites that contain malicious code and viruses. With web filtering, having this type of software on home computers will also help with securing the system, while also protecting kids from the bad stuff that is online. The internet is a great tool, but there is just so much material on it that are inappropriate for kids.

By: Tim Stuart

Tim Stuart — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 19:57:22 +0000

As a Library/Media Specialist, I am frequently frustrated by what the beaurocracy views as appropriate and inappropriate content, but have been able to work pretty well with the current restrictions. Our job description has changed dramatically over the years (even in the last ten years!) due in no small part to the increased access to the Internet, and the ability to have so much information at our fingertips. Access to (and knowledge of) sources of information have always been the realm of the librarian, although now, instead of merely knowing where to find needed information, we must be able to separate the kernels of good and reliable information from the chaff of all that is “out there”.

I have accepted the fact that there are filters in place in the schools. If it were easy to access pornographic sites, kids would do it just for the shock value to others in the vicinity. I'd rather not have to police that, thank you very much. Are filters fool-proof? Of course not. (Do the presence of specific laws prevent criminal activity? I wish it would.) I do concur that educators should be able to choose from all the information that is available, adapting that information and the technology to his or her own teaching style. Do some teachers have a cavalier attitude toward ethics? It's a shame, but it is so. Filtering content from everyone based on the possibliity of ethics violations by some, seems too much like throwing the baby out with the bath water. It should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

So, at least in my world, I haven't had too much problem with the filters we have in place, although I acknowledge that there is some information that will not be available. Ironically, the vastness of the World Wide Web is actually an advantage–if one cannot locate needed information from a filtered site, that information will more than likely exist on hundreds of other sites that will be available. Sometimes, you just have to dig a little more.