Filtering in Schools

Section 6 – Questions

Chris Hails — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 23:18:02 +0000

How do educators deal with instances where students are aware of strategies to bypass a school’s filtering software?
Should there be levels of filtering that New Zealand schools can choose from based on age or student responsibility?
How can educators determine the readiness of their students to act responsibility in a moderately filtered or un filtered environment?
Does internet filtering keep students safe?

Section 5 – Value for Money?

Chris Hails — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:19:05 +0000

Internet filtering is a balancing act and not just in terms of content. Blocking sites may be a bandwidth issue for schools that are concerned about escalating costs.

A site that offers streaming video may have educationally appropriate content but regular use of the site can be so costly that educators must determine the overall value to teachers and students alongside the costs.

How does a school determine value for money in internet use?

Section 4 – Missed Opportunities

Chris Hails — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:18:55 +0000

Filtering services operating in New Zealand provides each school the mechanism to unblock sites that school personnel have determined appropriate for viewing. Essentially schools can put their own filtering policies in place to best fit their context.

New Zealand teachers have reported that current filtering blocks potentially legitimate and valuable content for both them and their students. Some educators feel that strict web filtering hampers their work because school processes in place to unblock sites is cumbersome for classroom teachers.

The growth of web content and the changing use of the internet by educators can make this an ongoing process.

School access to sites like Facebook, Bebo, MySpace may provide opportunities for valuable teacher-guided discussion about cyber bullying, identity theft, managing a digital footprint, ethical behaviour online.

Can filtering software adapt adequately to a school’s needs and standards?

Section 3 – The Grey Areas in between

Chris Hails — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:10:09 +0000

Filtering aims to minimise the risk of students accessing inappropriate or illegal material.

There is little doubt that educators would agree on filtering pornographic, violent, racist or criminal content for students. There is little doubt that students should have access to the wide range of educationally appropriate sites.

The dilemma lies in restricting or allowing access to sites that lie somewhere along a continuum of educationally valid and appropriate.

You Tube is a hotly debated example. Some schools restrict all access to You Tube, some allow teachers access but not students, some schools allow all users access.

Are there other sites that fall in the grey areas in between and what challenges do schools face in making decisions about access to these sites?

What do you think ?

Section 2 – Filtering Categories

Chris Hails — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:09:34 +0000

Generally web filtering software blocks a default set of content categories, i.e. adult material, gambling, file sharing. The categories in turn determine which sites are unavailable for viewing.

One of the issues schools face is how sites are categorized. Some educators report that filtering categories may be too narrowly defined and that some educationally appropriate content is miscategorised?

What sites do you or fellow colleagues use, that are often blocked, but you would like to see promoted as educationally appropriate for all NZ schools?

What do you think?

Section 1 – Overview

Chris Hails — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:06:02 +0000

Digital citizenship is fast becoming a focus for NZ educators. NetSafe’s recent poll on the important skills of digital citizens, revealed that New Zealand educators see ethical behaviour and critical thinking as vital for their students.

There are many opportunities for young people to learn and develop these skills in an education environment with the classroom teacher as a guide and mentor, but some educators see filtering content as hampering these teaching and learning opportunities.

Does filtering prevent opportunities for students to develop their own “filtering skills” so they have the critical awareness of what is appropriate in their own learning context?

What do you think?