http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/filtering-in-schools Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:45:50 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 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 ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/filtering-in-schools/questions/ 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 ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/filtering-in-schools/value-for-money/ 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 ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/filtering-in-schools/missed-opportunities/ 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 ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/filtering-in-schools/grey-areas/ 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 ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/filtering-in-schools/filtering-categories/ 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 ... http://ulearn.netsafe.org.nz/filtering-in-schools/overview/