Internet Filtering and Web 2.0

[Dr. Mary Ann Bell]

This is a big issue with me right now. I get very frustrated because so many of my students cannot use even the most innocuous of resources. I have been writing and presenting on the topic quite a bit. My latest project is an article spelling out all the positive reasons why loosening filters is what is best for librarians, teachers, and most of all for kids. Any suggestions?

[guybrarian]

I agree! We have students in the lab right now whose task is to write and propose a bill. Some of them want to research hate crimes, or legalize marijuana- all blocked in our district. We end up finding some great sources in our databases, but also have to really be sneaking to find online sources. We need help!

[Joyce Valenza]

I don't know if it will help, Mary Ann, but I did a blog post about the subject last month--http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/30034403.html

I really see this as an intellectual freedom issue. I see this as an opportunity for librarians to take a leadership role, especially when it comes to 2.0 tools for collaborating and communicating. The opportunities look very different for learners depending largely upon arbitrary decisions made (sometimes) by people far removed from curriculum or the changes in the information and communication landscapes.

[Dr. Mary Ann Bell]

guybrarian said:

I agree! We have students in the lab right now whose task is to write and propose a bill. Some of them want to research hate crimes, or legalize marijuana- all blocked in our district. We end up finding some great sources in our databases, but also have to really be sneaking to find online sources. We need help!

[Dr. Mary Ann Bell]

Not only that, some people get DATABASE results blocked. I know because they are my MLS students. This is NOT the letter or the spirit of CIPA. That is why I think it is important to speak out.

Dr. Mary Ann Bell said:

guybrarian said:

I agree! We have students in the lab right now whose task is to write and propose a bill. Some of them want to research hate crimes, or legalize marijuana- all blocked in our district. We end up finding some great sources in our databases, but also have to really be sneaking to find online sources. We need help!

[Dr. Mary Ann Bell]

Yes, I agree it is an intellectual freedom issue! I am trying to write and present about this. Too much time has gone by with restrictions not getting any more reasonable. We need to find ways to gain the access that students and faculty need.

Joyce Valenza said:

I don't know if it will help, Mary Ann, but I did a blog post about the subject last month--http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/30034403.html

I really see this as an intellectual freedom issue. I see this as an opportunity for librarians to take a leadership role, especially when it comes to 2.0 tools for collaborating and communicating. The opportunities look very different for learners depending largely upon arbitrary decisions made (sometimes) by people far removed from curriculum or the changes in the information and communication landscapes.

[Anne Aas]

I agree! How can we prepare our students for the social networking skills they will need if we cannot even reach the most controlled sites. My son has classes in college where the professors are creating textbooks from combined talents from all over the world and printing them on campus for about twenty dollars. As the disciplines' knowledge grows and changes, so does the textbook and therefore they are receiving the most current science education available. I don't understand why we are not supporting our k-12 students with the skills they will need to communicate effectively with others who share their interests from around the globe. It seems that the district is filtering the very sites that will be leading us into the future.

[Annette R. Smith]

I think this conversation links back to the one about getting along with tech people at the district level.

[Dr. Mary Ann Bell]

You are absolutely right. While I do think of these as two separate issues, they are closely linked. So often the person with sole authority to block sites does not have any background in education.

Annette R. Smith said:

I think this conversation links back to the one about getting along with tech people at the district level.

[Sandy Kelly]

Yes, very frustrating. I have asked our network manager several times now what qualifications the person in charge of filtering has but to no avail, even flickr is blocked in my school. As for teaching the students..they are teaching the teachers..in particular how to go around the filter so the teachers can access youtube videos..and this is in middle school.

Dr. Mary Ann Bell said:

You are absolutely right. While I do think of these as two separate issues, they are closely linked. So often the person with sole authority to block sites does not have any background in education.

Annette R. Smith said:

I think this conversation links back to the one about getting along with tech people at the district level.

[G Fegan]

How true all this is. I was finally able to break through the administration barrier recently when my colleague and I were teaching website evaluation to eighth graders. We are reinforcing previous lessons and, because we are asked to demonstrate knowledge with an authentic creation using other technology tools (we would do this with PowerPoint, Access, Excel), it only made sense for our students to create their own authentic websites with their own research and citations. Well, we were denied Publisher because of the cost of installing it on all the computers. Okay. How about Google Sites? Hem and haw....We had it blocked on Monday, unblocked on Tuesday, blocked again on Wednesday....it was a mess. Finally, we physically went to our administration office, showed the administrator exactly what the lesson was, how it was not available to the public, etc., and we were allowed to have the site opened. It took me about an hour to realize that we had actually begged. Hop deflating! I wondered how many teachers in content areas have to defend their creative decisions like this?

[Charlie]

My school division is currently trying a different approach to filtering. They may request a password that will unlock the Internet for sites such as YouTube as long as they can provide an instructional justification for the use of the site. Teachers are delighted with this option. But along with this comes the responsibility to ensure that students do not have access to this 'unblocked' machine.

It is working so far... we piloted it in the high schools for several months with the assistance of our Information Services department and now have expanded it to all teachers. We are working with our instructional technology support staff and our librarians to make this a successful alternative to the filtering system.

Charlie