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Replies in context... Thanks, ******* Joe Frost, MS CIS Director of Technology & Operations Department Chair Technology http://www.phoenixchristian.org -----Original Message----- Subject: Re: Let teachers override the filters X-From: Michelle Walker <mwalker@glenncoe.org> This issue drives me INSANE. I have waged so many battles with our county tech folks who have never spent a day teaching kids anything but who hold all the filtering cards. [Bad business choice - I agree they should at least have classroom experience as an aide. I'm State & Private Certified, began teaching computer classes in '95, and yes I do the filtering.] Now the problem has moved to a new level. They are generally agreeable to unblocking what we request (as long as it's not a "social" site - which is most Web 2.0 sites - and only after a delay and often too late for the lesson the site was built around), but they now CHARGE us $12 for each site we request them to unblock through their Lightspeed filter. Most of the sites we're requesting to be unblocked are COMPLETELY miscategorized. Just today, we had to request (and now be charged for) unblocking cooltext.com which is used by our webdesign class. It's classified as a "game" site - which it is not. We had to pay to get Dell.com unblocked when it was suddenly given some crazy label and filtered. Meanwhile, hundreds of popular game sites don't get properly categorized or filtered at all. [Bad business choice - nobody should have to pay for unblocking.] The biggest issue I have with category filtering, at least with Lightspeed, is the filtering of "forums" which seems to include just about any site with a "comment" button. That means all blogs, most Web 2.0 sites, and many run of the mill sites that allow users to add comments. There is also the issue of internet policies. Our county blocks redirected URLs, which is a common practice with Hotmail, Gmail, and many other sites (at least this is how it's been explained to me by county tech folks). They use different URLS and servers. So, what happens is Hotmail or Gmail will work just fine for awhile and then suddenly, it "dead-ends" because our county does not allow us to access the redirected URL. This may happen once a week or multiple times a day for days on end - we never know, but it's such a common problem that our teachers have completely given up on any lesson that requires use of a Google application such as Gmail, Google Docs, etc. We've also given up on any lessons that make use of blogs, wikis, or any other Web 2.0 applications. How are we supposed to teach students to use these tools effectively and responsibly when they can't access them reliably or in most cases AT ALL? The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) ask our teachers to: 1.c. promote student reflections using collaborative tools... 1.d. model collaborative knowledge construction 3.b. collaborate...using digital tools and resources 3.d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools... 4.a. advocate, MODEL, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology 4.c. promote and MODEL digital etiquette and responsible SOCIAL interactions related to the use of technology and information 5.a. participate in local and global learning communities ...all sound like Web 2.0 apps to me. Too bad we can't get 'em. [AZ state standards require this as well. Unfortunately, permitting access to some of these resources is not realistic, but the technology does hold educational value. So I built rzonz.com for my school with my own money. There is nothing more discouraging than when a teacher devises a really cool lesson plan using, puts an enormous time into planning, gets the kids excited, gets them into the computer lab, and then discovers the site is blocked - and the tech folks won't unblock it or the link happens to be redirected when their class needs it. Happens all the time...or, at least it used to. Now teachers don't even bother. We only see this now when we get some eager, naive student teacher who tries this, as they are encouraged in their university credential courses to use these exciting tools with students without any realization of what it's really like in many schools. Since so many Web 2.0 sites have become mainstream in the REAL world, I now get a lot of cries from administrators and secretaries who are finding their professional groups and organizations are using Yahoo Groups, wikis, blogs, and similar sites that they can't access at school. Hoping this extra "heat" might help build a momentum for change, but I doubt it will seriously anything. I would just love for our county tech staff to have work behind the filter for a single day. [Bad business choice - everyone should work behind the same filter. I do.] --- Edtech Archives, posting guidelines and other information are at: http://www.h-net.msu.edu/~edweb Please include your name, email address, and school or professional affiliation in each posting. To unsubscribe send the following command to: LISTSERV@H-NET.MSU.EDU SIGNOFF EDTECH
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