Yes+to+National+Web+Filtering+Guidelines

=The Importance of National Guidelines For Web Filtering in School=


 * Introduction**

As schools across America place computers in the classrooms, computer technicians are being instructed to install web filter software before allowing students access. These filter requirements are the result of the Children Internet Protection Act (CIPA) passed in the United States in 2001. This law states that "the purpose of the filters are to protect the students from hate crimes, pornographic material, sexual predators, inappropriate content and wasting time on social sites" (Wagner). Although we teach students about internet safety, this is not enough. By using web filters we add an extra layer of protection against the cyber world. As the author of __Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts, and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms__, Will Richardson stated, "I'll never forget the day I was sitting in between two students as they were working on the Web when suddenly one of them let out an audible gasp. He had been researching tattoos, and when I turned to see what was on his screen, I gasped almost as loudly. (Use your imagination)" (Richardson, 2010, 13). A father that I know relayed to me the mental effect that he experienced after his computer received a virus from an interactive game that his son had been playing on it (with his permission). When the son acknowledged that something was wrong with his game - the father quickly shut down the screen to investigate in private. What he saw and had to navigate through (to erase and clean up the computer) were graphic images of sexual perversion. The father spoke of his difficulty in being able to move past those images, as well as the struggle he faced within in his own marriage (and his newly mixed desires) in the days that followed. If a grown man with a strong marriage and good sex life has had to struggle with the pitfalls of uncontrollable computer images, how could this affect a child who has little or no sexual experience or reference? Will our students' future relationships be hampered or damaged by graphic images (with or without proper explanations)? The need for a national guideline for web filtering is clear. The discussion as to the best ways to accomplish this (I think many will agree) could benefit from further thought, research and discussion.


 * Website Filters in the Classroom**

Yes, filters should be in place on all computers located in a school. The filters not only are in compliance with the CIPA but they also:
 * Protect children from harmful such as predators, hate crimes, and bullying
 * Prevent children from using social networking sites during instructional time
 * Eliminate the need for teachers to constantly monitor students computer usage
 * Help protect school computers against viruses and expensive damages
 * Reduce the need to purchase greater bandwidth from internet providers that are not necessarily needed.

__Protecting Children from Harmful Information__

It is our job as educators to provide a safe learning environment for the students that we are responsible for. The term “safe” is not only applying to keeping kids physically safe, but also emotionally safe and away from potentially dangerous situations. We go to great lengths in our schools to keep strangers out and off of the school premises; we even have lockdown drills to prepare staff and students in case there is ever a situation in which a stranger is threatening our safety. Doesn’t it stand to reason then, that we do everything in our power to keep the kids safe when using the internet? According to statistics taken by The Center for Missing and Exploited Children, that when using the internet, 1 in 7 youth have been exposed to unwanted sexual solicitations, 1 in 3 youth have been exposed to unwanted sexual material, and 1 in 11 youth have had threatening or other offensive behavior directed at them on the (Wolak, vii).

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__Preventing Students from wasting time on Social Networking sites__ With computers and high speed internet affordable enough for even the poorest schools to have computer labs, we have increased the connectivity for our students and bridged the gap between home and school. Unfortunately, with this new found connectivity, unrestricted internet or "raw" internet as it is called, can pose more problems then it can solve. With a seemingly endless list of social networking sites, students have too much temptation to get on these sites when they are supposed to be working on assignments in computer labs. In teaching a remediation class recently, the students were supposed to be using the computers for Computer Based Testing (CBT). Instead, they were constantly on Facebook and YouTube. The computer network even had some restricted access, but social networking sites had not been restricted. Needless to say the amount of studying expected of the students was not attained.

__Eliminating the Need for Constant Teacher Supervision__

Many schools have made technology education the responsibility of the classroom teacher. This involves one teacher, many of which have limited computer experience of their own, taking the class to the computer lab. Have you ever tried to supervise 30 nine-year-old children in a computer lab? The task is as complicated as it sounds! Web filtering allows the teacher to focus on students that are having trouble navigating around the desktop and the internet instead of worrying about what inappropriate websites or information the rest of the students may be getting into. Opponents to web filtering argue that it limits the teacher's ability to access websites and therefore limits the wonderful information that is available to students on the web. However, a network administrator can change what a teacher's account can access and what is accessible for a student's account. Not to mention a teacher that has prepared his/her lesson ahead of time will not have this problem. Careful planning is the key to all lessons running smoothly, including lessons that involve the internet. Making sure that all sites are able to be accessed by the students before they get into the lab is essential. Wouldn't schools without filters expect their teachers to have already investigated sites prior to their students accessing them? The same amount of planning should go into lessons with or without web filtering. Doesn't it make sense then that web filters be in place? It is much easier for teachers to focus on helping one struggling student instead of trying to focus on the computer screens of 30 students.

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__Protecting School Computers from Viruses and Expensive Damages__ In addition to an educational price-tag, allowing students to use a "raw" internet opens the school up to possible costly repairs. If students have access to viewing their email and social networking sites the risk increases for computers to be infected with viruses and trojans (Faller). Even with the best antivirus software, computers are never 100% protected. New viruses arrive via email, pop-up, and advertisement every day. I once accidentally clicked on an advertisement (for insurance) located on a Youtube.com page and my computer was inundated with picture after picture of undressed women. I had to click on each picture (there were about 100) before I could resume using the internet. Image if a student in middle school accidentally clicked on an advertisement and the same thing happened. The school will not only have to fix the damage done to the computer, but they are now open to a possible lawsuit filed by the child's family for not protecting the student while in school. With web filters in place, the access to these harmful sites can be eliminated and the financial risk a school takes by allowing computers can be minimized. Web filters don't only protect students, but they protect schools too. Another expense that is brought on by unrestricted internet use is the need to purchase greater bandwidth. Everyone who has used the internet has experienced a decrease in computer performance when more and more media is opened on their computer. Now picture a computer lab in which every student on the network is trying to use Facebook, Youtube, Pandora (internet radio), and the site for their online class such as Plato. This situation causes every student in the class to suffer because the information that is loading for their online class now takes a significant amount of time longer to load and potentially causes errors in loading and saving information needed in their class. In order for all of these programs to be run by everyone in the computer lab the school or library is forced to purchase a higher level of internet speed and bandwidth; which in these struggling economic times is not a feasible expense for the majority of educational institutions.


 * Opposing Viewpoints**

Critics of website filters argue that by blocking students from specific websites withhold students from education. In fact, instead of blocking websites, they want to encourage students to access these forbidden sites. Their reasoning is that students should use this opportunity to learn about things that they are unfamiliar with or don't understand. They suggest that teachers visit the sites with the students and closely monitor their actions. In a classroom which is often overcrowded, is it realistic to think that one teacher will be able to monitor the activities of all the students while they are on the computer? Website filters afford teachers a certain comfort level in knowing that certain websites and online activity will be limited or not possible, allowing them to focus on what is possible - the learning activity at hand.

Filters can also be a hassle and cause teachers to spend time looking for other sites, but if filters keep students from being exposed to harmful information, then they are worth it. This blockage of websites are seen as a burden to teachers, but there are alternatives. For example, instead of using YouTube in the classroom, teachers can use TeacherTube instead. In addition, there are a number of sites available that allow you to access and download videos, lesson plans and activities that are suitable for your students. A few of these are: schoolquarium.com, unitedstreaming.com, and brainpop.com.


 * Improvements to Filters**

To accommodate the complaints of dissatisfied teachers, some schools are making changes to their filter policies. One school provides teachers with a 30 minute, "filter free" instruction time. During this time the teacher can access a banned site. Another way school districts are making accommodations for internet restrictions is by setting the restrictions based upon each users log-in. For example, at Farwell Area Schools, a school district located in Mid-Michigan, a teacher always has access to a wider variety of web sites than students do based on the settings linked to their individual log in names. This allows teachers to access sites like Youtube for use in the classroom because as professionals the teachers are not going to be accessing inappropriate content like an unsupervised student might.


 * Reference**

1. Wagner, Mitch. "Internet Filtering as a Form of Soft Censorship". Published March 19, 2010. Retrieved October 25, 2010. [] 2. Wolak, J., Mitchell, K., & Finkelhor, D. (2006). On-line victimization of youth, five years later. Retrieved October 25, 2010 from [] 3. Safe Eyes (Producer).The allure of sugar plum [Video podcast]. Retrieved October 25, 2010 from [] 4. Richardson, Will. __Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.__ 2010. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin Sage. (pp 13) 5. Faller, Jim. "Top Ten Route to Protect Yourself from Computer Viruses." //eLibrary.// 30 Oct. 2010 []. 6. Piechocki, J. (2010, October 30). Web filtering. Retrieved from October 30, 2010 from []. 7. Carey, Chris. "Governor's Summit January 1997 Orlando Florida". Retrieved November 26, 2010 from @http://www.pics4learning.com/details.php?img=sum024.jpg 8. WorldPress.com. "What would the children think" picture. (March 22, 2009). Retrieved October 23, 2010 from @http://freshideasnutritainment.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/shocked-and-amazed/