(Thanks Erik Kastner for this great new tool! Spell with flickr)
Filtering, Blocking, Accessing, Securing, Protecting, Banning...Every article I read this week seemed to call it something different but it doesn't matter what you call it, the simple fact remains that the issue of filtering has gotten somewhat out of control in the past few years as the internet and its storage of tools has grown. Some educators, administrators, government officials and IT Directors are fearing this evolution of technology (particularly the internet) and thus creating barriers to restrict access for our students as their way of dealing with the situation. Instead they should be providing them with the necessary knowledge and capabilities to learn from and deal with the "objectional, offensive and inappropriate" material that is out there. As Stephen Abram states in his article "Justifying the Social Tools", "Fear and misinformation should not triumph over logic and an agenda for learning."
Many questions I had never really thought of before discussing this topic, came to mind as I reflected on our readings this week. I decided to sit down with myself in a Q & A session, trying to tackle some of my own questions on the issue:
- Who should be responsible for making these decisions? I believe it should be those that know our students and what they NEED in order to get the best possible education for their future...the teachers (or librarians of course!). As Mary Ann Bell put it best in her article "I'm Mad and I'm not going to take it anymore!"..."It is time to give educators the professional respect they deserve rather than let technology personnel who have not studied education make choices about access."
- Does this help our students to filter the internet or harm them? There is no doubt that by filtering the internet we are helping protect our children from some of the harmful, offensive and inappropriate material on the web but as many experts on the topic discuss "we tend to place too much trust on the filtering software itself" (Bell, 2006) thus creating a false sense of security and leaving students unsupervised as they surf the net. Not only that but by not educating our youth on internet safety and how to deal with objectionable material while that are at school, we leave them ill-prepared for it when they are faced with it in an unfiltered environment such as at home, on their PDA's, public libraries, cybercafe's... (I think you get my point!).
- What about content that has been blocked but IS appropriate and important for students to access? What teacher, in frustration, hasn't come across a site that they wish to access for educational purposes but received the "This site has been blocked" warning screen. Mary Ann Bell addresses this issue vehemently in her article, "Filtering Woes Redux" with several examples of teachers wishing to access information and being denied, worst yet, those that went through the proper channels and had to wait over 7 months to finally recieve access. Youtube has always been a "bone of contention" for many teachers, as it does contain a lot of inappropriate material for children but also provides a wealth of resources for the teacher at their fingertips (literally).
- Are we infringing on the intellectual freedom of our students by filtering? From the age of 5 - 9 or so...I think not, parents are still guiding their children in developing their values and understanding what is right from wrong. Parents act as the filters for young children in everything they do. But as our students mature and their ability to make independent critical judgements grows, they are also able to assume responsibility for what they are reading, publishing, creating and doing! They have a right to intellectual freedom that an "overzealous" filtering system will not allow them to attain.
- Can filtering be accomplished without compromising the education of our students to prepare them for a socially networked future? I'd have to say NO! If we continue to filter out such things as social networking sites and other Web 2.0 technologies without properly informing our students on how to use these tools effectively "...is to ensure our schools produce unprepared students - students who have to learn about such sites in an underground kind of way or who can't compete with others in the fully connected world of the future." (Abram, 2007) Enough said!
- What can I do in my own school/ school division to get the message out about filtering? I enjoyed Doug Johnson's article, "Change from the Radical Center of Education", particularly when he discussed the principle of "looking for truth and value in all beliefs and practices." At times, those in the position of IT director and teachers, may not see "eye to eye" on the issue of filtering ,Johnson's principle reminds us that "when two sides are able to find mutual values, change is more likely to happen." Perhaps if IT directors and those teachers school divisions who are seeking to reduce filters were able to sit down and find that "mutal value", they could come to a reasonable compromise on the issue. In the meantime, Don Hall had made a great suggestion in his article, "Web 2.0 The Virtual Wild Wild West" that I could see myself adopting as a TL in my school (and a teacher!); EDUCATE my colleagues, students and parents about internet safety and filtering from a more informed perspective and most importantly "stay abreast of news in the rapidly changing and expanding Web 2.0 world."
OK...I said short and sweet so I'll finish now with this finally quote from Mary Ann Bell,
"The internet is not going away, and it is going to increase in complexity as well as value as an information source. Librarians, teachers and administrators need to work together to use the best the Internet has to offer and to help students be successful and safe searchers."
No comments:
Post a Comment