Journal-+Mindshift

Mindshift: Dispelling Myths About Blocked Websites in Schools
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This article is based on an interview the author had with the Department of Education’s Director of Education Technology, Karen Cator. The author listed 6 rules about website filtering that administrators, educators, parents and students should understand.


 * 1) Youtube is not evil: while some content may be inappropriate, many videos on Youtube can be useful in the classroom.
 * 2) CIPA rules are to protect children and students, they are not there to limit teachers (adults).
 * 3) Broad filters filter out a lot of content and may not be useful for schools. Some games, videos, and social media might be utilized for a lesson or to teach certain content.
 * 4) E-rate funding is not tied to appropriate sites, it is tied to schools bloacking inappropriate sites.
 * 5) We need to teach our students how to be good digital citizens, how to stay safe online, and how to handle inappropriate sites. If we do this, the 4 points above become an after-thought.
 * 6) Teachers know what is appropriate and can monitor and teach digital citizenship within their classroom.

I think it all comes down to #5 - Teach our students to be good digital citizens and all of the other points will take care of themselves.