Web Filters

Patrick Cloonan, teacher at Manheim School District, reported to Hi-Lite Online that while some websites like YouTube have inappropriate content, it can also have beneficial materials for students. In the text it said, students have better research without web filters. This confirms that students could be asked to do an assignment and the websites that are restricted are not able to be used by those students (“NYT”).

One of the policy the college may set is how they use the internet. If they break those rules they could face a severe consequence for not following the rules. The college must have a specific purpose of using the internet. For example, they can have access to the internet to access their emails or websites that will help them create a presentation to teach their students. They are not allowed to access certain inappropriate websites as it is irrelevant to their jobs and some websites may have viruses that could affect the computer system. As they work in a college, teachers have access to websites that students don’t. However, if they are caught trying to gain access to that site they may suffer severe consequences from the head of the college which may result in the staff being sacked for breaking the college rules they signed in their contract. They are allowed to use the internet for their own personal use in their free time for example lunch

However, several students are not utilizing technology to the full beneficial extent that they could. Instead they are clicking on whatever appears on the first couple of suggestions Google has presented without checking the credibility. Unfortunately, websites like Wikipedia.org or certain news pages like catholic.org are not presenting correct information or they are excluding facts and molding the story a little more different. The Internet could not be filtered and students have to enter a world of “lies, garbage, and pornography” (Source E). However, sometimes students are not able to differentiate and end up believing the “alternative facts” that then harm their learning. As, schools block songs and math tutorials ironically on Youtube; students find the new loops right away. Therefore, so not only should teachers teach the curriculum but what websites and what sources are the most unbiased and accurate. Taking into consideration that there are literally one billion websites, it’s vital to teach students what information would be appropriate in their work before they state a fact that is not

controversial yes so simple. To many they are too restrictive while to others they are not

When discussing internet censorship, one of the major concerns is what children can see on the internet. Internet censorship was a huge deal during the 1990’s and early 2000’s and it still is to this very day. The internet back then was much different than it is today. Back then, we could only access the internet from a computer and most people didn’t own one back then. Nowadays, most people have multiple computers and a cell phone that can access the internet. It was easier for parents to control what their children could have access to back then. Now, parents can still put restrictions on the router settings and set a timer for when the internet shuts off but kids can always just go somewhere else that may have internet access to view any

For many Packer students, the internet filters on their laptops are a complete mystery. A search or website is blocked, and the reasoning and technology behind it is generally completely unknown. Recently, there’s been a shift in the packer communities internet access, which has been equally as misunderstood yet substantially more jarring to the average student. Director of technology Jim Anderson wants to clear up some of the confusion surrounding the recent changes, saying “It’s not a change in policy it’s a change in technology, and when we change the web filter solutions that we use for the school we change manufacturers basically, and different manufacturers use different algorithms and different processes for categorizing websites… One

While elementary and middle schools have obvious needs for restrictions, Internet access at the high school level isn't as black and white. High school students are sensitive to their given rights, yet are officially minors under the law; teenagers are ever nearing adulthood, but are sometimes viewed as immature. So, high school administrators are challenged with designing an Internet policy that meets the educational needs of the students and the moral demands of society. Although software is being designed to "censor" the content of the Internet, student trust and responsibility might be a more reasonable route.

While at school, has there ever been a great idea for a project or an assignment by a student and they can not wait to start on it at school before they lose their idea? Unlucky for them, their school has web filters set up which inhibit them from finding any quality information on the internet other than the basic, generic sites every other kid gets offered. This issue presents a common occurrence in schools across America and it needs to receive termination all together. The use of the internet persists as a freedom given to almost all Americans, but schools limit student’s first amendment rights by carrying out the use of web filters.

The purpose of this policy is to outline the acceptable use of school-issued technology resources, furnished by Columbia Station High School. These rules are established to protect the students, school, the staff and administrators, and the parents associated with Columbia Station High School. Unlawful and inappropriate use exposes the school to various risks and attacks, such as Botnets, Brute Force, Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks, Browser attacks, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) attacks, backdoor attacks, and viruses [http://www.calyptix.com/top-threats/top-7-network-attack-types-in-2015-so-far/]

Access to the District Network is at the discretion of the District, and the District reserves the right to determine which uses are acceptable and unacceptable. The District may block, suspend, or terminate access or use at any time for: violation of this Agreement; actions that may lead to liability for the District disruptions or suspected violations of applicable laws or regulations. If a student has any doubt about whether a contemplated activity is acceptable or unacceptable, the student should consult a teacher, supervisor, or

Some schools give students laptops for part of their resources. They can search the internet and look up information they need for essays and assignments. This may sound like a great idea in theory, but once you get the laptop, you soon realize your searching options are extremely limited. If you don’t word things correctly, the thing you search can end of blocked. Why would the school allow such a great tool to be used for school, and then block 90% of what we are allowed to use? Why bother with the computers in the first place? And most of all, isn’t that taking away our rights?

Students today are not able to access all of the information needed to make their work the greatest possible due to the many censorship rules at public schools

Instructors, school officers and parents must be involved to ensure students comply with the rules and understand the negative consequences of inappropriate actions. Also, training programs can be used as a way to teach students the importance of values like honesty and hard work in their school journey and future careers. Finally, the IT department must get involved by developing a plan to block websites that can contribute to those inappropriate behaviors or at least limit the technical functionalities that can represent danger or distractions for the students. Other incidents that would fall into this category of inappropriate actions are how people use technology to commit fraudulent activities; Scams and hacking attacks are one of the most popular techniques to steal, alter or delete

These policies explain what is expected of children and young people and states possible actions

Teachers need to incorporate the use of firewalls, filtering software and AUP’s into the classroom to practice ethical use of technology in the classroom. Firewalls will protect the classroom and home computers from unwanted viruses. The firewall detects when a virus is being introduced to the network and will take measures to keep the virus from infecting a computer. Filtering software is important because it will not allow students to view unwanted material or websites (Shelly, G, Gunter, G, and Gunter, R 2012). Teachers