By: Sheri | In: Internet safety, firewalls, PBL, Professional Development, ACTIVclassroom |
PBS recently broadcast “Growing Up Online.” If you missed the show, you can watch it online from here.
When we wired our schools, we put in firewalls and web filters to protect our kids from cyberbullies and cyber predators, limit our liability, and to be compliant with the laws. As technology becomes more a part of teaching and learning, some are questioning this practice. The Internet is a valuable resource for research, data, and information in general yet many sites are blocked as a result of broadly categorized filters. Often filters present nothing more than a challenge for students to find a way around them. We ask teachers to learn how to use technology with their curriculum and to teach 21st century skills one of which is learning to evaluate information found on the web. There is no question that our students’ safety is first and foremost, but can we teach them Internet safety instead of locking everything down? Is it time for us to rely on the education of students and teachers on Internet ethics and accountability rather than filters?
We are interested in what you think. There are six chapters–watch all or just the ones that most interest you and then post a comment on this question: Are acceptable use policies (meant to protect students and to protect personnel from lawsuits) decreasing the availability and effectiveness of integrating technology into teaching and learning?
Click to watch “Growing Up Online”
