Opinion: should schools ban or restrict internet use by students because some mis-use it??

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RazmatazDAN asks:

I go to Highschool and i currently cannot acces websites like youtube, yahoo.com, facebook, myspace, addictinggames.com, and shockingly historychannel.com, and most video oriented, even educational, websites. although myspace and facebook are NOT educational, i still feel like those that dont abuse the internet at school should be able to USE it at certain times, like studyhall. My friend Codi gets a detention every week for using facebook, but he uses facebook at school because he can't at home. Facebook has quickly turned into a social status marker in schools, if you dont got one your not cool mentality, not to mention talking to many friends all at once at very far places is quite fun and makes living easier. Kids love this stuff, schools seem to hate it, that alone causes a friction between teachers and students, if teachers were 'cool' and maybe let students use these websites and maybe even used it themselves, i believe it would add to a healthier and friendlier learning enviroment...i apologize for my grammar errors.

In Topics: Technology and my child, Children and the internet

> 60 days ago

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Expert

marsalih

Sep 3, 2009

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What the Expert Says:

You bring up a couple of critical concepts:

1. Teens today connect emotionally with technology tools. They will find ways to post and communicate digitally. This includes social networking and video sharing sites.

2. Students are routinely blocked from social networking websites in an effort from educators to shield students from potentially harmful content or contact.

The challenge for the administration is that itâs easier to block a site or entire genre like social networking or video sharing than to track and monitor studentâs online activity. In the ideal setting, students are supported by educators and trusted adults as they ramp into digital environments, like social networking sites. Our goal should be to help students develop into ethical, responsible and resilient digital citizens. Blocking does not teach responsible use. CIPA calls for it. CIPA (the law that requires schools protect youth from harmful content by using filters) uses the term âmonitorâ as a strategy to protect youth.

I like to use the term âcheckingâ rather than âmonitoringâ.

It is my hope that school administrators and IT departments will allow tools to better âcheckâ their students online activities rather than using blocking as the primary strategy to protect youth at school. By knowing that their online activities are monitored, students are more likely to feel accountable for their digital interactions. This should be done at school. The web is never a private place and students who recognize early that online activities can be tracked, stored and shared from a variety of technologies are in a better position to make wiser choices about what they post online and with whom they communicate.

In the book Lord of the Flies young people are left alone in a new environment without oversight or support from adults. Kids who jump into social networking without understanding some key concepts about digital responsibility, safety, and security are left alone just like the boys in Lord of the Flies. Blocking is not the most effective solution but studentsâ âonâ and âofflineâ environments need to include trusted adults guidance and oversight. I believe âcheckingâ to be the most efficient strategy for developing students into more responsible digital citizens rather than blocking them entirely.

Resources:

http://www.ikeepsafe.org

http://www.ikeepsafe.org/asca

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stebbinsd writes:

They need to have computer labs similar to how they work in college. You have a special account, with your own password, but the computers have cookies that the school employees can see, so if you go to some inappropriate webpage, they'll be able to find out what page was accessed, and who accessed it.

Stealing passwords would constitute an immediate explusion for the rest of the school year, forcing the password thieves to be held back a year.

> 60 days ago

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