Article above sort of hints upon what I was saying in the last post. What does internet blocking show about students and staff...that we don't trust them? Thoughts?
A very good article with a powerful discussion that follows. Great find!
In terms of filtering on school networks there was a commenter that compared the internet to driving a car. He basically said, do you want your 15 year old to have unfettered access to the car before you have proof that they can drive? How does a parent deal with this, they start out driving with their kid and explain what they are doing and they slowly work through the process of removing scaffolding until that 15 year old is 16 or 17 and is starting to become a self sufficient driver. But the instruction never stops, just get into the car with my grandmother. :)
I think the same sort of model could be implemented for students and the internet, but this approach takes much time and a human touch, a mentor, to stay with the student and help them make their way until they can navigate and drive on their own. Currently a machine can not offer this to any human.
One thing is for sure, the decisions that have to be made on a constant basis have to be made at a teacher and student level where their is relationship, understanding and respect. What is good for one student at any given time may not be what another needs or wants. Currently we have the opposite extreme, where one decision effects all the students and nothing is individualized.
Until this disparity is addressed by IT, Admin, Teachers, Parents and Students we will continue to have a filtering system that is continually out of sync with the needs of our students.
I think its a great topic to examine. Students are often told that the things they do are inappropriate whereas teachers are expecting them to use sites without wandering the internet during class. It, in a way, is a self-depriciating cycle, as we expect students not to wander the internet, but expect it to happen, and students, who may or may not be interested in the lesson, know that they are doing something they aren't supposed to but do it anyway.
A very good article with a powerful discussion that follows. Great find!
ReplyDeleteIn terms of filtering on school networks there was a commenter that compared the internet to driving a car. He basically said, do you want your 15 year old to have unfettered access to the car before you have proof that they can drive? How does a parent deal with this, they start out driving with their kid and explain what they are doing and they slowly work through the process of removing scaffolding until that 15 year old is 16 or 17 and is starting to become a self sufficient driver. But the instruction never stops, just get into the car with my grandmother. :)
I think the same sort of model could be implemented for students and the internet, but this approach takes much time and a human touch, a mentor, to stay with the student and help them make their way until they can navigate and drive on their own. Currently a machine can not offer this to any human.
One thing is for sure, the decisions that have to be made on a constant basis have to be made at a teacher and student level where their is relationship, understanding and respect. What is good for one student at any given time may not be what another needs or wants. Currently we have the opposite extreme, where one decision effects all the students and nothing is individualized.
Until this disparity is addressed by IT, Admin, Teachers, Parents and Students we will continue to have a filtering system that is continually out of sync with the needs of our students.
I think its a great topic to examine. Students are often told that the things they do are inappropriate whereas teachers are expecting them to use sites without wandering the internet during class. It, in a way, is a self-depriciating cycle, as we expect students not to wander the internet, but expect it to happen, and students, who may or may not be interested in the lesson, know that they are doing something they aren't supposed to but do it anyway.
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