“Is it more unethical to allow threats to students/schools or to deny students/teachers access to instructionally-relevant Web-based tools and content?”
I find it interesting that this question assumes both options are unethical to some extent. Denying students and teachers access to tools and content that are instructionally relevant would most definitely be unethical. We would be limiting what the students are able to learn by limiting what they are allowed to access. It’s like saying you can read this book on calculus, but not this book on Einstein. While I know I’m risking getting into a discussion on books being banned for questionable content, I don’t agree with that either. I’m not saying we should give students free rein or that all students should be allowed unlimited access, but as students enter middle and high school they are moving toward adulthood and we need to teach them how to deal with the responsibilities they will be expected to take on. Part of this includes how to use the internet in an acceptable way. Honestly, even young children should be taught how to determine if a site is appropriate for their use. Bell (2009) believes that students may end up being less safe rather than more if they go to schools with filtering where they are not taught how to determine whether sites are appropriate. Also relying on filters can be dangerous. It provides a false sense of security when filters are far from 100% effective (Bell, 2009). Denying a student the right to learn about something or how to use certain internet tools because there is the potential for danger is like saying students can’t use scissors because they might cut themselves or they can’t play sports because they might get hurt. We still allow students to do those things; we just make sure they’re supervised when they do.
However, allowing threats to students by giving them free access to web-based tools and content would also be unethical. Fortunately, it is possible to monitor student use of the internet as we teach them responsible internet behaviors. Objectionable materials from racist literature and pornographic materials to web pages that provide incorrect material are major concerns when dealing with K-12 students (Shelly, Gunter, & Gunter, 2010). I know we want to protect students from these materials, but who will protect them from these materials when they go out in the world? Simply blocking the content isn’t the answer. The best solution is to teach students how to avoid these materials and why they should while we can still monitor them to ensure their safety.
Bell, M. (2009) Do you want kids to be safe online? MultiMedia & Internet @ Schools, Jan/Feb 2009, 38-40.
Shelly, G.B., Gunter, G.A., and Gunter, R.E. (2010) Integrating technology and digital media in the classroom (6th Ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
I really enjoyed your post this week. You made a lot of great points and I find our ideas on the subject to be congruent with one another. I really liked the parallel you posed by comparing censoring books to the internet. "We would be limiting what the students are able to learn by limiting what they are allowed to access." This is a great point and while many people may not see the direct correlation between books and the internet, I see them as equals. The internet has evolved into an ever changing content rich access point to seemingly unlimited data. It would be depriving students of the rich resources made available by it. Rather than unleashing the students on the internet blindly, or taking it away from them, we need to guide them through the use of the internet. It is our responsibility to provide feedback and send them to the internet with the proper tools to evaluate and utilize it.
ReplyDeleteYou also brought up a great point about filters. "Also relying on filters can be dangerous. It provides a false sense of security when filters are far from 100% effective." Not all teachers, or people in general realize that web filters are not completely safeguarding them from potentially risky content. In some cases, while still protecting users, it is harming them by promoting a false sense of complacency.
I really enjoyed your insights on this post and look forward to learning more from you.
Lisa,
ReplyDeleteI love that you mentioned that relying on filters is creating a 'false sence of security', you are 100% correct. We need to educate our students on how to handle the internet properly and to learn which sites do or do not have acceptable materials for use in the classroom. Eventually the students will go out into the internet world withouth those parental controls and then what will they do?
Thank you for bringing up such a great point.
Alex S.
“Denying a student the right to learn about something or how to use certain internet tools because there is the potential for danger is like saying students can’t use scissors because they might cut themselves or they can’t play sports because they might get hurt. We still allow students to do those things; we just make sure they’re supervised when they do.”
ReplyDeleteI love this quote. It really puts things in perspective for me. I completely agree that we can’t just try to prevent students from anything harmful. We just have to supervise them and teach them to use their own safety skills.
As a teacher, I sometimes will get students who will not want to try to do new things and just want me to do everything for them. Usually this is because their parents do so much for them. The parents do not realize that they are actually hurting their kids by being overprotective. We as teachers must make sure that we are not being overprotective with our students at school.
I also agree that blocking can cause a false sense of security. The students can still access some inappropriate material even with filtering software, so I think your idea of teaching students how to avoid these sites is a much better way of teaching. It also instills a sense of responsibility that they can transfer to many aspects of life.
Christie
I could not agree more with your quote, “I’m not saying we should give students free rein or that all students should be allowed unlimited access, but as students enter middle and high school they are moving toward adulthood and we need to teach them how to deal with the responsibilities they will be expected to take on.” There are many times in school when we restrict students from being able to make decisions on their own. We tell the students we are trying to get them ready for college and the real world but they cannot access certain websites because it is too scary. I have eighteen year olds in my class who can see rated R movies, but when they come to school they are not allowed to access certain blogs because some of the material might be deemed offensive. We need to teach the students at a young age how to use the internet properly and how to avoid the dangers of the internet at a young age so they can make good decisions in the future.
ReplyDeleteYou also make a great point about, “I know we want to protect students from these materials, but who will protect them from these materials when they go out in the world?” Most of my students are not taught about the dangers of the internet at home so school would be the best place to teach the students about how to avoid, as you put it, “Objectionable materials from racist literature and pornographic materials to web pages that provide incorrect material.” Schools can monitor the websites that the students view and teachers can help correct the students who are viewing inappropriate material because again I do not think parents are doing a good job of that at home.
You said "limiting what they would be able to learn..." I think that is such a scary concept. When we take these tools away from our students, we are also taking away the chance to experience something new, or to connect in a way they hadn't before. I see my students connecting with things on the computer everyday, even if it is just figuring out the vowel sound on a game, they can connect with technology in a way that I can't teach them, so taking these tools away seems unethical.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your comment on teaching students how to use the internet, and my students are young, but I am still teaching them what is good and bad. If we can teach them how to navigate and search correctly, then we will hopefully avoid some problems that may come up later.
I think you make a very good point here. As students get older and enter junior high and high school, the sites that they are allowed access to should increase. I also believe that technology and use of the Internet can have great educational value in the elementary classroom (I love using sites such as http://www.brainpop.com to enrich lessons). I also agree that students should not have free reign of the Internet, and that it is our job to keep them safe from inappropriate sites/popups and to keep their personal information safe from hackers.
ReplyDeleteLike you mentioned in your reflection, students should be able to use their common sense to be able to determine if a site is appropriate or not, but at the same time, there will always be students who take advantage of the situation and intentionally access these types of sites if we give them the opportunity. Although censoring content can be unethical, when it comes to what we allow in the classroom, I think that in most cases we should take a 'better safe than sorry' approach, but be able to submit requests to allow access to any blocked sites we find would enrich a lesson (as long as we can put together a justifiable use for them).
Your post is very thoughtful. Like you, I believe that children of all ages need to be taught how to navigate the Internet responsibly so that they are able to tap into and contribute to the rich information resource that it is. It’s like many other life skills we must teach children so that they are aware and safe. I also agree that we should begin teaching these skills in elementary school.
ReplyDeleteThe association you make between filtering web content and banning books is relevant and interesting. Just as schools have a responsibility to populate their Media Centers with appropriate books and resources, they also have a duty to implement and administer appropriate access to web content. I’ve only begun to think deeply about this issue and it is complex indeed.