tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464772049928719051.post1641734108126359497..comments2023-06-14T09:06:20.505-07:00Comments on Blustery Bandwagon: Filter Frustrations: Why Block Google Docs?Ruth Elliotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00134928952526450778noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7464772049928719051.post-58833380506404252682012-04-30T13:55:47.298-07:002012-04-30T13:55:47.298-07:00You bring up some good points, but unfortunately t...You bring up some good points, but unfortunately they are all hypothetical and I must live in my fixed reality. I used to be a teacher until I decided the hours and pay are too terrible - now I work in tech support for a school district, where the pay and hours are still terrible, but at least I don't have to grade student work on the weekends! I set our filter to be fairly draconian, and I make teachers log in to a very simple help ticket site to request a site be unblocked. I get 2 or three requests a week, down from a couple dozen a day at first. I look at the sites, and if I don't see anything obviously inappropriate, I assume the teachers are doing their due diligence before submitting, and I unblock that site (unless it's internet radio. Screw your bandwidth-hogging music, other people need the internet for learning). <br />This is as painless and accessible as public school internet can ever be, because anything else would bring the state down on my head like a ton of bricks. <br /><br />Am I teaching students to have the wisdom to filter the internet for themselves? No, absolutely not - that cannot be my job. Teachers in the classroom need to teach students what good sources of valid information look like, and how to recognize and disregard scams and lies. Meantime, once these students are 18, they can look at all the pornography they want on internet connections they pay for themselves, as do the vast majority of people. <br /><br />It's not wisdom I care about here - I could get fired if a 17 year-old sees a woman with no shirt.changahttp://changa.orgnoreply@blogger.com