I remember listening to Doug Johnson on a Women of Web 2.0 show, and there was a discussion about filtering and what case you should make about that. His point, Administrators do not have a lot of time. Do not waste time arguing the merits of filtering with them [E-rate schools have to filter, so it’s pointless too]. I guess I’m putting these case studies up to add some real examples to this discussion, and show some of the wrinkles you run across in high crime area schools with these issues.
Alice is chatting about challenges she’s encountered. She shares a few “case studies;” I’ve summarized them below:
- All video sites have porn on them, and use up precious Internet bandwidth.
- Blogs are evil MySpace clones.
As I reflect on the banning of YouTube, TeacherTube, I always wonder if Alice’s district also blocks GodTube. How about it Alice?
What about SchoolTube?
SchoolTube is a network of students, educators, and industry working together to foster video production & internet publishing in a safe online learning environment. SchoolTube gives you the ability to safely upload your video onto the internet to share with other educators or students.SchoolTube videos have been moderated or Teacher approved for viewing.
A good leader, I have always read, asks questions. Some questions I’d like to ask in Alice’s district include:
- What are the top 3 reasons that the District provides Internet access to faculty and students?
-
What instructional uses of the Internet coincide with developing students’ ability to work at higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy (revised)? - Are these uses in alignment with the District’s curricular goals? School to work goals? SCANS Report goals? Other research-based reports?
- If Internet bandwidth is consumed when videos are streamed/downloaded from OUTSIDE the District, could videos be hosted INSIDE the District for streaming?
- What in your experience has led you to believe that video sites like TeacherTube, SchoolTube have porn on them?
- What’s the worse “porn video” that can be found on one of these video services? How does that video compare to modern movies that are displayed for instructional purposes in schools?
- Is there an appropriate age-range for the types of video access to be provided?
- How can the network bandwidth better be handled to maximize use for instructional purposes?
- What steps have you taken to ensure that “traditional” videos used in schools now are aligned to instructional purposes? How could those steps be extended to Internet-based videos?
I don’t know…these are just a few questions…maybe you have better ones?
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Hmm, is this a reprint of an old post popping up because of your blog move?Looking “back” on the old post from my blog that you reference vindicates my position, and I think points up the problem with yours approach, and in that way is instructive to look back on. First some context…I wrote that post at the start of my new job at that school site. I found the principal overly cautious about social sites (networking and video) on the Web. When he explained some of the reasons why, gang threats, confiscated computers based on students using computers to surf for porn (I have no idea why that happened, but they were eventually returned)I could understand. He was still willing to hire me, and signed forms to let me have students doing blogging (albeit on edublogs, but the platform made more sense the blogger for a number of reasons). Another note, he does not set the blocking policy. Actually a non-educator (and non-technologist too boot) does that, and most sites are blocked based on the blocking software provider–required for e-rate (which has a limited number of providers who don’t aren’t given to “openess” that from someone in district IT).At that time, ALL streaming (NPR, PBS, CNN) were blocked because we had a “first” generation network (T1) that couldn’t handle the load. They were blocked largely for that reason. The network, and most routers have been updated (fiber optics), and most sites are slowly being unblocked (not due to reluctance, but competence issues I won’t discuss here). YouTube remains blocked, but flickr was never blocked (which is nice).Last year, one of our partners (they’ve provided much funding for our school) began using YouTube to publicize work on our behalf. I began posting videos on YouTube. My Principal regularly asks me to d/l videos from YouTube to show at staff meetings, etc. We like YouTube. Would I want it unblocked for all? Hmm, not convinced that’s a good idea yet. OTOH, there is a nascent movement in the district to provide teacher override passwords (which was Doug’s suggestion).My administrator when faced with a potential YouTube issue, a student did an inappropriate video to celebrate sixth grade graduation, rose to the occasion. In fact, Scott McLeod cited it as an example of dealing with these problems in a positive way. Read about it here:http://mizmercer.edublogs.org/2008/06/18/youtube-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/If I had taken the confrontational questioning tone your post had, I don’t think I would have had that big a change that quickly. I built trust, I acknowledged the problems he had in the past, and I didn’t put him on the defensive. I know you wrote that post because you knew me, and I know that you can be a “provocateur”, but how does that argument sound outside? When I re-read it, I wasn’t crazy about my position, but your tone struck me as a little off too. I don’t think that’s a position you, or any of us looking for more open access, should be in.Food for thought…
Hmm, is this a reprint of an old post popping up because of your blog move?Looking “back” on the old post from my blog that you reference vindicates my position, and I think points up the problem with yours approach, and in that way is instructive to look back on. First some context…I wrote that post at the start of my new job at that school site. I found the principal overly cautious about social sites (networking and video) on the Web. When he explained some of the reasons why, gang threats, confiscated computers based on students using computers to surf for porn (I have no idea why that happened, but they were eventually returned)I could understand. He was still willing to hire me, and signed forms to let me have students doing blogging (albeit on edublogs, but the platform made more sense the blogger for a number of reasons). Another note, he does not set the blocking policy. Actually a non-educator (and non-technologist too boot) does that, and most sites are blocked based on the blocking software provider–required for e-rate (which has a limited number of providers who don’t aren’t given to “openess” that from someone in district IT).At that time, ALL streaming (NPR, PBS, CNN) were blocked because we had a “first” generation network (T1) that couldn’t handle the load. They were blocked largely for that reason. The network, and most routers have been updated (fiber optics), and most sites are slowly being unblocked (not due to reluctance, but competence issues I won’t discuss here). YouTube remains blocked, but flickr was never blocked (which is nice).Last year, one of our partners (they’ve provided much funding for our school) began using YouTube to publicize work on our behalf. I began posting videos on YouTube. My Principal regularly asks me to d/l videos from YouTube to show at staff meetings, etc. We like YouTube. Would I want it unblocked for all? Hmm, not convinced that’s a good idea yet. OTOH, there is a nascent movement in the district to provide teacher override passwords (which was Doug’s suggestion).My administrator when faced with a potential YouTube issue, a student did an inappropriate video to celebrate sixth grade graduation, rose to the occasion. In fact, Scott McLeod cited it as an example of dealing with these problems in a positive way. Read about it here:http://mizmercer.edublogs.org/2008/06/18/youtube-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly/If I had taken the confrontational questioning tone your post had, I don’t think I would have had that big a change that quickly. I built trust, I acknowledged the problems he had in the past, and I didn’t put him on the defensive. I know you wrote that post because you knew me, and I know that you can be a “provocateur”, but how does that argument sound outside? When I re-read it, I wasn’t crazy about my position, but your tone struck me as a little off too. I don’t think that’s a position you, or any of us looking for more open access, should be in.Food for thought…