INTERNET ACCESS AND FILTERING

B Y: S K Y L A F O R R E S T E RE D U T 6 2 0 7 - FA L L 2 0 1 2

WHAT IS FILTERING??? “Internet filtering is the act of limiting

access to information on the Internet.

It involves censoring information based on specific criteria.” (http://eduscapes.com/sms/access/filtering.html)

WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME???- WORKSHOP RATIONAL

• “A primary role of the teacher librarian is to assist students in making informed decisions about their informational needs and their own learning.”

• There may be times when the filters block content that is valuable information for the students.

• “Filters take away that role by making the decisions about what is acceptable and not acceptable information.”

• It is the job of the teachers and staff to make sure that the filters are not taking away from what could be useable information for the students.

WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES: In this workshop you will:1. Learn what Muscogee County’s policy is on Internet Filtering.

2. Learn what documents are in place for Internet Filtering.

3. Learn the procedures to unblock a website that should be used for the classroom.

4. Learn more about My Big Campus (It is an online extension of the classroom that’s tightly integrated with our school network and Internet filter.)

5. Be able to identify if a website is safe for students or not.

MUSCOGEE COUNTY POLICY ON INTERNET FILTERING:

“The Muscogee County School District (MCSD) will utilize Internet content filtering software and require agreement in the form of an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) to maintain compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). The AUP governs levels of access to the Internet, including Web 2.0 resources, and My Big Campus.”

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY FORM (AUP)

The Acceptable Use Policy form can be found in the students registrations packet.

This form allows for the parents to agree that they have read the Technology plan and agree to their student using the internet.

The AUP form can be found here:https://

www.muscogee.k12.ga.us/AboutUS/Pages/MCSD-Technology-Plan.aspx

HOW TO UNBLOCK A WEBSITE…• There may be times when a teacher will notice that a

particular website is blocked that could possibly contain valuable educational information.

• If this is the case then the teacher must follow the steps listed in the Internet Content Filtering Procedure form listed on the Muscogee County School District website.

• They must first determine how the website is categorized by Secure Computing.

• The next step is to fill out the MCSD Modification form.• An Internet Content Filtering Committee, designated by the Chief

Information Officer will meet to approve all requests. The Internet Content Filtering Committee will also review the content filtering categories annually for possible access revisions.

• The Modification form can be found here: https://www.muscogee.k12.ga.us/AboutUS/Pages/MCSD-Technology-Plan.aspx

MY BIG CAMPUS• My Big Campus is just one example of a program that can be

used safely in a school setting. • “My Big Campus was developed and designed specifically for

educational purposes.

• It’s safe because it is an online extension of the classroom that’s tightly integrated with our school network and Internet filter.

• We’ll be using MBC in a variety of ways; such as, to learn Internet safety and digital citizenship, to extend classroom discussions, to collaborate on projects, to keep track of assignments, and more!” (https://www.muscogee.k12.ga.us/AboutUS/AcademicsEnrichment/Pages/My-Big-Campus-Parents.aspx)

MY BIG CAMPUS• My Big Campus includes:• Easy access to quality educational resources included in its

Resource Library• Collaborative learning through groups, wiki pages, discussions,

blogs, closed messaging, event calendaring, and more• Private file storage for anywhere access to works in progress--

eliminating the need for thumb drives• Ability for users to “flag” any inappropriate content for review (an

important part of digital citizenship)• Extensive monitoring and reporting of all digital content

HOW DO I KNOW IF A WEBSITE IS SAFE?• Established by the first ALSC Children and Technology Committee, 1997• There are 4 main areas to look at when deciding if a website is safe for your

students.• 1. Authorship/Sponsorship: Who Put up the Site. The name of the individual or group

creating the site should be clearly stated.

• 2. Purpose: Every Site Has a Reason for Being There. A site’s purpose should be clear and its content should reflect its purpose, be it to entertain, persuade, educate, or sell.

3. Design and Stability: A Great Site Has Personality and Strength of Character.The information on the site should be easy to find and easy to use.The site design should be appealing to its intended audience.

• 4. Content: A Great Site Shares Meaningful and Useful Content that Educates, Informs, or Entertains. There should be enough information to make visiting the site worthwhile.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN.Look at these websites listed below. Take a few minutes and

decide if these websites would be appropriate for your students to visit in the classroom.

1. http://kids.yahoo.com/2. http://www.girlsgogames.com/3. www.thepiratebay.org4. http://www.kidsites.com/5. www.shepardsoftware.com

HOW DID YOU DO?? 1. http://kids.yahoo.com/-Yahoo! Kids is a child-friendly search

engine, which only pulls up appropriate links.

2. http://www.girlsgogames.com/- lot of the games are in Japanese, so I have no idea what they are actually saying.

3. www.thepiratebay.org- while this web address may look kid friendly, it is actually a website to download movies, music and more. 4. http://www.kidsites.com/- this website also seems inviting, but there are many different links that kids can click on that could take them somewhere else.5. www.shepardsoftware.com- this site is a great resource for children to use in all subject areas.

RESOURCEShttp://www.ala.org/offices/oif/iftoolkits/litoolkit/defaulthttp://eduscapes.com/sms/access/filtering.htmlhttps://

www.muscogee.k12.ga.us/AboutUS/Pages/MCSD-Technology Plan.aspx

https://www.mybigcampus.com/