Picture
Figure 1 - Awareness. Retrieved from www.123rf.com
Being aware can be defined by the Free Dictionary as "having knowledge or being cognizant" and being "vigilant" and "watchful" (2013), therefore, based off of this definition we can assumed having 'web awareness' refers to being cognizant of the different implications that may resent themselves when using the web. This includes safety and security issues. There are many issues which present themselves online including "sexual risk and harm, cyber bullying, privacy, violent and hateful content, gaming, and marketing" (Topic 8 lecture notes, 2013). As the teachers of 21st century learners we need to work alongside parents to ensure our students are aware of the issues that may present themselves on the web. As an attempt to meet this responsibility school boards have opted to implement filters on their school systems that control Internet access.
The implementation of Internet filters has pros and cons. Some of the pros include: 
preventing students from accessing potentially harmful information while at school, decrease distractions (e.g., FaceBook, Twitter, online games), and preventing students from taking part in inappropriate behaviour during school hours (e.g., cyber bullying). 

Some of the possible cons include: they may not work well and inappropriate content will still be available, they may work too well and block educational resources, they may create a sense of false security, they may violate civil liberties (Mackenzie, 1996).
My experiences with internet filters have not necessarily been good ones. I have found that they often block sites which are in fact educational. They also make it so teachers cannot plan student web use any where else other than at home because they do not know what sites will be blocked. I had this happen to my in my PSI. I created an awesome sky science Webquest over the weekend at my house, then went to school on Monday and my students got half way through and began running into trouble with the links. They could not access many of the educational links I had chosen because of strict Internet filter!
I believe that if school computer labs are set up in a way in that all students face the front and the teacher's desk is at the back (therefore can see all the computer screens) then we do not necessarily need Internet filters. Of course they will open pages they shouldn't and then hide them when they think you are looking but students do this anyways! Furthermore, when I was researching this topic,there were multiple websites that came up teaching individuals how to bypass school Internet filters. 
This document discloses the categories the CBE blocks on all junior and senior high school computers. The categories are very broad and it is easy to see how this type of filter may block useful information. 


As teachers I think it is important we teach ethical and digital citizenship. Along with this we must teach our students responsible use of school computers. It should be very clear what types of websites are appropriate to access at school and what are not. Furthermore, we should promote self and peer monitoring, encouraging students to self-check one another. This of course would be something that would need to be modelled and practiced; however, I believe that if we are patient and consistent with our expectations we could easily use school computers with not Internet filters with no issues!



Significant comments:



https://sites.google.com/site/davidmansbridges/vi-online-journal/journalentry8webawarenessii


http://jenseducationportfolio.weebly.com/3/post/2013/07/topic-8-web-awareness-i.html#comments


References:
Calgary Board of Education. (n.d.). Web awareness in the Calgary board if education.  Retrieved from, 
http://schools.cbe.ab.ca/b275/pdf%20files/parents-letter-level-two.pdf




The Free Dictionary. (2013). Awareness. Retrieved from, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/awareness

7/17/2013 02:04:20 am

Thanks for your post!

I like that you brought up the fact that there are websites that will teach students how to get past the filters, which are sites that they will visit on their own time and bring the knowledge with them to school. Your idea of how to set up a computer lab could definitely help decrease students trying to get on various sites, also walking around so that they can feel your presence.

Also, thank you for sharing your experience from PSI. That must have been unbelievably frustrating! As is evident in the CBE document, their categories are rather broad and this can definitely hinder the student’s access to educational resources. What did you do in the situation of the WebQuest? Were you able to get around it at all? Did they take it home, or just skip the links that didn’t work?

I think that it is important that we scaffold student understanding of digital citizenship from the early elementary grades so that we can begin to decrease filters in the secondary levels. If good resources are blocked it makes it extremely difficult for us to teach them effective research skills, which is something that is severely lacking from todays education system – perhaps this is why? If we scaffold their learning students will understand why they need to act ethically when engaging in activities online by the time they reach high school.

Justin

Reply
MacKenzie
7/21/2013 01:47:19 am

Hi Justin,

Thanks for your awesome comment. I do agree that if we begin teaching digital citizenship from an early age we can begin the decrease the amount of filtering we have to do in higher grades. As for my Webquest in PS1 I simply had the students skips those links and in the end to make up for time we watched a video on the solar system instead - not an ideal way to start my first webquest haha! But as teachers we all know how flexible we must be!

Thanks,
MacKenzie

Reply
Kaylee Melhoff
7/18/2013 02:46:23 am

MacKenzie,
I loved reading your post!
I also agree that many of the filters that are put into place in schools are too broad and block some educational websites that we as teachers may want to use but have no way to access.
I loved that you brought up the idea of filters creating a false sense of security. I am of the belief that students need stronger filters when they are learning to search the Internet but a they grow and learn this needs to be removed. When students are in university they will not have the high filter settings that they do with their parents or their middle and high schools. So, students need to know how to be aware of what is out there.
I like your idea of self checking but how would this be done in the class? Please explain!!

Reply
MacKenzie
7/21/2013 01:54:25 am

Hi Kaylee,

Thanks for you comment. In regards to your question of self checking - when I was in my PS2 my TA had taught the students to do peer and self checks. This way if a students at the table group was misbehaving one of the other students could take on the responsibility to 'self check' that peer by saying "i'm self checking you" and then giving them a thumbs up when they comply (for lack of a better word). In a computer lab setting I think teachers could introduce this in a way where we say that everyone's safety matters to all of us because we are all a part of the same group so as the teacher I m going to need help making sure everyone is safe. If you see a students who is on a site that they shouldn't be we need to self check them - the teacher doesn't always have to be the one to do you. This gives students the responsibility and ownership many of them need in school!

Hope that helps.

MacKenzie

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Dan
7/19/2013 06:08:37 am

Hey MacKenzie

You made some good points. I definitely have run into some filter problems in practicum too. I had to sign into youtube every time I wanted to show a video, but It was a small price to pay. Do you think web filters should be something a school decides on collectively or do you think it should be a school division decision?

Reply
MacKenzie
7/21/2013 01:57:13 am

Hi Dan

To be honest I think web filters should be something that each school decides on collectively; however, I know this will never be the case. The reason I say this thought is because each neighbourhood is different and each community is going to have its own set of students who bring to the table different concerns. For this reason I believe each school should decide collectively instead of an entire school division having the same filters because they may not be needed in some schools they way they are in others.

Thanks Dan,

MacKenzie

Reply
Mary Elizabeth Telfer
7/19/2013 01:19:29 pm

HI Makenzie,

Great post. I too had issues with a filter on a school computer. We were trying to utillize netflix at my PSI school and the school board had it blocked. I can see why because there are movies on there that the students shouldn't see, but my teacher and I wanted to use it to show the Magic School Bus episode on Bridges because YouTube was also blocked. Internet filters can make a class very boring, especially if the teachers can not even get around them.

Thanks for your post !!

Reply
MacKenzie
7/21/2013 01:58:31 am

Amen Sista!
It is beginning to sound like everyone has had issues with school filters.. hmmmm does this mean we need to make a change somewhere? Perhaps.

Thanks,
MacKenzie

Reply
David Mansbridge
7/22/2013 12:42:29 pm

Hey MacKenzie,

Thanks for a really informative journal entry. I think most people have experienced the frustrations sometimes caused by overly vigilant Internet filters. The intention behind it is good, but not always entirely effective. I liked the idea of students peer monitoring, which is something I had not considered teaching students.

My question is related to the fact that students often find ways around Internet filters. If you were in a school that utilized Internet filters and a method to circumvent the filter was discovered, would you have used it in a situation such as the one where your WebQuest websites were blocked (at the risk of teaching your students how to get around the filters)?

Thanks,

David

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    I am a 6th year University student currently finishing up my last semester in an Education Program. On this blog I will post reflections about my learning in my Internet & Education course.

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