Comments on: Schools filtered like totalitarian police states

By: Amanda

Amanda — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 19:24:59 +0000

Man! That’s so my school! We’re not allowed to use blogs or we can get fired, no podcasting without a 10 hour course and hosting them ONLY on the school server. Don’t even THINK about creating a website anywhere but on their server (which, btw, requires another 10 hour course and each post/site must be cleared before uploading). Some of the greatest tools to use with students are blocked b/c we’re concerned for “Safety.” For goodness sake these kids are doing WAAAAAAY more than using Google Docs (which is also blocked) at home! Teach responsibility, not censorship!

By: Wes Fryer

Wes Fryer — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:28:03 +0000

I agree that this filtering system’s option to immediately override the block is great. Apparently there is some variance in how principals are willing to share the override code, however. On some campuses, all the teachers have and use the override code as necessary. On other campuses, the principal won’t give the override code out to teachers.

By: Deven Black

Deven Black — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:55:55 +0000

I agree that this filtering is totalitarian, but at least this school’s filter seems to have a mechanism for overriding the denials. Many other schools, including mine, don’t trust anyone’s judgment about what might be useful in spite of the filter’s settings.