What Is Safe Anyway?

Years ago when some of us were first advocating Internet as a tool for classroom instruction, we talked about creating a safe environment for our students by bookmarking sites, designing our own web pages, and of course requiring signed AUPs. We also talked about the pros and cons of filtering because this was before CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act) that mandates all schools receiving E-Rate and other federal dollars must provide filtered access on all computers. I had hoped that we could now concentrate on conversations about using technology resources in educational and productive ways.

Unfortunately, that’s not always possible. Recently valid concerns have reached the ears of Congress—realities that every parent, educator, and/or responsible adult should be aware of. Far too often our children are finding, downloading, and even interacting with electronic resources and the people behind them in inappropriate ways. They are giving out their addresses and phone numbers, creating relationships with individuals far too old and experienced for their childhood or teenage years, even participating in games or behavior that would make our adult selves cringe in horror or disgust.

But is DOPA http://www.politechbot.com/docs/fitzpatrick.social.networking.051006.pdf, which piggybacks on CIPA and its E-Rate provision and broadens filtering in schools to include social networking sites like blogs and podcasts, the answer to our fear and uncertainty in a sometimes alien environment? Can we as a nation legislate good behavior with such a broad brush? Are there more effective ways to counter the less savory aspects of electronic resources? Should schools be the primary focus here? Shouldn’t sites such as the blogs that Carteret County teachers are using with their students http://jpoletti.edublogs.org/ or the podcasts that Williford Elementary is creating for EOG review http://wrmt-tv.blogspot.com/2005/12/what-is-podcasting.html be encouraged, not limited by possible legislation?

What a shame that some of these innovative ways of enticing teachers and students to use technology educationally and productively may disappear under DOPA, along with the more raunchy ones! A small price to pay, you say? Perhaps you may want to reconsider and even write to your Congress person. Joe Poletti has a sample letter on his blog http://blog.carteretcountyschools.org/ Check it out and thank Joe for his activism.