Filtering the Internet - Hindering Engagement

Before Dr. Alonso’s recent live chat, readers of the Baltimore Sun education blog, Inside Ed, were asked to submit questions for the CEO. Inside Ed received 45 submissions (which you can read here) seven of which discussed BCPSS’s Internet filter, often referred to as Bess. Just a month before the live chat, another lengthy discussion had taken place on Inside Ed about the Internet filter and the uselessness of TSS. Based on the length of these conversations and the number of interested parties (including teachers, parents, and central office staff), I think it’s fair to say that the Internet filter is a hot topic in Baltimore. Unfortunately, for reasons unknown to me, it was not a topic that was discussed during the live chat -- even though almost 20% of the Inside Ed submissions discussed it.

Teachers in Baltimore are more than ready to use technology to engage students and teach technology literacy. English teachers want their students to blog about reading Shakespeare; math teachers want students to make music videos about calculating the surface area of a pyramid; Social Studies teachers want to use Google image search to find historical photos to show students. We want to access lesson plans written by teachers across the country or the world. We want to show our students interesting videos and audio clips. We want our students to use the Internet to research interesting topics.

Not only does appropriate use of technology engage students and “hook” them into content, but technology literacy is an essential skill that schools must teach, particularly because so many of our students do not have access to a computer or the Internet at home. While my students are experts at designing myspace pages, they need real practice performing research. However, as “veteran teacher” notes in the Inside Ed comments, the filter “won't allow students to research breast or prostate cancer and yet will allow them to research the NBA statistics at their leisure.”

Teachers in Baltimore must be able to bypass the filters so that we can access educational YouTube videos, Google image searches, and blogs (like this one!) while in the school building. When planning lessons at school, teachers must be able to access the resources that will help them create the best possible lesson for students. When planning lessons at home, teachers need to be sure that the videos or images that they plan to show students are actually accessible once they get to school.

Let’s face it – I know that many of my students will never use the Pythagorean Theorem again after they finish geometry (although they should because it is AWESOME). What I’m more interested in is making sure that my students have every door of opportunity open to them after they graduate. With the Internet filter blocking so much useful content, my students will not be as technology savvy as their peers in the county, and so I’m sending them into the world already a step behind. That’s no way to start.