Chris wrote a post today about the perils of using third-party services for hosting content:
in two clicks, he or she has seen images of a rave party with
suspected drug use, and if he or she clicks on the home page, we see
anything from a caricature of Bruce Willis smoking to a sultry anime
lady who is barely dressed to other inappropriate material. I can just
see an otherwise innocent student (can I remind you my students are
11-12 years old?! and yes, some are quite innocent) seeing this!?It’s not worth my job.
And while I see his point, and have sometimes felt the same way about Blogger, what with its "next blog" link, I guess I’d like to carry the logic out one or two steps further.
From Google, a search engine that I teach people how to use, I can, by typing only a few letters or words, instantaneously get to pretty much anything else on the Internet, from cute, language confused kittens to, um . . .well, some pretty awful stuff. Should I not use Google, either, because there’s potential there that students might find something "harmful?"
Where’s that line between student responsibility for their actions and a teacher’s responsibility to not be negligent? I completely understand Chris not wanting to discover that he’s on the wrong side of it - but I also hope/wish that American society understood the difference.
This is an old question, one that’s come up repeatedly in discussion of tools like Flickr, Blogger, MySpace, Facebook, and countless others. While I see the advantage to consider creating a separate world of content that’s only for educators and students (and I’ve been involved in these sorts of projects), I think, long term, that’s no better than turning off the Internet. I struggle with this, as I don’t ever want to put a student in harm’s way, but I think isolation might be a greater harm than accidental exposure. I don’t know for certain, and in my practice, like Chris, I tend to play it safe. Inf act, I didn’t link to the language confused kittens above because there are some images in that collection, too, that are not "okay" at school. I’m not altogether comfortable with the fact that I self-censor in that way - but it’s worked okay so far. (Or has it?)
This is why we need to teach students how to act responsibly online and to figure out when we turn which parts of the "system" on (or turn the filters off/down) so that, by the time our students graduate, they have been inoculated against all the bad, icky, not-so-good for you stuff that’s out there. (And, we also need to realize that, far too often, one man’s "bad, icky" is another man’s "AOK," which doesn’t really simplify anything, does it?)
Otherwise, they’re all just cannon fodder the moment they find an unfiltered stream. And that’s not okay, either.
7 responses so far ↓
Damian // Aug 9th 2007 at 11:06 pm
Hi Bud,
While I’m sympathetic to Chris’s concerns, I have to agree with you that part of utilizing the Internet in our lessons is teaching kids the social/critical aspects of Internet use. It’s not enough to show them the fun tools and gadgets, we must also teach them to be critical thinkers and consumers of content.
I teach high school, and a few years ago my students were searching Google Images for pictures to supplement a presentation on Asian culture in the US. A student typed in something like “Asian women”, and immediately was bombarded with images of scantily clad and naked women (I guess our filter doesn’t work on GIS). Rather than tear the plug from the wall, we cleared the results screen and I took the opportunity to talk with the group of kids at the computer (3-4) about what they thought was significant about those results. It led to what I felt was a short but valuable discussion about the over-sexualization and exoticization of Asian women, stereotypes of submissive Asian women, and societal presentations/perceptions of women in general. It didn’t need to be graphic, nor did it need to be G-rated. It was real and valuable, and I’d like to think it helped the kids process what they saw and provided them a little context (11th graders can be innocent in their own ways, too).
Of course, Chris’s students are much younger than mine, but it doesn’t mean he can’t have a similar conversation with them about smoking or perceived drug use (I’m still not sold on that based on the screenshot alone). The Internet is a tool, one that requires training in order to use effectively and efficiently (lolcats notwithstanding), and too often we overlook that aspect of it. I think that as more and more schools incorporate elements of the Internet into their lessons, we just may see Hypertext Literacy emerge as the next Core Content Standard. Shutting them off from the Internet deprives them of the opportunity to develop that skill in a supervised, guided environment.
Lynne // Aug 10th 2007 at 1:57 am
Just to say I totally agree with Damian - “The Internet is a tool, one that requires training in order to use effectively and efficiently”.
For me our role as teachers is to teach students how to use available resources effectively and safely. I don’t believe that blocking every site which may have undesirable content is the answer.
Many students in New Zealand have unsupervised access to the Internet when at home, so teaching them online safety and what to do when they find ‘objectionable’ material needs to be taught in schools.
As Damian said, valuable teaching sessions / discussions can occur when students do come across inappropriate sites, images etc.
Art Gelwicks // Aug 10th 2007 at 7:43 am
Not to be the curmudgeon here, but the debate is more basic than “is the Internet a valuable classroom resource.” The core issue is what is the reaction of the administration and parents when (and it will happen) an incident occurs? Is the effort being made to enlighten the admin and parents so that the overreaction to the incident is minor enough that the spigots aren’t turned off, doors closed, and pots of boiling oil fired to repel the Hottentots?
Our job as edtech people is just that…to educate them on the technology. People fear the unknown. If we educate, it’s one less fear we have to counter.
Damian // Aug 10th 2007 at 8:57 am
Hi Art,
With all respect, I don’t think we’re debating the value of the Internet as an educational resource; at least, that wasn’t my intent. Rather, I was trying to advocate for the importance of training our students in its use as a subset of larger critical thinking skills development, as I think Bud and Lynne were, as opposed to sanitizing the online environment.
Along that vein, I agree with you w/r/t the importance of parent/admin training. As a classroom teacher, I’m always trying to improve the degree to which I integrate tech ed into my English curriculum, and I believe I’ve done so gradually over the last few years in both breadth and depth - each year is a little more seamless, a little wider-reaching, and a little more innovative. I confess, however, that I feel that training parents and admins, other than on a case-by-case basis, seems to me a little out of my league.
That’s where the IT Director or Supervisor of Tech or whatever position comes in, I believe, and you raise an excellent point in that the training can’t just be for students and teachers; it must extend to all involved parties. In my mind, the question is now, “How best to do that?” In-services? Parents’ nights? How does your school system handle it?
BK Teaching Fellow // Aug 10th 2007 at 1:47 pm
whats up man. yea, the internet can be a scary place. but so is everything else- tv, the man on the street, the NY times. its about how information is used, how it is presented, and also, giving students and people choices, and informing them of the consequences of the choices we make. we live in a highly censored world, some of which is for good reason. i just hope that the element of choice is not replaced with total control.
Bell Work Online // Aug 10th 2007 at 5:07 pm
I think Chris may be a bit paranoid. “It’s not worth my job.” Come on. I hear this all the time about issues from book selection to Internet use, and it’s a tired and cowardly excuse for not giving students what’s best.
If teachers simply supervise the way they’re supposed to, kids will be in the right places. Plus, teaching kids how to use the Internet responsibly is part of giving them the enriching world that cyberspace provides.
Jeri Hurd // Aug 11th 2007 at 5:16 am
Here, here, Bell! I read on a blog the other day (I wish I remembered where) that if you’re not constantly in risk of losing your job, you’re not doing your job. While I think that’s a little over-stated, I do think we need to be willing to take risks for the good of the students. I’m a long-time English teacher about to turn Library Media Specialist; while I buy into the AASL’s mantra of “Lead from the Middle,” I also believe, as one of the tech leaders/innovators in the school, that we have a responsibility to be something of a rabble-rouser and actively lobby for enlightened attitudes towards technology from administrators, teachers and parents. This, of course, means training, training, training and LOTS of 5 minute elevator speeches.
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