Since I started taking EDIT 603 I found numerous resources on the internet that have endless possibilities for stimulate learning and improve productivity. I am beginning to think of ways to use them today. I thought that the School Nurses could use a wiki to collaborate on revising department policy manuals without having meetings, share websites via delicious, and use a blog to give tips on dealing with day to day issues. Last week at lunchtime I went on my computer at work to update my delicious account, wiki and blog. I found that the school’s filter blocked these sites. I knew that I would not get into my flickr account since recently the district blocked all Yahoo sites. There is an automatic message to contact the head of tech for access to these sites. I know better than to try.
Last year a staff member told me that she had tried to access the Weight Watchers website from school and it was blocked. She emailed the IT dept to say she had just formed a WW group at school, and needed access to the site for information and inspiration. The head of tech emailed her back a picture of a seagull and said to use that for inspiration instead because the WW site was not going to be unblocked. When I heard this story, I thought there was a misunderstanding. I emailed the head of tech and explained that in accordance with the district’s wellness policy, we were starting a WW group at my school, and would like access to the WW site. She emailed me back to say that the site was going to remain blocked. Period. Apparently the district’s policy is to block any site that had a bulletin board, chat, forum or ability to email.
I know we need to keep the district’s network secure, and students and staff safe while on the internet. Isn’t this an overreaction? How are teachers supposed to incorporate Web 2.0 applications in the classroom if so many if them are blocked and censored? Getting sites unblocked is literally fighting City Hall.
There will be some teachers who will be able to have specific sites unblocked, however the majority of teachers will still be unable to access many of the sites they want. It is easier just to keep sites heavily filtered and blocked. The district policy of blindly blocking any interactive site is going to hamper innovation. For web 2.0 to succeed in our district internet policy needs to be re-evaluated.
