Neilsen reports that kids (age 2 - 11) are spending more time online than ever before. Parents, educators and online companies are trying to make sure that the time kids spent online is not harmful.
Schools spend a lot of time, money and effort keeping the students from freely searching the Internet. One common way to prevent kids from accessing unapproved sites at school is to use a firewall. A firewall allows or blocks certain sites from being accessed within the school's network. This article from the Washington Post suggests that the firewalls used in schools are like the Great Wall of China; much effort is put into blocking loopholes while students are busy searching for ways around them. To quote a colleague, it's like playing 'wack-a-mole'. As soon as you knock one down, another loophole is already found.
What are your thoughts about using filters in schools? Is it worth the game of 'wack-a-mole' to have the filters in place on school computers? Do you have another idea?
The Great Firewall of China
Recent Posts
- Social Networking On the Move (7/14/2010)
- Back to Basics (7/13/2010)
- Adult Industry Booming on Cell Phones (7/12/2010)
- Textual Harassment (7/09/2010)
- Supreme Court Decision on Sexting Case (7/06/2010)
