Re: Websense filtering problems

[enosal <enosal@MSN.COM>]

Dear Julie and LM_NETTERS,


I forwarded your concerns about Websense to my boss, the LMS, as we
experienced similar problems.  The filter was originally set district-wide
to accomodate the needs of the very youngest students.  Obviously, this was
a problem until the administration authorized the tech person to customize
the settings at the high school level. Here are his comments:


As long as "no argument about loosening up has
helped," it seems to me that this poor woman will have
to "abandon the Internet as a teaching tool." As you
know, we, too, couldn't "successfully cope with these
restrictions" until various filtering categories were
removed.

I could tell her how we "customized our settings," but
that doesn't seem to be the problem. Rather, the
powers that be in her district/school won't allow her
to make changes in the filtering categories. As long
as this is the case, she's out of luck.

Remember when we couldn't access pbs.org because it
was classsified as an "entertainment" site? This is
the type of problem Ms. Kessler is having. There is no
workaround: as long as the category is filtered,
students won't be able to access it. It's a tough
problem; Ms. Kessler's superiors seem to have taken
its solution to an extreme.

Keith Luckenbach
Library Media Specialist
East Hampton High School
East Hampton, CT 06424
860-365-4030 x1170

Best of luck to you!
Ellen Nosal
Media Center Assistant
East Hampton High School
East Hampton, CT
enosal@msn.com




Date:    Fri, 4 Jan 2002 09:41:10 -0500
> From:    Julie Kessler
> <JKESSLER@WESTRD.ACSD.DCBOCES.ORG>
> Subject: Websense Filtering Problems
>
> Dear Netters:  Our district uses Websense filtering,
> and has
> restricted every possible category:  shopping, web
> hosting,
> financial institutions, advocacy groups, abused
> drugs, etc. etc.
> These restrictions mean that almost any website that
> I go to, such
> as the World Almanac, or National Wildlife
> Foundation or World
> Bank (all for educational reasons) is blocked for
> me.
>         Any work I do at my home computer must be
> duplicated at
> school to ensure that the websites are accessible.
> Is there anyone
> out there who has successfully coped with these
> restrictions?  No
> argument about loosening up has helped.  I am about
> to abandon
> the Internet as a teaching tool!  Thank you for your
> help!
> Julia Kessler      jkessler@westrd.acsd.dcboces.org
> Librarian
> West Road Intermediate School
> Pleasant Valley, NY 12569

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