Re: LM_NET Digest - 28 Mar 2003 - Special issue (#2003-368)

[Nancy Willard <nwillard@OREGON.UOREGON.EDU>]

I suggest there is a far more important issue. Reliance on filtering leads
to false security and the failure to engage in the education and supervision
that is essential to help young people learn how to make safe and
responsible choices when using the Internet.

The National Research Council report, Youth, Pornography, and the Internet
referred to filtering as a technological "quick fix" and concluded that the
only way to really address the Internet concerns was through a focus on
education and social strategies. The committee found that all of the youth
they spoke with has learned their "Internet savvy" on their own. When they
spoke with educators the only reasons given for filtering were protection
against community controversy and potential liability (there is a federal
statute that provides immunity for education institutions that provide
Internet service). In other words, filters are being used the protect
schools and administrators' posteriors, not kids.

A study by the Girl Scout Research Institute revealed that only 29% of the
girls surveyed reported learning anything about Internet safety from a
teacher and those who did learn something only learned 4 basic prohibitive
rules -- not the level of guidance that they be provided.

Nancy

Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D.

Center for Advanced Technology in Education
University of Oregon, College of Education
E-mail: nwillard@oregon.uoregon.edu
URL: http://netizen.uoregon.edu

Responsible Netizen Institute
URL:http://responsiblenetizen.org



>
> Date:    Fri, 28 Mar 2003 11:18:35 -0500
> From:    Paul Trotta <trottap@SNET.NET>
> Subject: Filtering
>
> I have long thought that we are considering the wrong issue in regards =
> to filtering, i.e, whether or not to filter.   I believe the two issues =
> we should be discussing are:
>
> 1. Insisting that the building level person have the ability to easily =
> bypass the filtering system.    I can do this in my school and =
> frequently do.
>
> 2. Working towards developing a better filtering system.   We could =
> begin by developing standards for any filtering and insisting that only =
> systems that met those standards be used.
>
>
> Paul Trotta
> Director of Library Media Services
> East Catholic High School
> Manchester, CT  06040
> trottap@snet.net

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