Thanks to everyone who participated. Here are the HITS I received:
-It is blocked here, period. I push teachertube.
-This issue just blew up in our district. The following is a letter from our
Superintendent of how it all played out and his decision. Hope this helps you.
On December 14, a high school teacher sent an email questioning the ability to
access the website “YouTube” from district computers. His specific, and
appropriate, question, was: “Does this site have educational relevance which would
supersede the questionable content, and should we block its access?”. An
administrator directed IT to block access (which was done on Dec. 14),
precipitating a number of thoughtful responses from teachers who use YouTube as a
resource for video and audio clips for their classes and from those who believe
that it is a distraction for students who should be using computer resources for
completing assignments.
-I convened a meeting with x, x, x and x to discuss this issue and to decide
whether to leave YouTube blocked or to make it available once again. After a
lengthy discussion, I’ve decided to unblock the YouTube site. Effective January 2,
the site will again be available from inside the KPS domain.
-There are a number of reasons that were discussed at our meeting that led to this
decision, some specific to YouTube and some more generally about the digital world
we live in in the 21st century. My general feeling on blocking these types of
sites is that it is a fool’s errand – many students can quickly get around fire
walls using a variety of proxy server or Web 2.0 applications, and as soon as you
block one site they find another. Or, as X put it, “if students are on
‘inappropriate sites’ and off task, there are plenty other sites that we'll be
chasing till the cows come home.”
-To be clear: I am not arguing for no firewalls or filtering software. But there
is a technology literacy component to everything we do these days – we want to
teach kids to use the computer responsibly and safely, be good digital citizens,
make good judgments about the accuracy of the material they find on the web, and
understand the limitations of multitasking. Two resources for teachers to help
with this are Alan November’s ( <http://novemberlearning.com/> ) and David
Warlick's’ work ( <http://davidwarlick.com/wordpress/?page_id=2> ). Finally, there
is also the issue of classroom management in a digital environment, and the tools
and skills a teacher must exercise when using technology with students. This is a
topic Kathi would be happy to address with you as we continue to expand the
integration of technology into the day-to-day life of classrooms.
I would encourage further dialog on this issue, so please feel free to respond and
add your two cents or ask questions.
-Our division blocked YouTube much to the chagrin of the teachers who wanted to
access it. Now only teachers have access…a good compromise.
-Youtube is blocked at our school. There's another video site, I think it's
www.slubber.com that we also blocked.
-It's blocked here.
-YouTube content is of concern but teaching kids responsible use is part
of our job so access to it is important. Our issue is with the bandwidth
used to access it. Unlimited access is capable of hamstringing our local
network. Sorry if this is not exactly on your topic.
-It isn't already blocked??? Some of it is really nasty!
-Youtube is blocked in my district. Content is a big issue, as is
bandwidth. I have a password override, so if a student wants to show a
clip as part of his presentation I can go to the class and override the
filter for him for that one instance.
-I don't think that it should be blocked for teachers because sometimes there are
teachable moments on youtube. I don't think that students should be allowed to
watch it unsupervised. People will probably tell you that it is a supervision
thing or to invest in monitoring software that records what websites the students
go to.
Hope that helps a little :-)
-Our filter, Lightspeed, blocks it under the Adult content category.
-We don't have access to YouTube at all.
-It's blocked at our school. 600 Jr. High students. 7th and 8th. Also at the high
school (1,000 students, grades 9-12).
-Yes. Our district has blocked it; but the students now try to use proxy
servers to access it.
Howard Strey
hstrey@stpeterschools.org
100 Lincoln Drive
St. Peter, MN. 56082
507-934-4210 ext 411
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