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A forum for internet filtering and social networking tools in K-12 education. Hosted by a district technology administrator in Alabama.

I take a lot of flak for being an outsider to the education world. I hear things from my peers in other school districts and I hear it from teachers in my own district. Some scoff at our willingness to open social networking sites on the internet. As a district we allow access to blogs, wikis and podcasts. Isn’t the business of schools to educate? Why not allow students the exposure to these sites and then teach what is appropriate? It scares me to think people actually believe they can block the internet. To me you should teach children how valuable a tool it can be if viewed in the right context. Do not believe everything you see or read. In today’s world you must filter through the content available to you on the internet and learn to think for yourself. Students go home from school and immediately hit the Internet. At home that might not be monitored. My parents never discussed anything I did on message boards and internet forums. I think many of our students have that same experience. Unfortunately political pressure forces me to block sites like My Space and Facebook, but think about the power of children with nationwide collaboration. Should we not harness the positive side of sites like this and explain the negative side. Use this as a valuable lesson.