Tiffany+and+Bob

**How should the districts handle decisions about the blocking/filtering of websites;specifically those in the social media category: blogs, wikis, resource sharing? **



**In 2001 the federal government enacted the ****[|Consolidated Appropriations Act], which was an extension of the ****Children's Internet Protection Act and Neighborhood Children's Internet Protection Act. ** If a district desires funding for technical related material, they must be mindful of these regulations.

====**School districts that offer student computer labs and student workstations may have a 'contract' that students and parents must read and sign before the student is allowed to access the internet at school. These are called** "[|Acceptable Use Policies]" (AUP).====

am****ount** **of danger, and litiga****t****i****on to be expected if they are. As for the responsibility of deciding who sees what and when, each district should develop a plan that includes appropriat****e use of the aforementioned sites by** **students. Perhaps in the future, there will be school created 'networks' like facebook and myspace. There wo****uld be no need to filter such sites, as school created networks would be self regulated, and devoid of advertisements and other undesirable information. The only thing that would be missing is the 'allure' of pop-culture sites.**
 * It is definitely necessary that students not be allowed unlimited access to the internet in school. There is an unlimited

Tiffany will be in the (red)

Understanding the Children's Internet Protection Act ([|http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cipa.html)] and Neighborhood Internet Protection Act [|http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/children's_internet_protection_act_(cipa)/7510] allows each district to handle filtering at their own will, by law.

School districts should have contracts with kids to use computers in computer labs. Here is an exmpale of one districts contract [] .

Here are same ways blogging, wikis and resouces sharing could be a benefit for a district.

__**Blogging**__ I did some research on the "blogs" on youtube and found a constructive way to use blogging for juvenilles in truoble. A blog could be set up for juvenilles to comunicate with conselors or whoever the district feels could help them get out their frustrations. The blog would have to monitored and would have to be followed up with some type of one-on-one counseling. media type="youtube" key="ksrX5gK5so8" height="344" width="425"

I also found a website, from Weber School District, where blogging is helping their district keep all the teachers on the same page. Weber school distrcit states" A Blog, short for Web Log, allows teachers to reach out to students, faculty and parents; distributing information quickly and accurately. By making a blog, employees of Weber School District can dispense information to students and parents online, which allows them to access it during their free time and in the comfort of their own homes. Using text, pictures, and attachments the blog makes for an easy log of daily events, upcoming happenings and even can assist sick students catch up to work they may have missed. " []

Wikis Wikis can be a great benfit for school district and here is a list of some that work for some schools http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+educational+wikis. by viewing some fo these wikis I found that teachers can use these sites to help reinforce their ideas and to good discussions out of the students.

Here is one crazy teacher site (click on the picture to see the wiki page)