WebedtecH

I recently received a question from a parent about how it would be best to manage and filter their child’s web site explorations at home.  Here’s my response:

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Sit down with your child at the computer and ask him to teach you about Webkinz and Neopets and the other sites he is interested in.  Don’t take it from the position of evaluating the sites but rather from a sincere interest in learning more about them and what he is interested.  By doing that you will gain several things:

1. You will have a better understanding of these virtual worlds and the types of interactions that can happen in them, both positive and negative.
2. You will be able to spend some time and observe his/her interactions with the games and see what aspects of them he tends towards.  Boys by nature gravitate to more action-oriented sections of games where girls traditionally gravitate to puzzles and interactive environments.  (Of course there are always exceptions to the rule).
3. Gaming environments can be very engaging, especially if a child has a vivid imagination or tends to get immersed in things easily.  Compare his game reactions to the reactions he has to movies and cartoons.  Are they similar, stronger, or weaker?
4. Look for common themes in the types of characters he/she chooses to play.  If he/she chooses one over another, don’t hesitate to ask him why.  There may be commonalities in his decisions, such as powerful versus weak, a specific look, gender association, etc.
5. This may be the biggest stretch for you…but ask him/her to help you set up your own characters and take you through the world.  Aside from it being good quality time you will be establishing credibility with him when it comes time to execute parental control on worlds and places he should not be entering.  Do not hesitate to try the sites he is visiting on your own when he is not around.  The more you learn about the sites the better off you will be.
6. Check in with him.  Every so often ask him/her how his characters are doing (make a point to learn the character names and the names he/she gave them).

There are systems available that can be used to filter web sites from kids (we use one at the school called OpenDNS [http://www.opendns.com] that is free and provides a great deal of control at the machine level.  However, no technological solution can replace building the understanding between you and he as to the types of things you consider appropriate and not.

The sites he/she has identified so far are known kids sites and many have protections in place for child safety.  (Gaia is targeted for PG-13 so I’d recommend against that.)  Most sites that draw kids will have some sort of parental information available easily from their home page.

He/she will want to explore and try new things, that is a given.  Working with him/her is the best solution in preparing him/her to be responsible as he/she grows on the internet.  I equate it to when he/she starts to drive.  The driving lessons will be invaluable since at some point he’ll have to leave the parking lot.

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Comments?

Open Thinking & Digital Pedagogy » Freedom Sticks For The Classroom

Alec has posted an interesting article about his efforts to get around overly restrictive filtering and access controls.  In our back and forth comments a thought occured to me.  What if we were to use USB drives as “keys” to the internet.  Here’s the idea:

1. The teacher is given a USB key that includes a file with an encrypted sequence of characters that acts as their “authorization code”.
2. When they log into the network,  the login script looks for the key file and verifies the authorization code on the USB drive is the same as the one associated with the teacher’s account.
3. If they match, the teacher is granted full access.

What if scenarios:

1. Teacher logs in without the USB key - teacher is given standard network access (student level)
2. Student logs in with teacher’s USB key on student account - no special permissions are granted and a notification is sent to IT
3. One teacher logs in with another teacher’s USB key - only student level access is granted.
4. USB key is lost - the authorization code for that teacher is changed on the server, immediately making the old code invalid

I’m sure there are dozens of other situations we would need to take into account (and that it’s similar to VPN connections but not quite), but I’m curious what the IT people and teachers out there would think of this?

There’s a growing discussion surrounding the concept of tiered content filtering in schools.  The idea that staff and teachers should have access to a broader selection of content and materials from the internet than students is not new but is gaining traction.  Personally I like the idea of having the controls in place to allow teachers who have demonstrated the ability to manage and manipulate the internet effectively to have greater access to content.

Notice I did not say all teachers.  For staff members to receive enhanced access, and thereby accept a greater level of risk and responsibility, they should be required to complete additional staff development on internet safety and behavior.  This not only protects the staff member but also the students.  The paper trail on the training mitigates some of the risk for the school making the policy more palatable.

Technically, this type of tiered filtering can be managed at a network and account level.  This is not the challenging part.  The challenge comes from structuring the policy in such a way that access is greater without the sacrifice of safeguards for the students, staff, and the school.

Issues with tiered content filtering » Moving at the Speed of Creativity