Sacrilege To The Filter gods

Anyone who knows me, knows I whine too much about how our (and too many other) Tech Departments block sites in schools. Simply because an outsource company (who seeks only to make money - not protect the chillldddreeennnn) tells Tech Directors that they must block things first, then open when there is a possible reason.

Well, it's time to see what has happened this week.

COPA has been found to be unconstitutional (again). Schools won't care about that though.
CIPA, DOPA, and any other restrictive measure will serve them in their fear of information access for all people.

Jim Gates is ticked off by the control-mongering techies who oppose learning for censorship and power. Welcome to the show Jim.
[NOTE: You probably won't see Jim's post if you're at school - he uses the demonic Blogger and Blogspot for his communication ;-) So do I.]

All this is well and good. I have vowed to get off my filtering is the new book burning, neo-nazi, anti-education rants. Now I really can.

Why?

Because, Apple is making everyone's life better. If you have been one of those "I'm not sure I should get an iPhone (original or 3G) and/or MacBook" (whatever kind), "Windows is far superior" (for what I don't know - other than accumulating viruses), then it is time for you to change your ways...for the American Way!

You can use your iPhone as a tethering devise to get internet access to your computers!

NetShare, by Nullriver, Inc., that allows your iPhone to serve as your computer's Internet connection. Guess what? I can work at my workplace again! It's been over 7 years since I had that ability.

C'mon educators. It's time to drink the Apple Kool-aid - again.

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Thank You David Pogue

How Dangerous Is the Internet for Children? - Pogue’s Posts - Technology - New York Times Blog

The answer; not nearly as dangerous as adults think it is.  Personally, I have thought for years that the reason adults blow the "Predator Behind Every Keystroke" out of proportion is because adults still find it necessary to CONTROL kids instead of TEACH them. 

That which we do not understand, we fear.  If the fear is unwarranted, we lie.  If the lie is told often enough, we believe.  That which we believe to be true, leads to the desire to protect the 'truth.'  In order to protect, we must develop an environment of control.  Such is the cycle of li(f)e.

For crying out loud...we are TEACHERS...ones who teach!  Quit being controllers.  A goal of an education should be to allow students the freedom to pursue their happiness and dreams.  If you want to keep people from pursuing their dreams, instilling fear is one way to do it.  Then again, perhaps the issues edubloggers discuss so frequently is based on the idea that education is more about controlling what students learn (standards & testing & therefore student placement) rather than teaching student what they need and want to know.  Again, I say, KIDS WILL LEARN WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW. 

Schools can either assist in the ethical and appropriate use of the technology that is ingrained into the lives of the 2st century student, or schools can dismiss, ignore, and/or declare it evil (by filtering, we say it is evil), thereby forcing young people to learn it on their own.  Then we must accept that the odds a student will use online opportunities ethically and appropriately is but a crap-shoot.

Is it any wonder younger generations have laughed at the generations who preceded them?  I laugh so I don't cry.

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Sylvia Martinez's Filter Falacy Article

Sylvia Martinez, from Gen YES, shared a story about how some kids at a high school bypassed their filtering system in order to get to the web sites they needed for their tech teacher to be as effective as he could be.  I loved their dilemma - not was it right to bypass, but what if their teacher got in trouble because they were in his class.  Killer!

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