My school district is locked-down tight and fixated on security when it comes to internet access for students, which frustrates me. After seeing so many references on twitter and plurk about web2.0 sites being used in education by other educators, I was curious whether similar restrictions were nation- or even worldwide. I posted a survey via google docs last month (this link gives you viewing access to the spreadsheet), and 77 total participants answered questions about websites in their districts.
Although the results were interesting, this survey is far from being representative of the nation’s or world’s schools, for several reasons. First, the survey was not widely dispersed. It was accessible on twitter and plurk, as well as on my blog, which implies that only educators who already use social networking sites or blogs (and, furthermore, only those who have contact with me or my friends online) would have responded. This leads me to believe the survey “sang to the choir.”
Responders’ comments, which I have interspersed between the graphed results below, clearly demonstrate this bias in favor of web 2.0 online websites. I would love to see a more balanced view, showing answers by educators who do not explore social networking sites. The responses here left me wondering how many districts are not represented fairly, such as those who physically have little or no internet connectivity or those who pedagogically have vague interest in using the internet for classroom activities. For example, the responder from South Africa clearly indicated a problem with accessibility of internet sites:
Another reason this survey can be considered only as an informal glimpse and not as a full-color portrait is that only twenty-seven states and six countries were represented. Of the 27 states, 10 included only one response. The international responders included one each from Australia, Canada, England, Hong Kong, and South Africa. The map below shows the 27 states. California led the responses with 9, Kansas had 7, Michigan, Texas, and Virginia had 5, and Illinois had 4.
Rather than interpret the results, I am sharing the data here for subjective interpretation. Now that I am releasing the results, I am eager to hear your opinions, reactions, and ideas about the comments and data.
Attribution: Image: ‘On Facebook’ www.flickr.com/photos/10996743@N00/3218868484
This blog expresses the personal opinions of the author and is not affiliated
with nor representative of any company, employer, or other entity.
Posted on February 11th, 2009 by Sharon Elin
Filed under: Uncategorized
I love the comment you posted, “Trust teachers and students to make responsible choices.” We need to teach our students how to be responsible users of these tools.
Sharon-
Thank you for your wonderful presentation!!!
Thanks, Sharon. Great survey. The comments/pull quotes are especially revealing. Vonnie
Great job, Sharon, of sharing the data in an interesting and visual way. I’d love to see this carried out across a larger cross-section and also wonder about teacher philosophies. How many who see these tools blocked agree with that philosophy and how many who see them unblocked wish they were under lock and key? How do those philosophies match teaching style and the mission of the school/district?
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much for sharing this and tweeting me the link too!
I have been interested in this topic for some time, and think a developer should create a website teachers can link to which would run a series of tests for content filtering. Basically, like a speed test, the site would go out and connect to different sites and return results. The IP address of the originating site requesting the test would be logged, and then the results of whether different websites were accessible from that location / behind the content filter. Port testing for applications like skype could also be done, I think. At the end when results are shared, the person who clicked the link/requested the test could also optionally submit more info about their location and identity. All this info would be aggregated by the testing site.
I think this would be very doable…
In the meantime, however, what you’ve put together here is GREAT and I certainly appreciate the chance to read and review your results.
It’s would also be interesting to take a look at the rationale behind what is allowed and what is not. Ultimately, the real solution is to unfilter, educate, and monitor. Teachers should certainly be trusted to make the judgment as they do with everything else in their classroom.
[...] a survey about which popular sites were blocked and find out what other schools were allowing. Her results*, displayed in colorful graphs, represent the more controversial of sites, but even simple sites [...]