It is true that some students just aren't mature enough to handle the Internet, some teachers as well for that matter. Enforcing acceptable use policies in districts is necessary. The world -wide web can be a dangerous place and it is up to the adults to monitor the safety of our children.
According to the AUP, districts and teachers have to get on board as far as monitoring student behavior. My district currently does have a "smart" system that does track Internet usage in our building. Yes, we do run into filter problems. I could be researching something and the page won't upload due to "blocked content". I can assure you that it wasn't. Funny how almost nothing on YouTube ever catches our district's filter.
We have had students in our building use the Internet inappropriately and consequences like suspension and inability to use the computers were enforced. It's sad to see this happen, especially when I have to send a student to the table when students are working on the computers. There is also the experience I had where a student wrote something inappropriate on my blog. I immediately tracked down the student in the building and the district was able to confirm my suspicions; he received 5 days of in- school suspension. But, teachers are at fault also. I walked into a class once to see students watching Southpark and a teacher sitting at the desk reading. It wasn't school appropriate and should not have occurred under a teacher's watch. There have been many instances of students, looking at inappropriate content online.
Along with the availability of technology to students must come financial backing. Teachers must be educated on AUP, and districts must hold their teachers accountable. I think parents also need to educate themselves and monitor their children's use with free web-based resources like k9web protection.
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