[Year 12 IT Apps] OT Internet Access

[Tony Forster]

> As far as I can tell it is  0% driven by pedagogy, 0% by genuine concern 
> for student welfare, and  100% legal backside-covering.

Yes, 100% driven by the desire to create a perception that something is 
being done. The research indicates that it is not done for the education or 
welfare of students:

http://faculty.ed.uiuc.edu/burbules/papers/straight.html
Just Give It To Me Straight: A Case Against Filtering the Internet
"Filtering is anti-educational in its explicit manifestation because it 
prevents students from accessing certain materials that they might find 
important, interesting, and relevant to their learning. Perhaps more 
important, filtering is anti-educational in its implicit messages about what 
adults think about education... It is difficult to teach young people 
self-control and judgment by denying them access to those things about which 
they need to exercise judgment."

http://books.nap.edu/html/youth_internet/
"Most of the schools that the committee visited had installed filters, and 
many libraries had done so as well. However, when asked what benefit filters 
offered their schools and libraries, teachers and librarians invariably 
pointed to the political and management benefits--not a single teacher or 
librarian said that his or her students or patrons were better off with 
filters in place"

http://coe.ksu.edu/bailey/filterpaper.pdf
 "we believe that ... Employ(ing) Minimal/Zero Filtering System and Use(ing) 
Comprehensive Curriculum/Educational Materials Dealing with Digital Conduct 
(e.g., slander, copyright, spamming, flaming, hate groups, pornographic 
materials) deserves ... highest consideration"

http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2006-05-15-n66.html
10 Things You Might Not Know About Censorware