A Delicate Balance: Computer Security vs. Student Access
by Chris Gustafson
What parents want to know: "Does your school have an Internet filter? Do all students sign your Computer User Agreement?"
What students want to know: "Can't you turn off this @#*& filter? I'm researching marijuana for my health class."
Online security technology can lead to complacency for educators. It's there doing its job, so why bother learning how it works? Every school or district approaches security technology differently, and understanding how your school's online security technology works can make you a more effective educator.
What does your security technology system do?
- Security technology for e-mail defines users and screens out spam, phishing, and viruses. You need to know who has access to e-mail in your school or district. How is it filtered? How is it monitored? Are there any acceptable options for student use? Pay attention to the e-mail section of the computer use agreement that most schools require their staff to sign.
- Security technology for wikis and blogs blocks or limits these tools. You need to know if wikis and blogs are blocked or restricted in your school or district. Under what circumstances can they be used for instruction?
- Security technology for the Internet limits downloads, filters Web content, and monitors student use. Most districts have an Internet filtering system in place. You need to know how your system works. Who decides what categories will be blocked? Are blocked categories regularly reviewed? What's the decision-making process around the level of security provided by the system? Who can temporarily unblock sites? How closely does your system monitor student attempts to download?
Using what you know to teach more effectively
- Know what's not available to your students because of your security technology and figure out work-arounds when appropriate. If students aren't allowed to use e-mail at school, encourage them to bring flash drives to transfer files to your computer that you can e-mail to their account.
- Lobby for student access to e-mail programs, blogs, and wiki sites that are designed for students and have built-in security features, such as gaggle.net, classblogmeister.com, and wikispaces.com. And teach your students how to use them.
- Turn blocked Web sites into an opportunity to reinforce the use of creative keywords and more complex search strategies. Convince the frustrated student researcher to add the word "medical" to marijuana in the search, or to do the research through a database of newspaper or magazine articles.
School is likely the only place your students encounter security technology beyond firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spam, and anti-phishing software. Don't leave them unprepared for computer use out in the unfiltered world. Make sure that students are continually challenged to exercise and improve the one filter they will always have available-their own good judgment.
