TQ #9

From October 27, 2008

I'll try not to make this sound cliche, but I can honestly see both sides of the argument here. I have been struggling with this very idea and trying to figure out where I stand. I strongly believe that the Internet should be a free flowing highway of information, and it is what one makes of it. I also strongly believe in reasonable protection of children. But I am not at all for "sheltering" children. Allow me to explain.

First of all, with regards to acceptable use, I believe there is a happy medium that has not been discovered yet between copyright protection/enforcement and acceptable use. For educational pruposes, I see absolutely no good reason why copyrighted material should not be able to be used for educational purposes as long as due credit/citation is given. The educational system on the whole in the US is largely underfunded and is not performing as well as it should. I find it completely reasonable for an educational institution to use any resource it can in the name of improving education. Any author, or copyright owner stands to make little or not money by telling a school they cannot use certain material. Most schools cannot afford to buy the rights and therefore will not. I do believe that it is incredibly important to teach children about copyright laws and proper usage both under the umbrella of education as well as in the real world. But, as long as they are learning, teachers should be able to use whatever resource they prefer in order to improve or enhance instruction for the students.

In terms of COPPA, COPA, CIPA, and CPPA, I think CPPA may be the only law truly enforceable. I have only had direct experience with COPPA to date and that was because I developed a web site for a children's TV show. I think the COPPA guidelines are reasonable, realistic, and clear. 13 seems to be the age when kids really get into the online chat programs, and social networking applications on the web that can carry with them some serious threats. COPPA seems enforceable at first - if a site willingly accepts personal information from a child under 13, that site gets in trouble. In an ideal world, I suppose this may work. However, with millions of sites out there that accept personal information from Internet users, it becomes almost impossible to keep track of. The sites themselves can not keep track of any possible violations. CIPA is even less enforceable, for the main reason that no one seems to be able to agree on what is and is not offensive.

Having said all that, how can we honestly expected a school to create a learning environment that is safe while not hindering education? CIPA requires schools to implement Internet safety rules and regulations, and content filters. Content filters are a great way to block unwanted content; however, I feel like we are right back to dealing with the main problem: How do you define "unwanted" content? Furthermore, at what point do you finally sensor so much that you are sheltering the children. I define sheltering as censoring so much that you run the risk of children being shocked when they finally encounter life in the real world. Also, I argue that it is critical for students to learn how to distinguish what is and is not acceptable content. Students are going to have to make decisions like that all throughout their careers. The principle of least restraint probably the best way for enforcing such regulations. Education should be able to use whatever resources it needs to keep the quality and effectiveness of education high as long as they properly cite what they are using. Employing a filtering system that is built to block only those sites that absolutely must be blocked is important. But, the filtering system should always remain a work-in-progress. For example, if a site is accessed that contains content deemed inappropriate by the school, then it should be blocked immediately. If a good educational site is blocked by accident that contains content deemed appropriate by the school should be unblocked immediately. There must be a quick and efficient review and block/unblock policy in effect in order to not hinder education. And finally, schools have a great responsibility to keep children safe as well as access to high-quality education. However, parents must play an equally visible role in this equation. Parental involvement, guidance, and supervision is even more critical since more often than not, their child is more active on the home - non-filtered - computer than at school.