Wendy King

SLM 521

The Pros and Cons on Internet Filters

I always thought that Internet filters were great. They provided a safe way for students to navigate the World Wide Web. Although they can be helpful in blocking inappropriate websites, Internet filters can be quite a nuisance.

Pros

• Internet filters can prevent children and adults from viewing obscene and harmful websites.

As a teacher, it is my responsibility to provide a safe and secure learning environment for my students. Filtering harmful websites can help me accomplish this.

• They can block “unproductive sites” such as sports and gaming sites during the work day.

This component of filtering can prevent students from becoming distracted from their required assignments.

• Filters are capable of blocking a multitude of sites.

There are many websites out there and a lot of them are not suitable for children. A good filter should be able to block the many harmful sites that exist on the Internet.

• There are different types of filters that can enable parents to have complete control over which sites their children are allowed to visit.

Parents can generate a list of sites that they do not want their children to view or make a list of sites that their children are allowed to view.

• Filters can provide a safe way for teachers to use the Internet in the classroom.

Students can type in innocent keywords and not get a harmful website that may include the same keyword.

Cons

• Filters can block kid-friendly information.

Some filters can block a lot of potentially good information for children. They can prevent children from getting the information they need for their education by being too sensitive to certain keywords.

• While some filters block obscene sites such as pornography, they do not block sites that promote other damaging information such as illegal drugs, violence, and hatred.

If I were to select a filter for my school to use, I would want one that would offer total protection from harmful websites, not just certain ones.

• Filters can be easily removed or disabled.

Tech savvy students can figure out to remove filters which would defeat the purpose of having them at all.

• Internet filters can give a false sense of security to school employees and parents.

Not all filters filter out every obscene thing on the Internet. Parents who are unaware of this could think that a filter automatically enables them to let their children have free reign on the World Wide Web.

• There is too much information on the web for filters to screen every single site for inappropriate material.

Internet filters are far from perfect. They either block 90% of the Internet or under block inappropriate websites. Perhaps the best thing for teachers to do is to give students a list of recommended websites to visit and have all other websites blocked.