The stark and brutal reality of the world that children
grow up in is that they are going to be exposing to words and ideas that their
parents would not want them to hear.
Whether it is from older students or siblings, parents or teachers, TV
or movies: most children will hear obscenities and inappropriate language. By their very nature, they will be curious
as to see what these words might mean and to discover what the big “fuss” is
all about. This could meant the next
time that they are on a computer, they might type in the word they heard on
South Park the night before and see what happens…. And when this happens in a
classroom, regardless of if it is yours, your child’s, or a colleague’s; there
will be repercussions and problems. For
this reason, filtering has become a relevant and current topic for everyone
involved with education or the Internet.
Below is a table listing five pros and five cons in regards to this
issue and are based on Peacefire
(http://peacefire.org/) and the Enough is Enough (http://www.enough.org/index.html) websites. In addition, four filtering software
programs were reviewed and one was recommended.
|
For
Filtering (Pro’s) |
Against
Filtering (Con’s) |
|
A
basic filter will block access to pornographic sites that children would try
to, or accidentally access. |
Many
programs that filter sites do not first check to see what other, appropriate
sites are also being blocked. |
|
Although
the Internet offers a wide array of useful resources, the enormous amount of
pornographic and other inappropriate sites warrants the need for filters that
would help shield minors from that material. |
Filtering
software includes blacklists of sites that they deem to be
inappropriate. These often include
controversial issues that include the classical “liberal”, as well as
“conservative” viewpoints. |
|
There
are hundreds of thousands of pornographic websites in exist, as well as chat
rooms and other avenues for sexual predators to manipulate their prey. |
Filtering
may infringe on the Constitutional right of free speech. What gives a programmer or software
company the right to decide what people can have access too? |
|
Filtering
software gives schools and parents the ability to have the best protection
available from companies whose goals are to protect children. |
The
need for good parenting and adequate preparation by teachers is dulled by a
reliance on filtering software. |
|
Unsupervised
Internet use is virtually unavoidable, and filtering technologies are on
guard when parents and educators are not. |
Filtering
software takes the control of information flows out of the hands of those who
know the children best: parents and teachers. |
Software
filtering packages (reviewed April 3, 2002):
Net Nanny 4.0 *recommended by Brian Robinson*
Net
Nanny 4.0 is a comprehensive and highly
flexible filter program geared towards concerned parents. It gives the user the option of blocking
specific sites and categories. It also
can block chat rooms, or record online chats.
It monitors all usages of the Internet and is a perfect tool to limit
use and/or see what the Internet is being used for. The flexibility of the program allows parents to set different
preferences for different users and therefore way be a good match for parents
who want flexibility.
(http://www.netnanny.com/home/net_nanny_4/product_description.asp)
CYBERsitter allows parents, administrators, and business owners to control
and monitor Internet, e-mail, chat, and instant message usage. Although, according to PC
Magazine, not as stream-lined as Net
Nanny 4.0, CYBERsitter gets the job done.
(http://www.cybersitter.com/cybinfo.htm)
Part of the SurfControl family of products, CyberPatrol allows education users to monitor and control the use
of the Internet. It includes instant
notification of infractions and generated reports on usages.
(http://www.surfcontrol.com/education/products/cyberpatrol_web/default.asp)
This filter is designed for home or school use and
allows users to easily set up various levels of Internet filtering. Another unique and attractive feature of
this product is that it updates its lists daily and therefore strives to remain
as current and as easy as possible.
(http://www.n2h2.com/products/ifm/index.php)