My school rarly block sites, pictures, yes, but other content can easily get passed.

barking_frog

suzi
www.scuzzstuff.org

Cannot be blocked.

Why not?

Because my friend Kit is a winnar of internet. Something about dynamic things. I don't know.

As for why schools should leave things unblocked? Lunchtime, after school, free periods. Honestly, in high school I saw more people get yelled at for being on Scuzzstuff in the library during lunch hours than there were ever problems in class. Why should that matter? It's lunch. You're not yelling at the kids who sit and do nothing elsewhere. And it's not like there's a respect/waste issue if it's in a public school and the computers are on normally (ours were on from whoever used them first until the end of the day).

Yeah, during class it's disruptive, but otherwise…meh.

But yeah. Scuzzstuff.

Even during lunch, free time, etc. they might still be needed for people who actually have something to do. Imagine having to finish a big project or something, but can't because everyone's spending their breaks on youtube and such…It'd kinda tick me off.

Rutger
Even during lunch, free time, etc. they might still be needed for people who actually have something to do. Imagine having to finish a big project or something, but can't because everyone's spending their breaks on youtube and such…It'd kinda tick me off.

It'd be easy enough to kick people off for legitimate reasons. It was never a problem in my school because we had a lot of computers, but I would imagine in other places that could be more a concern.

suzi

Rutger
Even during lunch, free time, etc. they might still be needed for people who actually have something to do. Imagine having to finish a big project or something, but can't because everyone's spending their breaks on youtube and such…It'd kinda tick me off.

It'd be easy enough to kick people off for legitimate reasons. It was never a problem in my school because we had a lot of computers, but I would imagine in other places that could be more a concern.

In my ‘department’ (visual technologies) we had special computers set uo, with Flash, 3dMax, etc…but those were also the fastest ones with private access to the internet, so they'd be taken all the time. The people watching the Computerclass had a field day with all the people coming to them to complain about the PC's being taken again.

AQua_ng
I don't mind if they block websites, for the purpose of our education, however this is what grinds my gears. They block a lot of websites, but no YouTube. You would think that that would be the first one to be blocked.

Oh well.

at my retarded high school, we have that ULTRA QUEER st. bernard program, that blocks virtually EVERY website, even harmless childrens websites where they have the most innocent games you could imagine. they even give reasons as to why they block every site. ex: “this site has been blocked by st. bernard, hahaha!!!!111 reason: games/nudity/adult/music/region/amusement/existence” n yes, they do block youtube. which means google video is practically useless at my school.

I HATE THAT PROGRAM!!!!

Short_Circuiting

AQua_ng
I don't mind if they block websites, for the purpose of our education, however this is what grinds my gears. They block a lot of websites, but no YouTube. You would think that that would be the first one to be blocked.

Oh well.

at my retarded high school, we have that ULTRA QUEER st. bernard program, that blocks virtually EVERY website, even harmless childrens websites where they have the most innocent games you could imagine. they even give reasons as to why they block every site. ex: “this site has been blocked by st. bernard, hahaha!!!!111 reason: games/nudity/adult/music/region/amusement/existence” n yes, they do block youtube. which means google video is practically useless at my school.

I HATE THAT PROGRAM!!!!

Even the most innocent games can lead to world domination, you know.

suzi

barking_frog

suzi
www.scuzzstuff.org

Cannot be blocked.

Why not?

Because my friend Kit is a winnar of internet. Something about dynamic things. I don't know.

I highly doubt that. Even though some web block parties block my meta tags (or key words) like gambling, personals, auctions, games, etc. they can still get blocked per WEBSITE. and ANY website can get blocked.

suzi
As for why schools should leave things unblocked? Lunchtime, after school, free periods. Honestly, in high school I saw more people get yelled at for being on Scuzzstuff in the library during lunch hours than there were ever problems in class. Why should that matter? It's lunch. You're not yelling at the kids who sit and do nothing elsewhere. And it's not like there's a respect/waste issue if it's in a public school and the computers are on normally (ours were on from whoever used them first until the end of the day).

Lunch breaks?
I have a hard time believing that kain was talking about lunchtime, but I'll play along. LUNCH period is the time for children to take in nutrition and learn to socialize, to talk to their peers. It's ALSO a learning period. There's a reason why so many people that are addicted to being online 24x7 have no social skills whatsoever.

Free periods?
I still don't see why MY taxes would pay for you to play video games. Read a book. Draw a comic. ;)

After school?
Go home, or to a hotspot. Why stay at school?

I'm sorry I keep bringing up tax dollars, but it's so very true. There is NO REASON any school taxes should be squandered away for a kid to watch “ask a ninja” in school. There is a place for empty headed amusements. School is not the place. At least not when it actually costs the school (and the city, and the state) money.

when i was a senior in high school i was on the tech support team so i got override privileges. n_____n

ended up doing all my schoolwork at home and doing nothing at school but reading webcomics and fixing peoples lame computer problems.

fun stuff~

blu
when i was a senior in high school i was on the tech support team so i got override privileges. n_____n

ended up doing all my schoolwork at home and doing nothing at school but reading webcomics and fixing peoples lame computer problems.

fun stuff~

MADNESS! I MIGHT KILL YOU TONIGHT.

…dangit where's schoolmonkey when you need 'er?

SpANG

suzi

barking_frog

suzi
www.scuzzstuff.org

Cannot be blocked.

Why not?

Because my friend Kit is a winnar of internet. Something about dynamic things. I don't know.

I highly doubt that. Even though some web block parties block my meta tags (or key words) like gambling, personals, auctions, games, etc. they can still get blocked per WEBSITE. and ANY website can get blocked.

Well, scuzzstuff has been unblocked for what, 6 years now? I'm pretty sure my friend put it together with various aspects of blocking software in mind. It's not just meta tags, he's gotten around IP blocking and apparently anything else, because the administration at my old school is aware of its presence but they can't block it.

SpANG

suzi
As for why schools should leave things unblocked? Lunchtime, after school, free periods. Honestly, in high school I saw more people get yelled at for being on Scuzzstuff in the library during lunch hours than there were ever problems in class. Why should that matter? It's lunch. You're not yelling at the kids who sit and do nothing elsewhere. And it's not like there's a respect/waste issue if it's in a public school and the computers are on normally (ours were on from whoever used them first until the end of the day).

Lunch breaks?
I have a hard time believing that kain was talking about lunchtime, but I'll play along. LUNCH period is the time for children to take in nutrition and learn to socialize, to talk to their peers. It's ALSO a learning period. There's a reason why so many people that are addicted to being online 24x7 have no social skills whatsoever.

Free periods?
I still don't see why MY taxes would pay for you to play video games. Read a book. Draw a comic. ;)

After school?
Go home, or to a hotspot. Why stay at school?

I'm sorry I keep bringing up tax dollars, but it's so very true. There is NO REASON any school taxes should be squandered away for a kid to watch “ask a ninja” in school. There is a place for empty headed amusements. School is not the place. At least not when it actually costs the school (and the city, and the state) money.

I think there are a LOT of things tax dollars shouldn't support in schools, but they do anyway. I see a lot of “empty headed amusements” going on that aren't related to computer use at all.

And as far as socializing, etc., yeah okay that's a valid point when I read that in context of elementary or middle schools, but I think if a high schooler chooses to spend time on computers during his lunch break, go ahead. Like I mentioned before, if the computers are on anyway it wouldn't actually make a difference.

I understand where you're coming from, but I think your attitude is a bit controlling. High school was, time-wise, a huge burden on me. I was out the door by 6:30 and got home at 2:30. Lunch was, despite how much I liked my classes, the emotional highlight of my day. What if I wanted to just go on a computer sometime? The belief that the school system should dictate the restrictions on your free time because the administration decides what's good for you is…undesirable.

Why should tax dollars go towards someone sitting at lunch drawing a comic? Why should it even be filtered so particularly? In my mind, administration should look at lunch as a relaxation time, not another damn learning period. I had seven of those. I knew people who chose to take an additional class instead of lunch; they ALL suffered mentally and at some point regretted it on some level.

Here's an interesting factoid, what do you make of this?: Our school funded a LAN gaming club that actually used school computers. They held Halo tournaments and whatnot. Is that a waste of tax dollars?

Unfortunately, I'm mostly playing devil's advocate here because I do realize that schools block sites because of abuse during classes. And yes, I encountered that a lot. I just think, once we get into hypotheticals, that people shouldn't dictate how a student can spend their free time.

Rutger
Even the most innocent games can lead to world domination, you know.

And Cult Followings. D: …. xD

Short_Circuiting

Rutger
Even the most innocent games can lead to world domination, you know.

And Cult Followings. D: …. xD

…NEWGROUNDS AND GAIA D:

at least newgrounds can be somewhat amusing depending on what people post, but gaia's just… boring trash :| how do people become gaia cultists without being bored to death first??

Short_Circuiting
at least newgrounds can be somewhat amusing depending on what people post, but gaia's just… boring trash :| how do people become gaia cultists without being bored to death first??

I only go to Newgrounds for the Phoenix Wrong series. Never actually been to Gaia. Now I'm scared too.

OBJECTION!

There's very little good stuff on Newgrounds, and most it is at least five years old.

Now consists almost completely of poorly made sprite “animations” and SUPERKAWAIIINYUSHIACARTOOOOONZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

yea I hate the schools when they block sites that you need. Like i need 2 use google 4 a school project but google is blocked. IT'S SO GAY!!!!! >:)

Rutger

Short_Circuiting
at least newgrounds can be somewhat amusing depending on what people post, but gaia's just… boring trash :| how do people become gaia cultists without being bored to death first??

I only go to Newgrounds for the Phoenix Wrong series. Never actually been to Gaia. Now I'm scared too.

OBJECTION!

Newgrounds is gay! Everything there sucks! I never liked Newgrounds!!!

lol gaygrounds

My school doesn't block sites. My school has a bullshit filter. I can't tell you how many times it got in the way of class work. Once, my whole class went done to do an assignment… only to find that the website had been locked just recently. So the teacher let us all go to YouTube. It's not blocked.

I do remember one time at school I was looking for information on sharks (I forget way), and the first site I tried was blocked because it was apparently a porn site. It got reported and I got detention, they never asked me why I'd attempt to find porn by entering ‘sharks’ into google.

But really, if it was important for our work then it was either not blocked or the teacher unblocked it beforehand. If you want to waste time on the internet, do it at home.

suzi
And as far as socializing, etc., yeah okay that's a valid point when I read that in context of elementary or middle schools, but I think if a high schooler chooses to spend time on computers during his lunch break, go ahead. Like I mentioned before, if the computers are on anyway it wouldn't actually make a difference.

Actually I think socialization is equally important (if not more so) in high school. Maybe it's the school I'm teaching in right now that's shaping my opinion but some high school students have terrible social skills. Even a LAN gaming club is a socialization opportunity. It isn't an isolated activity.

For me, I like the idea of having blocks on at all times and having school computers designated for academic use only at all times. Sure it may be lunch time and sure you don't have to socialize. However I found in my experience that if you give an inch, some students take a mile. There are also students who benefit from firm and clear rules. The computer's intended use should be for academics and educational purposes. It shouldn't be “academics unless you're relaxing.”

Added to that are the practical reasons involved. Who wants to be the teacher who has to come in to turn off the web blocking, then come back before lunch ends to kick the students off the computers and turn on web blocking? Have you ever tried to kick a student off a computer while they're playing games? I have and it's not fun. Instead of teaching, I become the Internet police.

I know I sound a bit on the ranting side but it's almost 3 AM and God I'm so utterly disappointed at my class (and utterly tired.) I am a teacher, not the Internet police. I should not have to waste my time kicking them off Facebook/YouTube/whatever just to get them to do their job. So now I've pulled my class out of the computer lab indefinitely. If they cannot work responsibly on the computers, then they will have to work without computers. The computers are a privilege and a resource, not a right.

Black_Kitty
Actually I think socialization is equally important (if not more so) in high school. Maybe it's the school I'm teaching in right now that's shaping my opinion but some high school students have terrible social skills. Even a LAN gaming club is a socialization opportunity. It isn't an isolated activity.

For me, I like the idea of having blocks on at all times and having school computers designated for academic use only at all times. Sure it may be lunch time and sure you don't have to socialize. However I found in my experience that if you give an inch, some students take a mile. There are also students who benefit from firm and clear rules. The computer's intended use should be for academics and educational purposes. It shouldn't be “academics unless you're relaxing.”

Added to that are the practical reasons involved. Who wants to be the teacher who has to come in to turn off the web blocking, then come back before lunch ends to kick the students off the computers and turn on web blocking? Have you ever tried to kick a student off a computer while they're playing games? I have and it's not fun. Instead of teaching, I become the Internet police.

I know I sound a bit on the ranting side but it's almost 3 AM and God I'm so utterly disappointed at my class (and utterly tired.) I am a teacher, not the Internet police. I should not have to waste my time kicking them off Facebook/YouTube/whatever just to get them to do their job. So now I've pulled my class out of the computer lab indefinitely. If they cannot work responsibly on the computers, then they will have to work without computers. The computers are a privilege and a resource, not a right.

as a teacher, doesn't it upset you that you too, are restricted because you have to work on the network as well? i remember my physics teacher pulling his hair out because they would block sites for his computer too (a wireless laptop) for some sites that would have no reason to be blocked.
yes, i do think kids should socialize, do more practical, constructive things with their free time, but you shouldn't make someone. i would love it if kids read a book in their free period, but some kids need a breather, need to relax for a moment, and it shouldn't be a tryanically staff watching over making kids do things.
i think a big fault of high school is teachers and many adults hold the students hands too much. and then upon entering college kids have so much freedom that they never have had before, many fail, drop out because they are so used to people telling them what to do. so i don't know.
high school students are many different ages and at many different stages of development, to slap a all-incompassing stop sign to every student when some of them are 18 years old and should have the right to make those decision for themselves i believe is wrong. on the other hand you have 14 year olds who want to laugh at ‘boobies on tv’. but their has to come a point when adults start to loosen the grip on high schoolers and let them make mistakes, choose what they will with their time because they are going to very soon anyway.

I think there was only one instance where the network totally turned my lesson plan upside down but besides that, I've generally planned things that were pretty flexible. I'm teaching an English class and I don't necessarily need a computer to do it. There are certainly perks to having an English class in a computer lab but as it stands right now, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.

The fact is is that I'm teaching a high school class and not a college class. What happens in the workforce or in post secondary is something I much rather leave for those in the workforce and post secondary. Those people are not legally responsible for them. They don't have to answer calls from parents asking why their child failed (and actually have to answer!) They don't have parent-teacher interviews or have to worry about attendance. They don't have to model good work habits/behaviours or think about how legally they are suppose to act in the stead of their parents. Their professor/boss is not going to care why they skipped and call home about it. They're just going to fail/fire them.

I do agree that ultimately students have to make a choice and that for many of my students, there have been too much hand holding. That does not mean however that I should provide an environment for them that enables their poor work habits to foster and/or continue. What it does mean though is that if I've done everything I could and they still refuse to hand in their work, then they have chosen to fail. I will respect that choice and fail them.

18 year old students, while legally adults and therefore I can't do things like call their parents, also have to make a choice. Just because you are 18 years old it does not mean that the classroom/school rules do not apply to you. If you are not ready for school, then as an 18 year old you do not have to be in school. Go home. Go get a job. Come back to school when you are ready. In the real world, if you want something you cannot expect people to accommodate you. If you want a high school diploma, you must accommodate the school and not the other way around.

I know some of my posts in this thread may come across as mean-spirited or springing from bitterness but it's not. If I didn't care much about their success, then we could have stayed in the computer lab. We would have all been happy! They would get to do whatever they wanted and possibly like me for allowing them to do so, and I get less work to take home since none of them would hand in anything.

The problem is that when the end of the term comes around, I'm probably going to be the only person still happy.

My school blocked Google.

Recently (about a week and a half ago) a 4th or 5th grader somehow got onto a porn site and the parents threatened to sue the school unless a blocker was put up. Since my school runs k-12 the high school was effected by the blocker too. And the stupid thing BLOCKS GOOGLE.

My Chem lab class went to the library on Tuesday to look up information to make posters; Not only was google blocked (which was everyone's homepage… which made actually getting online intersting) but so were about 90% of the other sites I tried to acess for information about Magnesium.

Project turned into a take home thing due the next day because of how sensitive the blocker was.

I mean, blocks are fine so that 10 year olds don't find porn and kids stay off myspace in math class, but I think schools should look into what exactly these things block rather than just installing. The really ironic thing about this block is that none of the proxy sites are blocked (but no one can use them because the teachers and librarians have been instructed to watch our moves and check our tabs every 5 minuets. >>)

why don't they just block the internet?

there. problem solved.

I remember back when I was in High School they blocked Myspace and sites like it and the stuff you would expect them to block (porn,ect). And I didn't really care, seeing how the only classes we had computers in was so full of class-related work that we didn't have enough time to mess around on the internet anyway.

Why do kids need to be surfing the web when they should be doing work anyhow?

It honestly wouldn't suprise me.
My principal is well known for taking extreme messures…

Phantom Penguin
I remember back when I was in High School they blocked Myspace and sites like it and the stuff you would expect them to block (porn,ect). And I didn't really care, seeing how the only classes we had computers in was so full of class-related work that we didn't have enough time to mess around on the internet anyway.

Why do kids need to be surfing the web when they should be doing work anyhow?

because, some websites are actually useful. for reports and stuff. because i don't like opening up books that don't have the words “dystopian future” and “cyborg army of doom” in them.

EmilyTheStrange
My school blocked Google.

While I do think that's absurd, all my hard-core teachers discouraged us from using Google for research at all. And Wikipedia. ESPECIALLY Wikipedia. We had school access to big research databases like ProQuest, and uhm, a lot of stuff I have since repressed.

Though my AP World History teacher DID admit that a lot of the historical articles on Wikipedia are totally valid, as long as you look at them as tertiary-source materials. Hooray for compromising teachers! She was awesome…