Alan blogged about his frustrations of trying to access some blogging sites but had them restricted by the web filtering software Websense. Andrew sympathised about the problems that sometimes surrounds filtering in schools and made the suggestion that a request should be made to unblock those sites. All perfectly reasonable and understandable given the frustrations we sometimes feel about web access in schools. It is Ewan’s blog however that concerns me.
Before I get to that I think it’s best if I give an accurate description of the set-up in Highland concerning Websense and filtering in schools. The 29 secondary schools in Highland have control over their own filtering policies. What is allowed can be set by the school staff. If a teacher in a secondary school in Highland wants a site available this can be done by the school ICT technician. So Highland has a policy of devolving to secondary schools their own decisions about filtering and a whole lot else about the use of ICT.
Filtering in 186 Primary Schools is carried out by the ICT Support Unit based in Inverness. The ICT Unit administers and manages a wide range of systems, equipment and communications technologies across 186 primary schools, 5 special schools and 41 built and 9 mobile libraries, 50 People’s Network installations, a range of learning and community centres, plus ‘others’ eg prison, hospital, Gypsy Travellers. The user base for ICT in schools alone is in the region of 35,000 pupils and staff.
Highland has an area the size of Wales and 18 folk carry out all this work for the ICT Unit. As Alan acknowledges in his comments requests are pretty quickly turned around despite all the other “stuff” 18 folk have to do.
So when Ewan blogs and compares ICT management in Highland to something akin to Machiavellian practises – “Unfortunately, it seems that a little expediency goes a long way in cleaning up the web in Highland Local Authority” – the use of this kind of language concerns me.
Also given that he cites LTS and the number of folk who read his blog I think it’s only reasonable to respond to the various claims and assertions he makes. Especially as we are at a stage in Highland where Education ICT is at a critical stage with regard re-procurement.
“Highland Local Authority, and others too many to mention, who continue to use the blanket coverage of Websense to outlaw any form of ‘unauthorised’ self-expression on the web.”
There is no blanket coverage. It is devolved secondary schools and primary teachers who can make requests for sites to be added to a “whitelist”
“Not only are their teachers now not capable of blogging their own views, professional practice or students’ work.”
Again not true. There are several staff who have their own personal blogs and this is encouraged. See Bryan’s personal learning log on Curriculum for Excellence or Louise’s learning log on health promoting schools and her role in achieving this.
As for schools. What about the brilliant blogs from Marybank Primary near Dingwall where pupils are using voki’s, slideshows podcast and recently started a joint weewiki project with a school in Australia? Or over in the tiny Island of Muck the kids are expressing themselves with their blog and their online radio station blog? There are others of course. Here is a list with more in development. As far as teachers sharing practice I am pretty proud of the work our probationers are doing over on their own wiki .
It is a pity he did not check his facts first before publishing and it’s certainly cheesed off a few folk in Highland. Especially given the current stage we are at with regard re-procurement of ICT support. From my point of view I am more interested in building on the good partnership we already have with LTS than engaging in some polemic. I will put it down to the rush of caffeine from his coffee that early in the morning.
Filed under: Education, Technology, teaching | Tagged: Education, teaching, Technology, Websense
I agree that Ewan’s got his facts wrong and has taken something of an inappropriate line in his post.
However, it’s all well and good being able to have sites unblocked if you know what’s on them and you know that you want to make regular use of them. It’s the limitation to research material and choose what’s best for your own purposes that’s key in this.
Hi Jim,
I am aware of the brilliant online projects generated in Highland and should have made a point of mentioning them. Many of them I discover through your blog and George Glass’s work, so apologies for that and also for the tone. It’s not the first time I’ve written about the frustration of what I see as 2D filtering, and that’s what’s come through in the post.
I also know that Highland is one of the toughest gigs in terms of both coverage, geography, access and time.
However, I do stand by the point that whitelisting should ideally be a shared responsibility. There are sites which teachers will know they want whitelisted, and can ask for. There are many, though, that they and students will not be able to ask about since they cannot view them in the first place, after both random search or recommendation.
So, as well as whitelisting by school, which is quite common, there might also be a need for foresight from the superb ICT Teams around the country who will know where to look, and how to unlock, the sites within those categories which, frankly, are still far too broad to provide meaning as and in themselves.
I don’t *think* this kind of joint whitelisting is a huge task, particularly if LAs could unite on the task and share the labour. I dare say there would be enough bloggers willing to offer their ideas based on what’s currently blocked, but the desire to harness this would have to be seen to come from Local Authorities, or otherwise seem a fruitless task to the teachers involved.
I’ve since put in a fuller post, with a sincere apology for my tone, and a more complete outline of the argument I was trying to get across:
http://edu.blogs.com/edublogs/2008/05/we-dont-know-wh.html
Looking forward to the conversation.
Can I ask why the choice of which sites to block or allow is devolved to staff within the secondary sector but not the primary?
About having sites unblocked: when I tried to do this, it took so long – usually because the technician was overworked – that the moment had passed by the time we could access it. And often I would find in mid-use that I couldn’t access something I wanted for my own use in school because I-Gear had found something “unsuitable” in it.
My language at such times would definitely have been described as immoderate.
[...] Ewan says, we have one of the toughest gigs given our geography and diversity. We think we have a good strategy, consisting of parents/carers evenings, sessions with Health and [...]