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At NSW Sphere earlier this year there was a lot of talk in the tea break about the need to give access to social networks in schools. If children are to be able to fully participate in Government’s efforts to use social networks and other sites to allow the community to engage more in it’s business this would seem essential.
My children were given laptops this year as part of the Government’s Education Revolution. This initiative is meant to ensure our young people enjoy the benefits of the internet and computing in general. To improve their education. However, the computers come with most websites blocked not just at school through their network but at home too. It seems that sites are blocked by default so there is a bias against anything new. For example Bang the Table is accessible but our site for the Government’s National Cultural Policy conversation is blocked. This is obviously not a desirable state of affairs.
So why not give more freedom to allow access to more sites on these school computers? I can imagine a range of arguments but I think they boil down to fear of access to inappropriate content and fear that a child with access to Facebook, Twitter and other such sites at school will not do any work. A fear we see mirrored in the actions of a number of employers (especially Government agencies!).
As a parent I have sympathies with both of these fears but think that in practical terms they are invalid. In terms of inappropriate content there are much less draconian ways of blocking this and frankly kids who want to see this stuff will find a way. With regard to the fear that our little darlings will do nothing but surf the net at school, well that might be preferable to what is actually happening.
My oldest kids go to a selective school that achieves very high standards in terms of exam results. What has happened after the first exams post Laptops? The results have dropped off dramatically. Why? Well my kids tell me its because lots of the classes are now conducted with computers open and on and the teachers cant check what they are looking at. Thanks to the firewall policies of the Department they are not on Facebook or Twitter, they are certainly not being engaged about our national cultural policy. Actually lots of them are playing games (though I am assured that my daughters are not among the culprits!).
Now the Department has thought to block most online games but are they really naive enough to believe that they are cleverer with technology than a bunch of 15 year olds? They have games (and good ones) on their USB drives. I’m also reliably informed that some have managed to find ways around the firewall and can access any sites they choose – this seems to carry with it some kudos in the school population so I fully expect these kids to keep finding ways.
So while the teacher sees nice attentive kids typing away some are actually busy fighting zombies in ‘plants vs zombies’ (a current favorite). Not many HSC marks in that.
On the plus side I’m told the disruptive ones in the class are no longer disruptive – they are too engrossed in the zombies.
Would it not be better to allow access to more sites and for teachers to actually supervise and accept that there are times when computers are not appropriate. Apparently this is starting to happen, teachers are starting to demand that the computers be switched off for some lessons. This seems appropriate. So why not allow wider access? It won’t hurt to have kids accessing social networks so long as this is not happening in lessons. Perhaps some sites could actually be integrated into the curriculum.
Social networking is not a fad. It will be part of the adult and professional life of the vast majority of the current school population. We should be teaching the effective use of these sites not blocking them.
This work by Bang the Table Pty Ltd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License.
Interesting post! I had no idea this was going on in schools (all kids given laptops, etc). What exactly are they supposed to be learning? It seems as if they're just directed to specific sites for content. So really having a laptop isn't serving much more of a purpose than a digital textbook.
Further, it's an interesting form of censorship when they decide to block access to social networking sites. It's a lot like companies who have decided to block social networks at work. It's easier for them to try to eliminate the problem rather than dealing with why it exists in the first place. I've never understood this kind of system where you automatically distrust people and then expect them to do good work (or learn). In my experience, kids and adults alike are motivated to work harder when they feel like they have a choice. If there's one thing that should be taught in school is how to make good decisions!
Does the government really need to reach children? They can't vote and, judging by their desires for fashion and branding, they can't think for themselves either.
I'm curious to see where this generation of hackers ends up once they leave their classrooms