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Should School computers have firewalls?

Should schools have firewalls


  • Total voters
    51
I think the schools that use firewalls are to restrictive. i mean they even block images depending from the site. thats what i produce proxy sites for schools.

if the schools took down the firewalls then that might result in you accessing information to enhance your education
we can't have that going on in our schools, iwa


let's take a tangent and ask if students who are without a computer and internet access in their homes can fairly compete against those who possess such resources ... is that not a different kind of firewall?


apologies for the derail and welcome to the forum
 
I think the schools that use firewalls are to restrictive. i mean they even block images depending from the site. thats what i produce proxy sites for schools.

How old are you really? Are you still in middle school and pissed that you can't chat on myspace,make updates on twitter or look at porn when you are supposed to be doing schoolwork? Schools,businesses and many other places can have all the firewalls, net nannys and other **** they want, it is not your computer or internet connection.
 
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In my experience, students seem to have a tendency to socialize whenever possible. It's natural. Unfortunately for me, and them I suppose, the teacher must limit such socialization to a minimum. I've found students who were able to find ways to bypass the filters and access facebook and myspace. It's amazing actually. I have no idea how they do it, but they do.

Firewalls aren't even enough to block students from accessing certain sites. But I'm not so much concerned about the type of material they can access on the web on campus, because they can sure as hell access those type of material when they get home if they wanted to. What I'm more concerned about is the students using their time in class for class, and not for socialization.

Students don't need AIM or any particular IM server. They can just create an account on some type of forum (like this one) and PM each other. No need to Meebo. They're getting more creative. Funny thing that I notice is that there is virtually no more note passing, it's texting now. I don't look for students who are passing notes anymore, I look for the ones who have their hands in their backpacks on their laps for 5 minutes pretending their looking for a pencil.

Sorry for the long post, which is a little off topic too, apologies. Firewalls? It's a good thing. I don't think firewalls are enough, though.
 
How old are you really?

IMO, It is a legitimate thing to talk about [filtering, and how far is enough, how far is too far, effectiveness, pitfalls, etc], whereas creating false chairactures of those who criticize filters in schools is not.

I went to a middle/high school with filtering, but terrible filtering.

Sites with legitimate information were frequently blocked, and the word filter was such where legitimate searches for information [whatever means was used not factoring in to it] would end up blocked because the filter was set up where even if the word was but a syllable or two in the whole word, your search was blocked. Search for recipies that use ****ake mushrooms, oops, the word sh*t is in it, so the result is blocked, just like how it is censored in these forums. Teachers were pissed off frequently, as were students [whom, contrary to popular belief, weren't always about playing the latest flash games though that DID happen a lot too].

I think the problem is HOW these places are implementing filters really. On top of that, there are always ways around it - a problem with how well anything is implemented, how secure it is, and also a factor of the intelligence of students in the system. Not allowing unapproved programs but allow batch scripting? Easy avenue to work around things... I know from experience. Don't block proxy sites? Right there is another workaround.
[Lightdemon, how can one go farther than filtering? I am curious.]
 
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Until the senior year, I don't think that kids have any need to be exposed to computers at all, except possibly for serious students in a technical course of study.

I also don't approve of cooks. janitors or sports programs in schools.


Call me old fashioned, although one would be better advized to call me Milord.
 
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School's computers/network so they can do as they like.
 
[Lightdemon, how can one go farther than filtering? I am curious.]

Well, at the school that I teach, some computer classes have software that allows the teacher to view all of the monitors in the classroom. I'm not sure what that software is called, but it's really awesome. Not only does it allow surveillance, but also the teacher can project their own screen onto their students monitors, so everyone stops what their doing and follows along. This tool I think is absolutely necessary in a type of classroom where each student have their own computer.

In terms of navigating the internet and the type of material that can be accessed...well, I'm really not that concerned about that, like I said earlier. What I'm more concerned about is how student's use their time in class.
 
How old are you really? Are you still in middle school and pissed that you can't chat on myspace,make updates on twitter or look at porn when you are supposed to be doing schoolwork? Schools,businesses and many other places can have all the firewalls, net nannys and other **** they want, it is not your computer or internet connection.

Im in 11th grade if you must ask and i was simply making a poll now take a chill pill or some roofies to knock you out so i dont have to see you type your rude opinions.
 
Well, at the school that I teach, some computer classes have software that allows the teacher to view all of the monitors in the classroom. I'm not sure what that software is called, but it's really awesome. Not only does it allow surveillance, but also the teacher can project their own screen onto their students monitors, so everyone stops what their doing and follows along. This tool I think is absolutely necessary in a type of classroom where each student have their own computer.

In terms of navigating the internet and the type of material that can be accessed...well, I'm really not that concerned about that, like I said earlier. What I'm more concerned about is how student's use their time in class.

Thats how i make money i make programs to get AROUND those things haha.
 
Thats how i make money i make programs to get AROUND those things haha.

Can you tell me what the name of those programs are? I'd like to bust some of my students :) Or at least just scare them by just letting them know that I know about those programs.

It's not that big of deal, probably lunch detention. :2wave:

EDIT: Wait...your in the 11th grade? lol
 
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Can you tell me what the name of those programs are? I'd like to bust some of my students :) Or at least just scare them by just letting them know that I know about those programs.

It's not that big of deal, probably lunch detention. :2wave:

Proxies mostly a large scale one that i made is a version of jappanese google. called calc.exe its hugely used in my school. i also produce small scale proxies.
 
Are we talking about high schools? Yes, of course they should have firewalls. Kids are stupid and will access **** that they know they shouldn't.
If we're talking about universities, then no.
 
Well, at the school that I teach, some computer classes have software that allows the teacher to view all of the monitors in the classroom. I'm not sure what that software is called, but it's really awesome. Not only does it allow surveillance, but also the teacher can project their own screen onto their students monitors, so everyone stops what their doing and follows along.

I go to Westchester Community College [for now, gotta get the hell out of there in as little time as possible - as in GRADUATE in the minimum time so I can go to the exciting life of a 4-year school again. :(], and all the professors in the Computer Science dept. that I have had take advantage of this. It is great since I don't need to twist my neck to look up at the smart boards when the professor is doing notes, but when I want to try what he/she is showing us in C++ for example, I can't try it along. That is my only complaint.
 
Until the senior year, I don't think that kids have any need to be exposed to computers at all, except possibly for serious students in a technical course of study.

I also don't approve of cooks. janitors or sports programs in schools.


Call me old fashioned, although one would be better advized to call me Milord.
With respect, Milord, the ability to use word processors, presentation software, and computer resources for math and science is essential. No one can really get along without it these days. Research skills for the internet are also essential.

BTW, we could always called you "Sirrah."
 
Im in 11th grade if you must ask and i was simply making a poll now take a chill pill or some roofies to knock you out so i dont have to see you type your rude opinions.

Way to show why we should take you seriously.
 
Yes, but whoever is handling IT at most schools needs to take a little more 'hands on' approach. I know when I was in school it was quite difficult to do research for papers or anything on the school computers because frequently sites would be blocked that shouldn't have been (biology sites were frequently blocked, due to descriptions of human sex organs or sexual reproduction).
 
With respect, Milord, the ability to use word processors, presentation software, and computer resources for math and science is essential. No one can really get along without it these days. Research skills for the internet are also essential.

BTW, we could always called you "Sirrah."

Funny how kids 15 years ago didn't need those those for math and science.
 
Funny how kids 15 years ago didn't need those those for math and science.

Not only that, but note the rapidly declining math and science education and one has to wonder why kids need anything above a calculator. Is basic algebra really that hard? IMO, every high school student should be required to take at least through pre-calculus. Though honestly, pre-calculus is a joke of a course and there's no reason why people can't just learn basic calculus in school.
 
Funny how kids 15 years ago didn't need those those for math and science.
Try living/working without your internet connection or mobile phone for a week. Double points if you're a smartphone user.

The world changes.

As for firewalls; they're more or less a must, but can be really irritating if they aren't implimented well. There's lots on the internet, and schools would get in a looooad of trouble if they facilitated access to some of it.
 
Try living/working without your internet connection or mobile phone for a week. Double points if you're a smartphone user.

You don't actually need any of those. In some instances of professional life, they've been incorporated into it. But it's to expand on previously difficult or unobtainable tasks (and makes us more available for work even in our "off" times). But what kids are learning in school, especially as it relates to math and science for the most part, hasn't gotten more difficult. It's not like "Oh hey, here are computers....now we're going to learn about partial differential equations and numeric algorithms for solving inverse problems!". It's still mostly basic algebra. Only the elite move to take the harder sciences and math, and even then a good calculator will suffice.

I'll grant the computer in terms of a word processor, but other than that it's not exactly necessary.
 
I'll grant the computer in terms of a word processor, but other than that it's not exactly necessary.
Oh, absolutely. But then, the purpose of technology has always been 'to make life easier', even if it sometimes fails at the task.

We don't need computers to teach kids science. It's just that it helps, from time to time, to give kids internet access - especially with some of the more recent assessment methods, where doing research has been given much more prevelance.

IT is just another tool. We don't need pens either, or whiteboards; we could make do with pencils and chalk.
 
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