Thank you to all those who responded to the questionnaire regarding the use
of Internet filtering software in FE colleges, from which I believe a
helpful picture of current practice has emerged.
Most respondents were in colleges where Internet filtering software is used.
A variety of products was used; there did not appear to be a consensus that
one product was preferable to others. Decisions on what material should be
blocked are most often made by the IT department in the college, although
various individuals in the college may suggest websites which might be
excluded or included. Most respondents were at least “fairly satisfied”
with the filtering software, although many of these mentioned problems,
which suggest they are happy to have filtering software in place, rather
than that the software is seen to be totally successful. Many respondents
said that the software fails to block material which might be considered to
be offensive, but also that it blocks useful material which is quite
acceptable. One major concern is that users are able to access any
material by the use of proxy websites, which circumvents the filtering.
Opinions on the appropriateness of using filtering, and on the type of
material which should be filtered, were very varied. This must be an
indicator of good practice, in that managers are deciding their own policy,
in the light of their own institution’s needs. One issue which was
frequently mentioned was that of social networking sites, and diverse views
were expressed on the appropriateness of students accessing such material.
Many users want to access such sites, and some respondents mentioned that
educational material may be available from them, or even that coursework
may be uploaded in this form, yet children may be vulnerable in such
environments, and there is some extreme material available. This problem
is likely to continue as Web 2.0 technology becomes more widely used.
Thanks again,
Chris Brown
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