Bit By Bit

Reflection on:
Overcoming Obstacles
“Internet Access with Minimal Filtering”

by Shawn Nutting

This was a great presentation and very timely and useful for me. Cheryl and I are both working on our final presentation for the k12 Online Conference class, which is centered on community/parent involvement. We are in the beginning stages in working with parents and the workshops have been primarily focused on the safety issues, but we hope that they also evolve into more training for parents in the new and exciting Internet tools.

Shawn is already doing great work with parents, and we have much to learn from him. I really liked the idea of the Tech Tips newsletters geared towards parents (“Bridging the Gap with Technology” and the “Geekly Weekly”). His proactive approach is one that Cheryl and I have been thinking about… in other words, help educate the community about the issues (benefits and risks) before issues actually arise. I like what Shawn said towards the end, that the success will happen due to “Team Work”. It is the entire team — educators, community members, parents, students — working together, that will best serve the students.

The issues of Internet Safety, filtering, etc. are huge, and I believe will be with us for quite some time. It is an unfortunate reality that we need to protect our students in ways that didn’t exist before, and that these new tools can create hazards and barriers to learning. I do believe that the more we come together as an informed collective, the smoother this journey will be.

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