Taste of Tech

Hopefully by this point, you’ve put the cybersafety issue into perspective, implemented some basic measures to protect your kids online, and used resources to help teach kids how to protect themselves. Now it’s time to talk about filtering Internet access.

Conceptually, web filters are very simple. When using a filtered computer, requests for web pages, pictures, and other resources are first sent to the filter. Based on keywords, databases of allowed or blocked sites, and other factors, the filter determines if access to the resource should be allowed. If it is, the filter allows the computer to access it. If it isn’t, the filter blocks access to it.

It’s important to know that all filters have limitations, and some of them are pretty significant. With thousands of web pages being added, removed, and modified on a daily basis, it is impossible for any database to keep up with the ever-changing list of sites that should be blocked based on a certain set of criteria. It is also much more difficult to filter multimedia (pictures, audio, video) than it is to filter text. Text can easily be compared with certain blocked words to determine the nature of the content. It’s a lot more difficult for a computer to tell if the people in that picture have clothes on.

This problem is complicated by the increasing interactivity of the web. As more and more sites allow viewers to contribute their own content, they lose some of the control of those sites. It’s possible, for example, for someone to post inappropriate content in a comment on a CNN.com news story. That doesn’t necessarily mean Internet filters should block CNN.

It is also worth noting that a determined person can nearly always circumvent the filter entirely. Because students read this blog, I’m not going to go into too much detail here, but if you can get a web request to go directly to the Internet, rather than through the filter, you can access anything you want.

The final caveat, before we start talking about filtering solutions, is to note that many web filters are just that — WEB filters. They may not filter content in email, instant messages, or other types of Internet activity.

With all of that said, there are two basic types of filters available. The more complex of these is installed on a server. Computers on the network are configured (or forced) to access the web through this server. This has the major advantage that the computers being filtered are not running the filtering software. This makes it much more difficult (though not impossible) to disable or circumnavigate the filter. Because this requires a local network, server, and (maybe) packet routing and filtering, we’re going to assume that this is beyond the scope of most home users.

The other type of web filter uses software or a software configuration on the computer itself. While this has the disadvantage of being defeated by those being filtered if they can change the settings or uninstall the software, it is a much more manageable solution for most parents.

Filters
All right. Enough with the caveats and provisos. Where are the filters, already? Here are some free ones that come pretty highly recommended. The descriptions are paraphrased from the web sites for the software:

K-9 Web Protection: This software prevents the computer user from viewing Web sites that contain unwanted content. It can block more than 55 different categories of content, including pornography, hate speech and sites that promote violence or permit gambling. It’s free for home use.

Naomi: Naomi is a free internet filtering program intended for families. It is able to constantly monitor all internet connections, protecting children from inappropriate online material. Naomi examines in real-time all the data being transmitted and received through any internet application - such as web browers, chat programs, and news readers.

OpenDNS Adult Site Blocking: Adult site blocking is a free service that lets you block adult websites on your network. The software uses site categories compiled by St. Bernard Software, who have human-reviewed tens of millions of domains, to make sure you get the most comprehensive, easy-to-use adult site blocking service ever.

X3Watch: Rather than blocking access to inappropriate sites, this software simply logs the access, and emails those logs to a person you specify. It’s used more to monitor access than control it. The free version contains the basic features, and there’s also an advanced version available for a fee.

I haven’t actually used any of these products, but from what I’ve read, they seem to be the best of the free products. If I were setting up filtering in my home, I would start with one of these.

“The object of teaching a child is to enable him to get along without a teacher.”

– Elbert Hubbard

In the first part of this series, we tried to cut through some of the irrational fears about online safety and put the issue into perspective. In part 2, we looked at some tips for parents to help keep their kids safe online. Now, it’s time to turn our attention to teaching children to protect themselves.

As children grow, they become more independent, gain more freedom, and take on more responsibility. When my daughter was a preschooler, she decided she was going to visit her friend. The friend lived six houses away, on the same side of the street. She knew that if she just followed the sidewalk, she’d get there, so off she went. Mom, of course, wasn’t very happy about this when she found her daughter halfway down the street. Now, she’s bigger. She can go to her friend’s house by herself (when she’s not grounded). She can go to the park that’s a few backyards away. She can’t yet go to the high school that’s slightly farther away. As they grow, the kids gain new freedom. The boundaries and limits change. But they also have to take the responsibility for their behavior along with it.

In my house, we recently instituted a change in how the TV is managed. Previously, we had several different profiles on the satellite receiver. The default one, which the kids used, only had access to about half a dozen channels, and there were pretty serious rating limits. Now there are more channels available, and the kids have access to DVR’d programs. But they’re much better about self-regulating, choosing appropriate programs, and limiting the amount of time they spend in front of the TV. It also helps that Mom and Dad set expectations for TV use, with rewards and consequences based on the choices they make.

The Internet isn’t much different. There are some things on the Internet that aren’t for kids. There are also some things kids shouldn’t share online. They shouldn’t tell people where they live. They shouldn’t give their passwords out to their friends. As they get older, they have to be concerned with pictures and video they upload. They also have to protect their online reputations, since most of this stuff is public. And, they have to know when to allow things to be public and when to protect it.

How do we teach this? Here are some pretty good resources:

NetSmartzKids has a number of games, videos, activities, and other resources for elementary kids. They address everything from password privacy and stranger danger to computer viruses in a compelling, kid-friendly way. For older students, NetSmartz Teens takes the privacy lessons a step further, and also addresses cyberbullying and online enticement.

Think U Know has resources for students aged 5-7, 8-10, and 11-16. The resources for younger kids include the Hector’s World cartoon series on online safety. In addition to teaching kids how to be careful online, they also address the etiquette issues of being nice to one another. For older children, the Cyber Cafe is a place to have fun while learning about online safety. The resources for teens also address mobile phone use, chatting, social networking, and blogging.

Social Safety offers a free packet on online safety for teens. It’s definitely written from the fear perspective, with the assumptions that Law & Order episodes mirror real life, and that people who contact you online are probably just trying to kidnap, rape or kill you. But in the right context, it might be a useful resource.

Safekids and Safeteens are web sites that have good resources for children and teens for staying safe online. While it’s mostly textual information, does give useful information from an authoritative source.

X-Block is another resource for older students. It’s a much more interactive resource, giving students a way to participate in social networking on a limited basis while learning the basics of online safety.

Regardless of the method used, we have to teach our children to protect themselves online. We can’t always be looking over their shoulders to protect them. We have to set expectations of responsible behavior, teach them what those behaviors are, trust them to make good decisions, and then follow up with positive and negative consequences based on their choices.

In the first part of this series, we examined the issue of cybersafety. Hopefully, we dispelled some myths and put the issue into perspective. While it’s important to protect our kids online, and it’s important to teach them to protect themselves, it is not at all likely that our children will become the victims of cybercrime, even if they haven’t been schooled on the best practices to avoid online predators. Now, we’ll start getting into the more useful stuff. This is the condensed overview — the sound byte version of how to keep kids safe online. The biggest thing to remember is that we’re balancing a lot of factors here. Consider this analogy, which comes from the Byron Review:

This is no different to how we think about managing risk for children in the offline world, where decreasing supervision and monitoring occurs with age as we judge our children to be increasing in their competence to identify and manage risks. So, when we teach our children to cross the road safely we do it in stages:

• We hold their hand when they cross the road.
• We teach them to think, look both ways and then cross.
• When we see that they are starting to understand this we let them cross walking beside us, without holding on to them.
• Eventually we let them do it alone, maybe watching from a distance at first, but then unsupervised.
• And throughout this, the environment supports them with signs and expected behaviour from others in the community – the green man, zebra crossings, speed limits and other responsible adults.

Depending on the age and experience of the child, then, you have to take measures to both protect and teach. As they become more experienced online, we also have to loosen the reins a little. Then, there are inevitably the elements of trust and privacy that will come into play as children move through adolescence. There aren’t any hard and fast rules for when changes need to take place. It all depends on the children, the parents, and the relationships between them. That being said, here are some boiler-plate suggestions for getting started:

Put the computer in a public place: If the computer is in the kitchen (as ours is) or in the family room, or in some other public part of the house, children are much less likely to do things online they know they’re not supposed to do. You don’t have to constantly look over their shoulders — you can see what they’re doing from across the room or just by walking by. It allows you to monitor what’s going on without giving the impression that you’re spying.

Give them a place to start: Set your computer’s home page to a kid-friendly starting place. Use a tool like Protopage to provide links to sites they use frequently. Embed some kid-friendly search tools. If they’re always starting with a Google search box, they could end up anywhere.

Set time limits: Just as children shouldn’t be spending hours on end in front of the TV, they shouldn’t be spending hours and hours online. Set reasonable limits based on the age of the children, other activities and responsibilities they have, and the needs of others in the family to have access to the technology.

Discuss “private” versus “public”: Children need to understand that there are some things we can share with people online, and there are other things we should keep private. Many children are confused by the online concept of “friend.” Online friends in social networks can’t necessarily be trusted as much as you’d trust a friend from school.

Monitor one-on-one communication: If your child has an email account, configure it to send copies of all of the messages to you. If you can set limits on who they can send and receive email from, do it. My first and third graders both have their own email accounts, but they can only email their parents and grandparents, and Mom and Dad get copies of all of their messages.

Learn about the technology: You can’t keep up with all of the buzzwords and technologies. You probably have some idea about Myspace and Facebook. Do you know what Twitter is? How about ooVoo? Pownce? Parents of younger kids probably have a good idea about what Webkinz is. But do you know about Bella Sara? If you’re looking for a great place to get an overview of a lot of new web tools, check out the Common Craft videos. Google has partnered with Common Sense Media to help parents and educators teach children to be safe online. This video gives a good overview of many of the issues, and provides some common-sense tips for parents and teachers:

In the next part of the series, we’ll look at some online resources to help kids learn to be safe online.

I’ve received a couple questions lately about keeping kids safe online. We see news reports all the time about the danger of social networking sites, and the problems with posting personal information online, and the number of children who have been exposed to inappropriate material online. Today, I’m starting a series of blog posts about cybersafety to take a fairly comprehensive view of the issue and what we can do about it.

Today, we’re starting with a look at the problem itself. Maybe you’ve heard about the softball player who was stalked by someone she met online. She thought he was a 14-year-old boy halfway across the country instead of a 40-year-old man in her town (the story is fiction, by the way). We’ve seen plenty of news items about how dangerous the Internet is for kids. Most of them cite statistics that claim that one out of every seven teens with Internet access has been sexually solicited online. We hear stories about children and teens getting tricked into meeting online predators. Theoretically, all of those things can happen. But the problem may not be as serious as many would have you believe.

Take, for example, the one-in-seven statistic. That comes from Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later, a report from from the Crimes Against Children Research Center. Here’s what the report actually says:

…approximately 1 in 7 youth Internet users (13%) received unwanted sexual solicitations or approaches in the past year. Close to half of the solicitations were relatively mild events that did not appear to be dangerous or frightening. Four (4) percent of all youth Internet users, however, received aggressive sexual solicitations, which threatened to spill over into “real life” because the solicitor asked to meet the youth in person; called them on the telephone; or sent them offline mail, money, or gifts. Also 4% of youth Internet users had distressing sexual solicitations that left them feeling very or extremely upset or afraid. Two (2) percent of youth had solicitations that were both aggressive and distressing.

So while the implication is that 13% of our teens are being stalked by predators, the reality is that only 4% of teens are upset or afraid, and only half of them were in situations where the person tried to initiate offline contact. While one in fifty is still a serious problem, it’s not on the same scale as one in seven. A panel discussion of these findings took place recently among experts meeting in Washington, D.C. Video and transcripts of this discussion are online.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project studied teens and online stranger contact in 2007. They found that nearly a third of online teens have been contacted online by someone with no connection to them or their friends. That’s not too surprising. I meet new people online all the time. It’s not necessarily any more dangerous than striking up a conversation with someone in line at the store, or the people in adjacent seats at a concert or sporting event. Considering the facts that they count social networking friend requests and spam email messages in this count, I’m surprised that the number isn’t higher. A more important number is the percent of teens who have been contacted by a stranger online who made them feel frightened or uncomfortable. The Pew study reports a figure of 7%. Again, it’s not an insignificant number, but it’s not a third of online teens.

Interestingly, the biggest predictors of stranger contact are social network profiles and posting photos online. Teens who have publicly-viewable profiles on social networking sites, or who have posted photographs of themselves online are twice as likely to be contacted by people they don’t know.

Writing in the New York Times, David Pogue points to some of the findings reported in a recent PBS Frontline documentary, Growing Up Online. Pogue points to several quotes from producer Rachel Dretzin, including these:

The data shows that giving out personal information over the Internet makes absolutely no difference when it comes to a child’s vulnerability to predation.

The vast majority of kids who do end up having contact with a stranger they meet over the Internet are seeking out that contact.

All the kids we met, without exception, told us the same thing: They would never dream of meeting someone in person they’d met online.

These statements directly contradict most of the cyber-safety information that’s intended to help protect kids. The first item, certainly, contradicts the Pew report I just mentioned.

The Byron Review released its report on cybersafety in March, 2007 (an executive summary and a guide for students are also available). The report focuses on video games, media content, and Internet use among children and teens. I like the analogy to swimming. The odds that you are going to die by drowning are approximately 1 in 1100. Yet we still have swimming pools and water parks. We still go to the beach. Some people even have dangerous bathing tubs in their own homes. We put up fences around the pools. We post signs warning about the dangers of drowning. We post lifeguards in busy swimming areas. We have shallow ends. We do everything we can to protect people from the danger. But at the same time, we also teach people how to swim, so they can protect themselves.

Conclusions? Children need to be protected online. Certainly. Especially at younger ages. As they get older, they need to learn how to protect themselves. This is really important, and cyber-safety is something we should be addressing with every student. But it’s not more important than teaching kids how to cross the street or ride a bike. The Internet is not more dangerous than firearms or alcohol or cars, all of which kill a significant number of teens each year. The problem calls for a balanced, reasoned approach. And we’ll start there with part 2.

Earlier this week, I was asked to respond to an inquiry from one of our high school students. He’s writing an article for the school paper about technology in the schools, and he had several questions about how technology has changed society and school since the start of the millennium. Because this was an inquiry about the high school, my remarks are more 9-12 focused than they normally would be.

Which changes in technology have you noticed in the past 8 years?
The biggest change I’ve seen is 24/7 access to technology and networks. We’re connected now in ways that weren’t feasible just a few years ago. Look at something as simple as a phone. In the last decade, we’ve switched from the idea that phones are tied to places (home phone, work phone, etc.) to phones that are tied to people. Everybody has a phone, and it’s with them and on all the time. We’re not using email as much anymore, because it’s too slow. Now we’ve moved on to text messaging and Twitter and other more immediate forms of communication.

The other big thing is social networking. The Internet has become a much more interactive place. In the 90’s, we were talking about using the web for research. There are all kinds of resources available out there. We have to be able to find them, filter them, figure out what’s relevant, and then use them in responsible ways. Now, that’s only part of the picture. You can go to CNN and read a story and then comment on it. Or blog about it. And people read those comments and make their own comments about your comments. You can create your own music and video and upload it and share it and remix it and do some really creative things. The Pew Internet and American Life Project reports that 2/3 of teens create content and post it online. That’s a huge change from just a few years ago. You can also keep track of what your friends are doing and reading and thinking about, and what their friends are up to. We’re building our own networks to tell us what’s important. The Internet has become interactive.

How have they affected our lives?
These changes affect where we go for information, and how we consume it. A generation ago, everyone read the morning newspaper and watched the evening news. That’s how we found out about what was happening in the world. That changed in the 80’s with the advent of the 24-hour news channels. Now, we find out about news as it’s happening. That means that we get the story in pieces. We have a hard time figuring out where the credible sources are, and who has accurate information.

That also means we tend to get inaccurate information, so our understanding of “truth” is constantly changing. On 9/11, if you were watching CNN, they were reporting that the plane hitting the North tower of the World Trade Center was a horrific — but accidental — crash. They were trying to figure out how the plane got off course, or what conditions led to this. It wasn’t until the second plane hit that anyone realized we were under attack. Of course, by the time the news came around at 6:30 that night, we knew a lot more. And when the papers came out the next morning, we had a much better idea of what was going on. But that initial rush was kind of chaotic, and, to a large degree, inaccurate.

Earlier this year, we had a gas leak at the high school, and the building was evacuated as a precaution. No one was quite sure what was going on, and the rumors started almost immediately. Lots of people have cell phones, and they started messaging each other and their parents. Within a few minutes, the high school and board office were getting calls from parents and the news media wanting to know what was going on. I think a lot of adults were frustrated by that, because no one was really sure what was happening, and the school didn’t want to give out inaccurate information. But the technology meant that it was easier to get the information out. Once the school had a handle on the situation, the AlertNow emergency notification system was used to contact parents and let them know what happened.

What technological changes have been made to the school and how have they helped us?
Looking back at the last eight years, a lot has changed. It’s actually hard to believe that we didn’t have computers in every classroom until 2003. In that time, we have also added 30 laptops to the media center, more than doubled the number of desktops in the media center, and added two computer labs. We have wireless network access in the media center and cafeteria (and sometimes outside), so students can use their own devices to access the Internet. We’re doing a lot more with online learning tools like WebAssign and Moodle. While some students see that as a bad thing, those tools help keep homework relevant and tie the work you’re doing outside of class with the things happening in class. At the same time, it helps the teacher make more productive use of class time.

The addition of SMART Boards this year has changed instruction in a number of classrooms. Teachers are excited about sharing their notes online, reviewing material covered earlier, and using some of the built-in software tools to enhance instruction.

Which changes have proven detrimental to society?
I think we’re now in an always-on society, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. If I turn everything off and get away from the technology for the evening, I return to about 40-50 email messages, 30 Twitter messages, 4-5 missed Skype conversations, and a couple voicemail messages. Sometimes we get hung up on the idea that if we’re not connected, we’re missing something. We’re not spending as much time reading and thinking and writing and interacting face-to-face. Look at this interview. I’m typing this in an email message [and, later, editing it in a blog post], and you’re presumably going to read it at some point and do some copying and pasting and rewording in order to write your article. But we’re not interacting, so we both miss the personality and spontaneity of a real conversation. So while this is more convenient, we’re still missing something.

I think we also don’t realize the permanence of things we share online. Once something’s on the Internet, it’s out there forever. I’ve found things online that I wrote in forums in 1989. From a student’s perspective, it’s hard to wrap your mind around that. How are you going to feel about that picture or video or blog post in 15 or 20 years, or what are your kids going to think about it when they find it online? When you Google your parents, you probably don’t find much. But that won’t be the same for your kids. A lot of employers (including some people in the school district) look at social networks and blogs and in all kinds of places for information about their applicants. So maintaining your online image is something you have to worry about now.

Our school?
It’s easier to hit and run. A lot of people are fooled into thinking that they can be anonymous online. So they say things about people that they wouldn’t say to their faces. Or they take things that don’t belong to them. Or they destroy or deface someone else’s work. I think we’ve seen an erosion of that sense of personal responsibility — that I am responsible for the choices I make and the actions I take.

What do you see in the future of technology?
Smaller. Faster. Cheaper. I’d like to see us stop buying textbooks. Most of your books are around $100 each. That’s a lot of money, a lot of paper, and a lot of pounds in the backpack. I’d like to see us moving toward digital books that you can put on your mp3 player, or a little laptop or pda.

I also see us doing more with connective technologies. When I was in college, I worked for a company that made auto parts. One of the pieces we made was the tail light assembly for the Ford Thunderbird. It had about 30 light bulbs in it. We would make the parts in Ohio, and ship them to Asia. There, they would pay workers a few cents an hour to put the light bulbs in. Then, they would ship them back to the US to put them in the cars. Of course, they did that because it was cheaper than paying someone here to put the light bulbs in. And that was 20 years ago. With the Asian and Indian labor markets opening up, we’re seeing a lot more of that kind of thing. Increasingly, they’re doing more skilled jobs, too.

Globalization is here. You’re going to be working with people from all over the world. Lots of people in education are talking about 21st Century Skills. We need to prepare students to be innovative thinkers and collaborators. You need to be information-literate. Technology will help with all of those. But the biggest thing it can do is put you in touch with other people who aren’t living in Ohio, or the US, or North America. I regularly use Internet telephony software to talk to people all over the US, in Canada, in Europe, and in Australia. Ironically, I can call up my friend Jason in Sydney, Australia, and talk to him for free. But I have to pay extra to call into school from home because it’s “long distance.” When this whole crisis erupted in Tibet, I knew someone who has lived there, and talked to him about it. When the wildfires were burning in California last fall, I knew someone who lived a few miles from there. It makes the world a much more personal place. And those are the kinds of experiences students need to be having too. And it’ll come.