Local Sustainability and Obscene Materials on the Internet

It is common for teachers to be called upon to help raise Internet awareness for the local community and leadership. Awareness presentations need to be as simple and nontechnical as possible. Sustainability for online school connectivity, and for teachers providing mentoring services, depends heavily on the success of teachers imparting to local leaders a thorough understanding of those issues which might be problematic legally and/or politically.

During 1995, the media sensationalized the Internet as primarily a vehicle for pornography, bomb-making, and pedophile contact with children. The burden of proof of Internet educational quality has fallen on the teachers.

Censorship and Child Safety
A great deal has been written about the fact that the Internet is uncensored and objectionable materials are easily available to anyone with full access.

While there are many ways objectionable material can be blocked from student access, all can be bypassed. Hence, many schools are focusing on moral strategies for teaching students to become responsible Internet users. Review the following resources:

Child Safety on the Information Highway

Authorized Usage Policies (AUPs)
The single biggest issue is school liability if minors come in contact with objectionable materials. The standard policy is to have parents sign a legal waiver agreeing to your school's authorized usage policy.

Read AUP.Cal and; AUP.Kings
Other good sources of AUP information:
http://www.erehwon.com/k12aup