Filtering for school supplied laptops

[DmOrtega]

My kids school district has supplied 1500+ middle school students with iMac laptop computers with Wi-Fi accessability. They are expected to carry the laptops home each night. While at school there is filtering, however once outside of the schools connection there is none. We currently are running Net Nanny on our pc at home. When my ds gets home, he can unplug our pc, plug in his laptop to the dsl connection and he's on the internet without Net Nanny. Also, if he can find an area the has open Wi-Fi connections, all he needs to do is connect to the network and he's on the internet. I've talked with the principal of his school and has been told that I should call my isp to see if I can "exert parental controls" through them. We are currently not allowed to put anything onto the laptop as it is school property. Are any of your kids involved in a program like this and if so, what does the school supply for filtering on the computer?

[mbrogier]

I would be taking that up with the school board so fast their heads would spin.

I'm not sure that your internet provider can do much from their end or would want to--it's not their responsibility. Also most of their stuff is for PCs. I'll ask my husband, who manages a dot com if there is something you could try.

If the school is giving MIDDLE SCHOOL CHILDREN laptops with Wi-Fi, they should make them safe to use. This is extremely irrisponsible IMHO.

ETA--the reason the principal is thinking the ISP can do something is because Net Nanny is on the school's servers. It isn't the same with the ISP--multiple servers, and they're not going to dictact everyone's isp address and who needs Net Nanny and who doesn't. I'm sure it isn't something that the rep that sold the computer mentioned.

[DmOrtega]

This was my response to the principle:

Thanks for getting back to me. I am disappointed that the schoold district has opened the internet to all of the , 1500+, middle schools kids in **** without giving the parents a means to control access when they are expected to take the laptops home each night. It seems like pandora's box has been opened and we are expected to just deal with it ourselves.

We currently have Net Nanny on our pc at home but it is exclusive to the pc not the dsl connectoin. I will contact my isp but that will not change the fact that Wi-Fi can be picked up anywhere there is an open connection. Filtering needs to be done at the pc level for it to be effective. How can you expect every family to just take care of it? I realize that all filtering will not handle every situations, however there is none when these pc's are taken away from school. Sure the kids signed an agreement to behave responsibly but they are still kids. I can't tell you how many websites allows pop-ups, pop-unders, and anything else that can be put onto the screen, just to entice people. If this isn't changed, many kids will be facing images and ideas that they would never have come across, all for the sake of education.

[tbb113]

I believe the theory behind issuing the kids lap-tops are that they are supposed to be using them STRICTLY for homework and school related work. Therefore, the school doesn't feel that they need to provide filtering software.

Maybe I'm naive (or that I have relatively good kids) but I do allow my children full acess to the web and always have allowed it. To my knowledge they have only gone to sites that I'm okay with (and even if they haven't I wouldn't freak out.)

[DmOrtega]

I agree, most of the kids are responsible, including mine. The problem is that we have filtering on our pc for a reason. 1) to keep track of what they are doing, 2) to restrict the times that they can use the pc and 3) to keep as much unwanted internet material out of our house as possible. Even good kids can pull up things that they never intended to get. It even happens with us adults. Try typing in something wrong and see where it takes you. The school told us that there is filtering, they just didn't say very loud that it stopped when they left school. They seem to see the importance of having it at school. What makes them think we would not want it at home, or wherever the laptop goes?

[tbb113]

The school told us that there is filtering, they just didn't say very loud that it stopped when they left school. They seem to see the importance of having it at school. What makes them think we would not want it at home, or wherever the laptop goes?

I missed this part. I agree that filtering may be appropriate and if the school has it on their server at school I guess it should be on the laptops.

[DmOrtega]

I just want to make myself clear and not come off as sounding like a lunatic. :)

[Dfen911]

Oh lord I am having to type this over because my browser refreshed.

Ok on the laptop open a browser window. Doesn't matter what the home page is.

Up at the top click on Tools > Internet Options. This will open a window. Click on the Privacy Tab. Then click on the Sites Tab (middle left). This will allow you to put in specific sites you wish to block. I suggest www.rotten.com. This site is horrible for it's content and very popular with the kids.

Put in whatever sites you wish to block. Next click on the Content Tab at the top. Click on Enable. Select what you wish to enable, for example "Sex. If you drag the pull bar it will tell you what it's going to block. The more you pull to the right the higher the restrictions. Also once you click on the Content Tab, then the Enable Button, there is a General Tab at the top. Here you can create a password that only you know so they can't reset the settings.

Hope this helps!

[mbrogier]

I talked with my husband, and he did say that everything was software based not hardware. He said there were a few ISP's that filtered, but most were dial up and extremely slow or not available everywhere.

I would be more concerned because these are middle school children, not high school aged. By the time you're a junior or senior you've pretty much heard about it all so it isn't such a shock if it pops up on your screen.

I think parents just need to realize that kids know how to get around blocks. Histories can be deleted so it doesn't look like you went anywhere you shouldn't have (and sometimes kids are just curious and wonder where the rabbit hole ends). I like Dfense's idea of blocking certain sites that you know are trouble. I do think open discussion is better. My parents had no clue about computers. I think some of the places that are trouble are these chat type message board sites where people can put up photos/bios of themselves and talk to others. There's some pretty bad stuff on those boards for kids. Also parents, www.urbandictionary.com is your friend. Know what your kids are being exposed to.

[mbrogier]

Oh my. I had never heard of rotten.com I clicked on the link, but didn't go farther than the first page. I did a google search and found this Salon article.
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/03/05/rotten/ You have got to be kidding me. Kids look at this? and parents worry about them seeing CSI?

[Dfen911]

There is also Google Desktop. I have it running on my daughter's computer and it keeps track of all the instant messaging, webpage. You just do a search for a keyword and it will show you everything on that pc that's been viewed or talked it.

My daughter is 16, a straight 'A' student. I trust her a lot, about 90%. I always keep that 10% in reserve because let's face it, they're children. Their brains are not developed enough to make reasonable choices and they succumb to peer pressure(s).

The internet is a very scary place, particularly with the chatters being so popular. It amazes me to this day what a "stalker" can find out about our kids, and what our kids are learning via the internet rather than discussing with their parents. Sure it may be an embarassing subject, but better they hear it from us with explanations than something their minds can't quite wrap around yet.

[blazedog]

Curious as to whether you would also read your children's diaries, listen in on their telephone conversations, intercept mail and snoop in their rooms for hidden stuff.

The kids I have known intimately were all given completely free access to the internet, books, reading material etc. and traversed adolescence quite successfully -- I don't quite understand the paranoia since most kids I have known are pretty discerning about the stuff on the internet -- beyond IM with their friends, their chief activity was finding music to steal. :)

[Dfen911]

Here's why...do I read my daughters journal? No...but I would if her personality 'changed'. That would be the first place I would look for clues.

Do I monitor what is on her computer. Yes! Without question! I am her parent and it is my responsibility to ensure her safety. I make sure she wears her seatbelt, I've taught her not to talk to strangers...did you know that kids will not talk to a stranger in the mall, but will respond to one on an instant message chatter?

I have been an online sysop since 1991. I have seen and experienced the very worst the internet has to offer. I've been the lure, acting like a 13 year old girl, to stop molesters.

A child under the age of 18 should never have "free unlimted accesss" to the internet. This is why they are called children.

I know I sound like a harsh person, but I speak from experience. Some of which will haunt me until the day I die. One incident sent me to a therapist because I couldn't get past the horror of what I witnessed happening to an 11 year girl..all because of the internet. The internet has taken small child porn groups to a level that is catastropic.

It's one thing to trust your child...but do you trust every "Tom, Dick, Harry and Sue" that's there on the other side providing the info, the lure, the tempation?

[DmOrtega]

Curious as to whether you would also read your children's diaries, listen in on their telephone conversations, intercept mail and snoop in their rooms for hidden stuff.

If I felt that it was warranted, absolutley. My kids know this fact. We have some pretty open conversations about moral values, what is accepted behavior and what is not accepted behavior. As I stated above, most kids, including mine are pretty decent and honest kids. They have already been exposed to so much more information than I, at their age. That doesn't make it good for them. Why should I knowingly subject my kids to the dark side of society? They know it exists but they don't need to be exposed to it on a continual basis. I personally want my whole family to feel comfortable while using the internet, as it's an awesome resource tool.



The kids I have known intimately were all given completely free access to the internet, books, reading material etc. and traversed adolescence quite successfully -- I don't quite understand the paranoia since most kids I have known are pretty discerning about the stuff on the internet -- beyond IM with their friends, their chief activity was finding music to steal. :)

It isn't paranoia that has me dealing with this. It's the fact that the schools require the kids use the laptops and take them home each night. While at school they are using the filters. If they felt that wasn't warranted, they would not use them. Those same filters should apply, wherever those laptops are, not just at school.

[DmOrtega]

I have spoken with the Director of Instructional Education for the school district about the filters. The laptop program was designed to give the most funtionality with the least restrictions. They are currently looking at Symantic Internet Manager as a possible filter for the laptops. As soon as they find something that is compatible with the school server, they will put in onto the laptops, as needed. Not every family will want or need to have it installed. They have told the parents, most of them, that since they are not supplying internet access that filtering is the responsibilty of each family. Some isp's such as AOL does have parental controls. We don't use AOL nor will we sign up with them for those controls. At least they are working on a viable solution for us.

If anyone has any experience with this kind of program, I'd be happy to pass the information to our school district.