Question:
Many web sites have both valuable content for the classroom and small amounts of unfortunate, inappropriate content, as well. This is especially true with the many sites where the public can contribute their own content, such as videos. As a teacher, do you completely avoid sites which have a small amount of "bad" content or try to devise ways to use only the good portions of these sites with your students?
Replies:
WA
I have no choice; if there is any chance of inappropriate content, we cannot get on the site at school. Even google images is blocked. I would love to use appropriate contnet from places such as youtube, but don't have that option.
Barbara De Santis - Sayreville, NJ
Our job as teachers is to help students learn the good from the bad- not just show all the good things. www.wordle.net is a great graphic organizer- yet the public gallery is not meant for all- I use the site- have my students print their work- and tell them the gallery is a public place and I don't want their work publically shown.
GA
I pretty much avoid those sites if possible. On rare occasions, there will be something that is so good that I really need to use it with my students anyway. In that case, I do my best to steer them around the bad content if at all possible. I may give them a link just to the page that has what we need and not allow them to roam the entire site. On occasion, we will discuss the content and what makes it inappropriate for students. This is only when it's unavoidable in use of the good parts.
KY
One of the sites of the type described above is utube. I do use it when there is a video clip on it that is appropriate for my classes. I am fortunate in that our technology allows me to put what the students are seeing and where they are logged in on my computer screen. All the computers are numbered and those numbers appear on my screen under what they are currently watching. In this way I can keep control.
Sharon Hogan - Tampa, FL
As a second grade teacher, I check all sites my students use in class. If there is any "unfortunate" content, the site is not used. There are so many sites that are appropriate, I won't waste my students' time on the poor ones. My students' parents appreciate my site checks and trust me to give their students what is good. They also use those same sites at home with confidence.
DC
Many of those sites are blocked at my school. To get around that, I use programs such as YouConvertIt to download appropriate YouTube videos so that I can show them during class.
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