The Ups and Downs of Internet Availability

I think that we have all found ourselves at one point or another looking at a computer screen in our respective school, frustrated and angry that we cannot access helpful supplements for our lessons because the Internet is so heavily censored. It happened to me one day in a class where I wanted to show a clip from the film 1776, which is a relatively light hearted but still good depiction of the American Revolution. The clip I wanted to show was a conversation between the Ben Franklin character and the John Adams character, there was nothing inappropriate about it but I could not show it. I went to the IT department and requested access to the site. I was told that if I was given access then the kids would want it and then they would have  "major problem." Ms. Bennett makes a good point that our students have access to the Internet at home and can access what we want them to see there but once they enter school, they cannot. I would love for all my students to be able to watch what I want them to watch but there is also the ever looming possibility that there will always be those students who will ruin it. Unless the students were being monitored in what they were searching for I think unblocking Internet access would be a difficult thing to do. Having full access to the Internet in school can be pretty great for a teacher. If I could use resources like the BBC network or the Smithsonian site, I believe that it would only enhance my lessons. Youtube can be a gift and a curse. The English Companion Website is a great resource. I love the idea that there are specific websites for each subject that teachers can join. After getting approval from the administrator the user has full permission to explore and take part in discussions and even be a part of book clubs! Which for a teacher who loves to use literature in my lessons, I think this is a wonderful idea. There are both online events as well as other conferences that are advertised on the website. There are several different sections on the site for reading, writing and even using Wiki's with your students.