teaching and learning

This week the American House of Representatives passsed the DOPA (Deleting Online Predators Act) by a huge majority (410-15) effectively banning students from accessing collaborative internet sites under the premise that they may lead to encounters with internet predators

Under the legislation not only will sites like myspace be blocked at schools, but other collaborative tools like instant messaging and perhaps even email.

One critic writes:

This unnecessary and overly broad legislation will hinder students’
ability to engage in distance learning and block library computer users
from accessing a wide array of essential Internet applications
including instant messaging, email, wikis and blogs.

“Under DOPA, people who use library and
school computers as their primary conduits to the Internet will be
unfairly blocked from accessing some of the web’s most powerful
emerging technologies and learning applications. As libraries are
already required to block content that is “harmful to minors” under the
Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA), DOPA is redundant and unnecessary legislation.

Tied to Federal funding, schools will have little choice but to go along with this legislation, which seems to have a gigantic misunderstanding of the nature of these sites at the heart of it. Will Richardson, who I respect a lot, is quoted as saying:

Since the language of the bill would prohibit use of any
website at a US school by students or teachers where the kids have a
“profile”: this would stop use of all blogs and social networking
software. I am thinking this means students would not even be able to
access, much less post, to WikiPedia.

TeacherSource | learning.now . Panic! at the Capitol: The House Passes DOPA | PBS

Blogged with Flock