Access Denied

Access denied....Access denied...Access denied....

Utter frustration is all that I feel.

Once again, I have been denied by my districts firewalls to access various websites that I need for class. I understand the necessity to have things in place to protect the school and the students from accessing certain sites, but why can't the building trust the teachers?

I want to create meaningful lessons for my students that engage them. One way to do this is by making it relevant. I thought connecting the content to short videos would be great...too bad I can't access any site like YouTube or even MSN video. I learned about a great site for geography teachers called Google Earth. Denied, we wouldn't want students or teachers learning about the geography of the Earth. I am at a loss, so I go to ask some of my colleagues for ideas or maybe my professors, but once again....Access denied. I guess the University of Minnesota's website is too controversial for me to look at. I create a website so that my students can access resources, assignments, and information from home. I was unpleasantly surprised when I tried to open the site from school, again denied. This isn't even mentioning the disservice this policy has on our students learning.

I want my students to construct sites that help them understand the content. I want them to share the information they are learning and find people who have similar academic interests. I want them to develop a better understanding together, each adding the information that they know. I really think these types of things will increase ownership, engagement, meaning, and in turen learning. However, this is not possible when every wiki site, blogging site, and web creation site is blocked. There is no space for students to do an online chat and they certainly couldn't use a social bookmarking site, like del.icio.us, because that is far too risky. There seems to be no way for my students to share information utilizing technology in a meaningful way, because it is all blocked.

So, here in lies the dilemma. How am I supposed to use all of these valuable pieces of technology I am learning about in my classroom if the students and I do not have access to it? How can I prepare them for the digital age we live in when the district is still ruminating in the stone age? I think that a reevaluation of the system is in order, otherwise out students are going to be the ones who are left behind and suffer. In the end it will be learning....

denied.