off in my head.
I was at a 1:1 school at one point, but we did not require that students
take the computers home, and mandated, via curriculum, that teachers
assign homework that did not require a computer or internet access - we
were, of course, a school that had a large number low income students and
it was out of our realm to mandate that students have internet access.
However, as a thought, and I'm sure there are all sorts of logistics that
would come with this, has anyone explored mandating that families obtain
internet access on their own as a pre-requisite for enrollment? If your
curriculum requires the student to be online at all times, you may need to
explore putting the burden of this on the parents...and in writing. Make
reccomendations, but make it clear that if they are participating in your
program, the burden is on them to equip their child properly. This would
be equivalent to schools that require students purchase their own books,
etc. You can make reccomendations, but that is where your responsibility
ends.
As far as the web filter goes, a little thing called parental supervision
goes a long way (my parent internet safety talks have always emphasized
that). I see no reason why the school should provide home web filtering.
However, I'm also of the less-the-better school of thought when it comes
to filtering, in general. If it's a behaviour problem, it should be
treated like one. I've implemented filtering, but only to preserve
network and computer integrity. I don't like to use it as a replacement
for dicipline and appropriate supervision.
A forum for independent school educators <ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU> writes:
> I'm sure all of the 1:1 schools would agree
>that ubiquitous access is critical at school AND at home
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