Minimizing Classroom Disruptions

Computers and the internet have become welcome instructional tools in most schools, ushering a wealth of additional resources into today’s classrooms. Unfortunately, they also bring with them the potential for unwanted distractions—such as online content that ranges from off-target, to inappropriate, material.

With the generous support of Faronics, a maker of solutions that help manage,simplify, and secure complex IT environments, we’ve assembled this collection of stories and columns from the eSchool News archives to help you leverage technology’s potential for education, while minimizing classroom disruptions. We hope you’llfind these resources helpful as you seek an appropriate balance in your own institutions.

--The Editors

eSchool News Articles

  • IT Security: Aiming at a moving target
    Wed, Aug 01, 2007 Primary Topic Channel: Computer security
    Two ed-tech leaders and a company president ponder the evolving challenge of protecting school networks
  • Education is the key to better security
    Thu, Mar 01, 2007 Primary Topic Channel:
    A survey by technology reseller CDW-G suggests that schools need to do a better job of educating students, and not just rely on technology-based security solutions, to keep their students and their networks safe.
  • Despite filters, more kids exposed to online porn
    Thu, Mar 01, 2007 Primary Topic Channel: Despite the use of filtering software by parents and schools, a growing number of children and teens are being exposed to online pornography, researchers say—mostly by accidentally viewing sexually explicit web sites while surfing the internet. In a recent survey, 42 percent of internet users aged 10 to 17 said they had seen online pornography in a recent 12-month span. Of those, 66 percent said they did not want to view the images and had not sought them out.

  • Social-networking sites confound schools
    Mon, Nov 20, 2006 Primary Topic Channel: Community
    More than three years after social-networking web sites such as MySpace and Facebook first began cropping up online, school leaders still struggle with how to set policies regarding the use of such sites both inside and outside of school—and many school systems lack these policies altogether, according to a recent survey.
  • Parents sue NYC schools over cell-phone ban
    Fri, Sep 01, 2006 Primary Topic Channel:
    A group of parents, saying they're concerned for the safety of their children, have filed a lawsuit challenging New York City's ban on students having cell phones in public schools. City education officials say cell phones are disruptive and distracting, can be used for cheating on tests, and can be used to coordinate gang activity.
  • Opinion: 'No-cell-phone' rules for students are out of touch
    Fri, Sep 01, 2006 Primary Topic Channel:
    There is tension between techno-cautious school authorities and the techno-savvy students they serve. On first thought, declaring the school a no-cell zone makes sense. But a school-wide "Just Say No Cell" policy oversimplifies complex issues. It solves small problems while entrenching larger ones.
  • New tools make AUP enforcement easier than ever
    Tue, Mar 01, 2006 Primary Topic Channel:
    In a perfect world, public school acceptable-use policies (AUPs) wouldn't be necessary. However, school network administrators know that access to the internet and other network resources can be too tempting for students at times. On any given day, abuse of the network can range from inadvertent to criminal, and the network administrator's challenge is to prevent minor annoyances from turning into major problems. The answer starts with comprehensive network monitoring software built on solid reporting functionality.
  • Study: Overzealous filters hinder research
    Thu, Oct 13, 2005 Primary Topic Channel: School Administration ,Conferences,Research
    The internet-content filters most commonly used by schools block needed, legitimate content more often than not, according to a study by a university librarian. Better communication between technology staff and classroom teachers is the key to ensuring that school and library internet filters, installed as part of a federal effort to protect children from inappropriate online content, do not preclude students from accessing legitimate educational materials, the new study found.
  • Tech gadgets challenge educators
    Tue, Aug 09, 2005 Primary Topic Channel: School Administration
    For a lot of kids, back-to-school shopping means checking out the latest technological gadgetry. And for educators, that means new headaches as they seek to update and enforce their policies on gadgets in the classroom.
  • Schools use many ways to control web content—but results are mixed
    Fri, Apr 01, 2005 Primary Topic Channel: School Administration
    School leaders employ a number of technologies and strategies to prevent students from accessing inappropriate material online, according to the latest federal study of the issue. But another recent study by an internet content management firm implies that the results of these efforts might be mixed at best
  • Don't write unacceptable acceptable-use policies
    Fri, Jun 01, 2001 Primary Topic Channel: School Administration
    By now, you should know that every school district allowing the use of computers and the internet by students, faculty, and staff needs an acceptable-use policy (AUP) to establish the ground rules—and, in fact, most schools already have an AUP. But how can you tell whether your AUP is gonna do the job?
  • Back up your filtering with an airtight AUP
    Sun, Jul 01, 2001 Primary Topic Channel:
    Although there are lots of mixed messages in the media about filters, one important fact seems to be getting through to just about everyone ... except maybe some of the politicos: There is no filtering software that is 100-percent effective. The same is true of acceptable-use policies (AUPs). But while all AUPs are only as good as the people who implement them, well-reasoned and clearly written AUPs give users a better chance to make things work; including content filters
  • Give your AUP a fall tune-up—here's how
    Thu, Nov 01, 2001 Primary Topic Channel: School Administration
    Here's a final checklist of things to look for as you review your own AUP