Again Vicki Davis at Cool Cat Teacher comes through with a link that is a valuable resource for teachers. Most high school students can avoid the firewalls the district sets up. That’s because they know these tricks. SUHSD IT is pretty good about ferreting out the anonymous proxy servers. When I find one, I can only use it for 2 or 3 weeks before it is blocked.
The best way I’ve found to stop the students from visiting inappropriate sites, is making sure I can easily see all the computer screens. If the students congregate at one screen, or start a gigglefest I check out the screen. Their work must be outstanding or humorous, because they would never show others something that is inappropriate.
The students learn that if they remain on a game site, or somewhere else that is not okay for class consumption — they have to shut down their computer. Then they get to come back at lunch for 20 minutes of quality time with me and the computer to finish their assigned work. Rather than focusing on the behaviour, I like to focus on maturity. An immature individual requires closer supervision. A mature grown-up makes informed decisions and then reaps the benefits or consequences.
Now that they are in high school ninth-graders usually want to show how they are grownup. Unfortunately tenth-graders think they are so mature that they occasionally choose not to come for a working lunch, until parents are contacted. Thanks heavens for supportive parents.
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