If you think you have a tough time accessing YouTube at work, consider what’s happening in U.S. schools, where restrictive filtering blocks students from websites, social media and blogging platforms.
Even teachers and school librarians aren’t permitted to access legitimate reference sites and academically useful social networking tools on behalf of students to enhance lessons or teach important online skills.
To highlight growing concerns around intellectual freedom in schools, the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) has designated Wednesday, Oct. 3, Banned Websites Awareness Day, which will take place in the middle of the 30th commemoration of Banned Books Week.
“Filtering websites does the next generation of digital citizens a disservice,” the AASL notes on its website. “Student must develop skills to evaluate information from all types of sources in multiple formats, including the Internet. Relying solely on filters does not teach young citizens how to be savvy searchers or how to evaluate the accuracy of information.”
To learn more about Banned Websites Awareness Day, the AASL is offering a free webinar, “How to be a Ninja Warrior Filter Fighter,” on Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. (EST)/4 p.m. (PST). Learn more and register here.