Fight Filters – eduBlogs wikispaces … May 3, 2006
Posted by Al Upton in Blogging, Filtered Sites, Finding Your Voice, SA Collaboration, Using WordPress.trackback
Yes, fight for whatever you believe in that doesn't hurt others.
(MiniLegends please remember – Respect, Responsibility and Fairness) 
edublogs.org is a sensational edublogging service from Aussie legend James Farmer (with over 9,000 users) which now incorporates the excellent wiki service wikispaces.
Fantastic? No, both are filtered in many schools including South Australian state schools.
I continue to encourage the use of WordPress.com
Try these examples …
http://alupton.edublogs.org/ [filtered]
http://alupton.wordpress.com/ [not filtered]
For a wiki I encourage incorporating one into your blog.
It's early days but I reckon we're moving in the direction of the 'Connectedness, Convenience and Contact' that we are striving for.
(For an external wiki perhaps check out seedwiki)
Try these examples …
https://minilegends.wikispaces.com/ [filtered]
http://www.seedwiki.com/wiki/ourchangingtimes/ [not filtered]
Your comments will help establish collaborative communities of educators and learners …
we just need it to happen at school!
NB local administrators unblocking individual web addresses makes schools vulnerable to liability, is a hassle and not the answer to the big picture.
For further discussion visit http://nonscholae.org/ James again 
*** Please keep up-to-date with edublogs, James has just announced a competition for his 10,000th edublog.org blog
This service is too good to give up on! ***
My guess is Saturday 20th May at 3.52pm (GMT +11) – My Birthday
2006 – also posted on http://alupton.edublogs.org/
Comments
Sorry comments are closed for this entry
[...] Hi, I am a strong supporter of edublogs.org (created with WorPress.org) but I have created another WordPress.com blog at http://alupton.wordpress.com/ Reason: It’s not filtered at state schools and preschools in South Australia. Unfortunately I can’t responsibly promote this service (although you are a legend James!) as an online collaborative tool to be used with our kids .. right now – but hopefully soon I can. I continue to seek means to counter the blocks and limitations placed on educators. For further discussion – and I welcome all comments and advice – please visit http://alupton.wordpress.com/2006/05/03/fight-the-filters-edublogs-wikispaces/ Cheers, Al [...]
Hi Al,
Thanks for the nice comments and I totally get your frustration.
Hi Al,
I don’t really understand your comment at the end about unblocking individual web addresses. Presumably these addresses were specifically blocked at some point, so why can’t they be unblocked?
Regardless, I’ve started a little initiative to try to get a better handle on how filtering is being implemented in schools worldwide. I wrote a simple script: http://tuttlesvc.teacherhosting.com/wordpress/?p=107 that tests URL’s, and we’re working on a list of 200 sites to test in schools around the world: http://blogbanning.pbwiki.com/GrayList
Tom, I’m an administrator of a school network, and the biggest problem I see with individual local admins unblocking sites is that it puts the responsibility on us for giving impresionable young minds access to random stuff. We’re really not trained to make those decisions.
Something closer to a better solution would be an educator-moderated white-list that educators can take responsibility for after taking an objective look at sites. Something I might think is harmless might be completely inappropriate and I don’t need that pressure.
In addition, it only tackles the problem at a local level, and unblocking Al’s blogs (for example) at my school, still doesn’t address the issue on a wider scale and stops the sites being a wonderful shared experience across schools.
Note: I’m new here, so if that’s not what you meant by your question, I’m sorry.
Please understand, I'm keen for SA educators to subscribe to edublogs and use the associated wiki service – wikispaces. We just need to be seen as wanting to use blogs/wikis. Obviously the sooner it happens the better. Unfortunately blogs created in WordPress.com cannot be automatically transferred across to edublogs yet.
"How do we help get Wikispaces unblocked in SA schools?" Adam Frey of Wikispaces [email in response to this post] My response to Adam (and James) below …
"It would be wonderful to get Wikispaces (and edublogs.org) made accessible to more students. Unfortunately it is an international problem that wont quickly go away.
The following post on nonscholae.org from Bill Kerr summarises it well.
http://nonscholae.org/the-school-administrators-dilemma
The answer has probably got something to do with reaching a critical mass of teachers and students using blogs and wikis and other web authoring/hosting tools. This possibly can only happen with a united front (not 'confront') that demonstrates the value/necessity of such tools through large scale and noticeably increasing use in the schools. For example, I'm seeking to introduce blogging within state education system initiatives. A major part of the appeal (and therefore acceptance) has to be that blogging is not going to intrude on teachers existing time, curricula and personal commitments. School leaders are integral to uptake of blogs and wikis. Governmental leaders need to be made aware of their promising policies re 21st Century Learning – but their voices(regarding filtered sites) will only be in response to what is happening around them. Who knows, they might even claim the unblocking of blogs and wikis as their own idea [and not those who have been fighting for it for so long] – and that's fine by me. Right now they are saying collaborative online learning is the 'methodology of now' but are running scared that they might be liable should something unforseen happen.
Not an answer to your question I know Adam but perhaps now you have some sort of context. There are ways and means – mine is to use what does work right now and try to quietly get it happening within the schools and education department initiatives.
Another way is to ensure that the issue is periodically being revisited.
It's a problem that continues to restrict and limit us."
Hopefully there will be some serious consideration given in SA to the model used in Victoria. Although filtering is an international problem, it seems education departments can unblock certain sites across the state.
Discussions continue and as eLearning and emerging technologies increasingly (unavoidably) play a part in DECS initiatives, our students will begin to have rightful access to those tools that best accomodate their learning - and I reckon it will happen this year.
I'd like to hear what and where blogs and wikis are not banned in Australia – especially
http://edublogs.org/ and http://www.wikispaces.com/
Hi Tom, thanks for your comment. See the bottom of my post for a brief answer to your question otherwise my comment above. The GrayList is a wonderful idea – I've added
http://edublogs.org/ and
http://wordpress.com/ because in South Australia we can not access the site to create blogs, but can once created. Although I'm not in a position to use it, the Filtr Chkr concept is brilliant …
I'll ask our technician Josh (see above) to check it out if he ever gets a moment. Welcome to Glenelg and to this blog Josh. It was a surprise to see your name pop up here. Your own blogs are truly refreshing and thought provoking. They are a wonderful example including the intrapersonal aspect of blogging. I've asked your permission and will add your http://nunnone.com/ to my 'SA Blogs' bloglines. Cheers, Al
[...] http://alupton.wordpress.com/2006/05/03/fight-the-filters-edublogs-wikispaces/ [...]