DOPA, Thinking Outloud About

CONSIDERATION #1
I really do try to be a positive guy. So I am reading about how the US House of Reps passed the DOPA bill last night. Will Richardson has already posted about it. It now goes to the Senate. Briefly, DOPA is sponsored by freshman representative (Michael Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.). You can read and come to your own conclusions what the bill states here. In short, if a k-12 school wants government e-rate money then they cannot allow students access to any social networking sites on school property.

CIPA does enough restricting already. Our system blocks so many sites, it is hardly worth using the internet anymore.

CONSIDERATION #2
As a new media specialist, I have been reading much about how important it is for libraries to update. David Warlick is having an interesting conversation going on right now here and here.

An Unfinished Thought
Well, I'm just thinking...but what if we somehow put these two things together and try to come up with a solution. I think educating students AND parents is an important step in the process of getting over the fear of web 2.0 technologies. Educators who are tech-minded are being stifled by people who fear what they do not understand. Unfortunately, the fretful are also the ones with the power to regulate.

We may not be able to use the access points at school to demonstrate the features and benefits (and yes, precautions) of social networking sites. That means we will have to either find someplace in the community that has (or is willing to offer) free internet access (Panera Bread, Starbucks, etc.) to hold small group meetings with parents. Or enroll parents in an online class using Moodle. Educators may need to be prepared to meet and teach students after school to instill the use and re-creation of information (and the ethics of doing so) outside of school hours...Homework 2.0?