[Year 12 IT Apps] OT Internet Access

[Tony Forster]

The Victorian government held an inquiry:

Education and Training Committee Final Report
Education in the Net Age - New Needs & New Tools Report on the Inquiry into 
the Effects of Television and Multimedia on Education in Victoria
October 2006
http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/etc/reports/multimedia/multimedia_rep.pdf
Filtering was discussed on pp66-69

Submissions by our ASISTM cluster, Students of St Francis Xavier College, 
Australian Teachers of Media , ICT in Education Victoria, Apple Computer 
Australia, and The Victorian Information Technology Teachers Association

 said that filtering was both anti-education and ineffective. Despite 
considerable supporting material being supplied by these witnesses, the 
parliamentary inquiry found:

"While noting that the current filtering technologies are not perfect, the 
Committee believes that they are an essential safeguard in schools that 
needs to be continually upgraded. Further, the Committee believes that 
schools should have a responsibility to inform parents about the range of 
filtering technologies available and the benefits of their use in the home 
(refer below). The Committee believes that responsibility should be given to 
a specific unit within the Department of Education and Training to monitor, 
evaluate and advise on advancements in filtering technologies. "

The Committee's findings were disappointing to me as they did not appear to 
be evidence based.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Margaret Lawson
To: Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2008 1:15 PM
Subject: Re: [Year 12 IT Apps] OT Internet Access


Perhaps VITTA can put together a position statement representative of 
members views, and put it forward to various government representatives

:)

Margaret