-- from Christmas 2016 --
The Holiday Season is often an impetus to provide our children with new devices that provide access to the Internet. Be it a laptop or an iPad or a Phone, this is a double-edged resource. There are tons of positive programs and resources online for kids of all ages; there is a lot of garbage as well.
While this is probably obvious, all of the student devices owned by Porter-Gaud have active web filtering. Admittedly this can sometimes be annoying, and not always perfect, but it does the important job of keeping the nasty side of the Internet at bay. However, your personal devices don't have this filtering.
(Tech Note: 'Filtering' is the active restriction of inappropriate websites and web content. Not to be confused with 'Virus Scanning', the reactive search for malicious programs.)
If your child (or a child that you love) has an internet connected device, please consider filtering their content using the easy steps provided by OpenDNS or another similar provider:
(There are step-by-step instructions for most any device, or you can setup filtering for all devices in your home by configuring your router.)
In parallel, you should also talk to that child about the duality of the Internet -- it can be used for both good and evil -- so they need to learn to make good choices. Furthermore, the Internet itself (which really is just a bunch a computers connected together) is not the issue. It's how we humans use and create and access the Internet that creates problems.
Common Sense Media provides guidelines for talking with kids about digital access (and movies and cell phone usage and other stuff). Likewise, a quick search will provide other options. Basically, it looks like this:
- Educate yourself
- Talk with your child
- Talk with your child on a regular basis
- Then talk to them some more
Of course, if you have any questions or need further information, please contact the Helpdesk™