Is Moeller's Web Filter Too Restrictive?
We use our laptops everyday in school and it doesn’t take long to find a webpage that is blocked. So why does it seem like the entire internet is blocked at Moeller?
Mr. Prenger, Head of the IT Department, provided an inside look into how the web filter operates at Moeller. Moeller pays a subscription to Fortiguard, which in turns provides an appliance that functions as our firewall and filtering system. Fortigaurd hosts a service which automatically categorizes websites. The subscriber, Moeller, can control which categories are restricted. Fortiguard then blocks all websites that fall under that category. ESPN.com is categorized as "SPORTS" and WCPO.com is categorized as "NEWS". There are ultimately few websites that can slip by and be miscategorized.
According to Mr. Prenger, he is flexible about what can be allowed, "90% of the cases when a student or teacher comes to me with a request for a website to be unblock or blocked, ill do it if it is legit.” Mr. Prenger realizes that there are still human errors that can occur, but he has the ability to fix them.
Sites like the beloved "Litcharts" have been blocked due to requests by English teachers because it compromises academic integrity. Before you start to hate even more on Fortiguard, it is important to know that this service does more than just purge your online gaming in class. Mr. Prenger stated, "Fortiguard functions as our firewall, spam and email filtering, VPN, web filtering, intrusion prevention control, and application filtering and control.” If we switch to remote learning, services like the VPN will help students and teachers connect to the Moeller network.
You can thank Fortiguard for preventing your curious self from downloading viruses and malware.
The distracted student must have learned by now that YouTube is now unblocked this year. Upperclassmen can recall a time when YouTube was blocked all together. Thanks to new policies on YouTube, "appropriate" videos such as educational ones are now available to watch during school hours. Is this a step towards a more lenient network?
According to Ohio law under CIPA (Children's Internet Prevention Act), there must be some sort of filter against explicit content at schools. So, your dreams of having no web filtering are out the window.
In a recent Moeller Crusader poll taken by Moeller students, 86% of the student body thinks that Fortigaurd is too restrictive, with 94% saying that they have experienced a website that was unnecessary blocked.
An anonymous student wrote that, "Doing a research paper often requires extra research to find a credible and useful source to use. It is somewhat disheartening after spending an hour looking for the perfect articles and every one is blocked.”
But services like Fortigaurd are not just limited to schools. Even out of high school, these services are put into place for employees. Being a college prep school, I think it is reasonable that the student learns their way around the internet with restrictions. Get used this because I'm sure it will not be the last of it.