Is internet blocking software like Linewize good or bad?
CHARLES DENG Linewize prevents student fun during their free time
By Charles Cox
It’s no secret that teachers want their students to be safe online, especially during class. That’s why Kingsport City Schools uses an internet filter to prevent students from accessing inappropriate information. Sometimes, these filters can get out of hand.
Linewize, also known as Classwize, is the primary internet-blocking filter used in Kingsport City Schools. This filter, however, has many flaws.
For starters, barely any game websites are still available on school computers. It makes sense. Teachers don’t want their students to play video games during class. Even when free time arrives for specific classes, the game websites are still blocked. This leads to students hunting online for websites that unblock their games.
There are literally over 100 of these unblocking websites. This means that the filter is a minor inconvenience, at best. Students still find a way to access games.
The blocking filter is very inconsistent with what it blocks, too. One example is the widely popular “Cool Math Games”. For some odd reason, this site is completely unblocked, while many other game websites are blocked.
This odd choice also has nothing to do with the “math” in the website’s title. Multiple other unblocked game sites that have “math” or something educational in their name get blocked anyways.
The entire system is just a mess. One site gets blocked, and another one pops up. Students find new, inventive strategies to unblock sites. There are websites, for example, which are disguised as normal, boring websites, but they have a secret pathway into lots of games.
While teachers and administrators want students to be safe online, it seems that their efforts have only made it more dangerous. Students are constantly trying to find websites to unblock games, websites that may even have dangerous malware on them.
Teachers are now starting to hand out lunch detentions and referrals just for visiting these sites. If the teachers don’t want students to unblock games, then why don’t they unblock the games themselves, so students can enjoy them during free time? The filter just doesn’t make sense.
This is not to say that they should just unblock all the sites forever. That would be detrimental. Game websites could be unblocked, however, during class free time. There would still be filters in place to protect from inappropriate content, but all games would be allowed during free time.
Teachers could even use game time as a reward for students who complete their work early and do a good job. This would motivate students to learn.
Instead, the school will just continue the cycle. They will use various blocking methods, and kids will still use various workarounds to play games and get in trouble. This cycle will go on forever until the system malfunctions. It’s the way of all schools: fight against “distractions” instead of using them to their advantage.
Linewize is necessary to keep students on task
By Alivia Tucker
It’s a common sight in classrooms these days. A student tries to access a website and is greeted with a “blocked” screen. Internet filters like LineWize are controversial among students, but they serve an important purpose.
While some students feel that internet filters are terrible, they’re actually extremely important, especially in middle school.
LineWize, ClassWize, and Lightspeed Filter all have the same purpose: to keep students on track and off of inappropriate websites. Schools and teachers use these filters to create a safe environment where students can learn.
Social media such as TikTok and Snapchat, or even online chat rooms, are both dangerous and distracting. Students who spend time on these websites instead of working on their classwork will obviously not learn much.
More importantly, though, is that contact with strangers on the internet can be dangerous. Even contact with other students online can be a problem. Cyber-bullying is one of the biggest online struggles students face. Schools should keep students safe from this kind of bullying.
The biggest distraction, by far, in middle school is online gaming. Students will constantly try to play games on their devices instead of completing class work. Since school is a place to learn, and it is the teachers’ job to make sure students learn, it is no surprise that gaming sites need to be blocked.
The internet is also full of stuff that is simply not appropriate for middle school students. Blocking this content is simply the right thing to do.
Many filters also have the option of ScreenWatch, where a teacher can monitor, close, and report students’ screens and websites they have opened. When this happens, students know it’s time to get off of those websites and get back on track.
LineWize is the main internet filter that Kingsport City Schools uses to block websites. A related product, ClassWize, is used to monitor students when they are on their school-issued devices. Both of these are important tools to help keep students on task and learning.
ClassWize has other functions that make it useful for teachers. Sure, when students are off-topic, teachers can close out tabs and monitor their students. Teachers, however, can also help multiple students at the same time using ClassWize.
For example, teachers can pull up what students need to be on from one computer instead of making students do it. Teachers can also look at students’ screens and help them solve their questions about the assignment.
Students who dislike internet filters should ask themselves why. Is it because they want to play games? Because they want to go on social media? If so, they are actually making an argument for internet filtering.
