The internet is a crucial part of our lives, and its contribution to education is the same. And, while internet-based technologies are integrated into everyday classrooms with each student using their own device, there are a lot of online harms they are exposed to.
When online, young students cannot distinguish between harmful content and valuable information relevant to their education. Hence, providing a secure and productive environment for them is a primary responsibility of teachers and school authorities.
One solution to this concern is implementing school content filters into student devices.
What are School Content Filters?
School content filters are powerful cloud-based AI-enabled tools. These tools provide complete control over students' internet access. They block inappropriate content and limit access to the internet, helping students and schools stay safer.
By applying the filter, school authorities can limit inappropriate content by outlining what is and is not appropriate on the school network. It allows students to access web pages and view only non-harmful content. With these tools, students can avoid exposing themselves to harmful things such as adult content, scams, cyberbullying, etc.
There are more benefits of these school content filters that, as an educator, you should know. Some of them include,
Potent Security Features:
School content filters protect students and teachers from threats, such as cyberbullying, online phishing scams, and other cyber-crimes. It does so by blocking unauthorized sites containing illegal content harmful to students' mental well-being.
These filters can be enabled by either blocking the illegal sites completely or employing a user authentication feature wherein the user has to enter a username or password to access the website.
Also, these filters ensure the security of school property from malware attacks that one can bring about by visiting vulnerable websites on school computers or mobile devices. With filters in place, you can gauge the incoming traffic of viruses before they enter the school network and cause any harm.
Enhances the Productivity of Students and Teachers:
Filters are one of the best ways to improve student and teacher productivity. With school content filters doing their work in the background, students are less distracted by the internet and pay more attention to their class work. They will likely stumble less on irrelevant or inaccurate content, meaning they will finish their assignment faster.
Moreover, cyberbullying or cyber harassment can cause distraction. However, school content filters reduce that by blocking illegal websites. Some of these distractions include direct or indirect bothering conversations made via social media platforms, which may cause emotional distress among students.
In short, with filters, students focus on their learning and teachers on their lessons, and productivity is assured.
Advanced Safety from Online Harms:
Filters are the most vital tool for protecting students from diverse online threats such as malware scale and inappropriate content that can affect their mental well-being. The filtering technology automatically detects when someone tries to access malicious sites or content and blocks them. So, students never get exposed to such content.
School content filters can be powerful tools for schools and educators enabling them to protect students from inappropriate content. Using the filters, school admins can block adult content and harmful files that can negatively influence students. Also, teachers can ensure that stunts stay away from illegal activities such as drug sales and online gambling.
Moreover, using filters, school authorities can monitor the students' internet usage on school-issued devices to ensure they aren't visiting unauthorized websites while on campus and studying.
Seamlessly Integrates with Classroom Monitoring Software:
When you employ school content filters with classroom monitoring solutions, teachers can tremendously improve classroom productivity and students' enthusiasm toward their studies.
Both these solutions make the students' online activities much safer and more easily noticeable to the teachers. Combining the filters brings countless opportunities concerning efficiency and better learning chances, whereas classroom monitoring solutions enhance a student's learning experience.
In many cases, you may find classroom monitoring solutions and school content filters integrated, which makes the teaching experience even better.
Conclusion:
With children exposed to a wide range of digital harms like cyberbullying and other harmful content, it makes sense to invest in school content filters to ensure the safety and security of students by limiting their access to unauthorized content. Also, it provides a seamless means of teaching while enabling students to learn in a safe and sound environment.