Will Richardson

Speaker, consultant, writer, learner, parent

Mapping the Filter: What do you Block?

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A few months ago Tom Barrett put out a request via Twitter and other places to English schools to co-create a list of what tools are being blocked in which schools across the country. He offered up a spreadsheet for that purpose that attempted to gather that data that got about 25 responses. At the time, I thought it was an interesting idea, and when I heard Jay Rosen’s great talk about  at TedxNYED, I started thinking about how it might be interesting to take Tom’s idea and collect and pool what we know about our approach to filtering on a more global scale and try to make some sense of it collaboratively. What do we block, and where do we block it? And, more importantly, why?

So, here is an attempt to do that. I’ve put up a Google Map where anyone who wants to participate can take a few minutes to add a pin where their school is and add some data about the extent to which they filter. To make it easy to get a visual sense of what the filter looks like around the world, I’m suggesting participants use a green pin for open, yellow for somewhat open, or red for mostly closed. Certainly, those are loose interpretations, but I’m hoping they might highlight some patterns based on geography or politics or culture. I’m also hoping people will be willing to add some context to their level of filtering. Why do you block what you block? Who blocks it? Who can unblock it?

The steps are simple:

  • Go to the Map Page
  • Login to Google
  • Click on “Edit” at the top right of the left hand information pane
  • Click on the pin icon at the top left of the map
  • Zoom in on the map and place the pin on top of your school site
  • Add the name of your school to the dialog box that pops up
  • Briefly list what is blocked
  • Add any context or interesting info that might be of value
  • Click on the pin in the upper right of the dialog box and change the color to either red, yellow or green
  • Click OK
  • Click on “Done” at the top right of the left hand information pane

A couple of thoughts. First, for this to scale, it will take the spreading capabilities of the network to get the word out. So if you want to participate, please tweet, retweet and spread the word. Second, if this works, it might be interesting to think about what other types of information we can begin to gather at scale. Jay, in his presentation, mentioned knowing what effects NCLB had on students and schools across the country. Maybe, if this works as proof of concept, we can begin to paint a clearer, more accessible picture of what education and learning looks like around the world. Finally, I’m open to suggestions as to tweaks on this particular effort around filtering and blocking, as well as looking for ideas as to what to do with whatever data we collect.

Enjoy!


View What Does Your School Block? in a larger map

Comments

  3. Tom Hoffman says

    You can specify that you’re trying to access the site from a school. It would be worth it because they’ve worked out a lot of the technical process, including a browser plug-in. Also, you can specify that you’re trying to access a site from a school.

    Plus, Berkman Center hipness points?!?

  6. John Brown says

    i think that is a great idea! but with the upcoming mobile revolution it will be hard to block any services anyways. I saw that new site for students called http://www.socialtopics.com which kind of freaked me out bc it reminded me off juicy campus. it has no mobile app but if there is one there wont be anyway to block that site

  7. NIcol Malone says

    I am sorry to be using your space but I am learning how RSS feeds work and how I am notified and reply to blog comments. I have subscribed to your feed. (interesting read) Thank you for your understanding. 🙂

  8. Clint says

    Will,

    I too am logged in but cannot see the edit button. I have tried to edit in Google Earth but that did not pan out either. Am I missing something?

  9. Clint says

    Sorry, I opened the google maps link in a new tab. If I just let it open in your social.com frame, the edit button is there. I contributed.

    Thanks.

  10. David Gohrband says

    I too can not find the “edit” button. Maybe my county blocks this as well as anything else that might be remotely educational! Sorry, just needed to vent:) It is extremely frustrating when YouTube, TeacherTube, Wikipedia, and even websites with cool educational games (because they are classified as games)are blocked just to name a few. Also, there is no CLEAR process for me to follow if I want to get a website unblocked. I am in Hanover County, VA.

  12. Jim Gates says

    I think it would especially helpful if folks would include a note as to whether or not they have been audited for CIPA compliance using that filter setting.