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Colleges Work To Block Net in Class
SkewlD00d writes: "The story is that colleges spent a load of money wiring schools, now they want more money to censor them in class. I bet I can get around any of this, all I need is a proxy server running on campus on port 80. LOL! But breaking it would probably violate the DMCA. Oh no, proxy servers are now all illegal!" From the article: "some classrooms at Bentley have technology that allows teachers to capture a student's e-mails or instant messages and display them on a large screen for the whole class to see." Of course, a lot of classes do (and will) require Internet access -- the article is more about steps taken to control exactly when and to what degree students can reach it. Update: 09/26 13:32 GMT by T : If the AP server-choosing link doesn't work well for you, el_nino-2000 suggests this Yahoo! link to the same text.
This is utter crap. They can't MAKE you pay attention. Their weapon is grades for which you pay money. If you don't or don't want to pay attention your grades MAY suffer. Or they MAY not. At any rate that's your problem. If they want a closed network then they should have a closed network. Otherwise they should work at building courses that don't bore people to tears.
Of course, a lot of classes do (and will) require Internet access -- the article is more about steps taken to control exactly when and to what degree students can reach it.
Well I, for one, think that it's about time. Now that we've all stopped crying hysterically about how grade schools need unfettered, full access to the Internet (for God knows what), a school has noticed that it might be beneficial to students to only allow them to access certain sites.
What?! I can't access Hotmail and IM my buddies in physics class? Oh no! I've been censored! [sarcasm off] Maybe if we put the focus on learning again today's high school and college graduates could get a little education while they're at school.
And Timothy, serves you right for posting a topic from "SkewlD00d" and posting a bogus link. Your anti-censorship head is crammed so far up your anti-censorhip, uh, shoulder, that you can't see the cases where it might actually be useful.
Have fun: Join D.N.A. (National Dyslexics Association)
If you don't want to do what you are supposed to be doing in class, then don't go. Reading email, browsing the web, or blabbering away on instant messengers trying to find out where the next party is in the middle of a class is simply put, rude. If people would act with a little bit of responsibility and common sense these steps would never be looked at.
Not really an option, most introductory classes are required attendance, even if it's not worth your time and you don't pay attention. Don't show and you fail. I take it you haven't been in college for a while. Schools don't cancel class in very bad weather because they say it's your option to go or not, but since attendance is required, you usually must go anyway.
This is the typical me me me mentality (its MY education, my money, i'll act anyway I damned well please in class) that causes money and resources to be wasted on things like this.
It is your money and your time, but the professor has decided to waste it. Nothing that they students are doing are violating any fundamental set of morals. So let them do what they damn well like.
Do you maybe think that profs got annoyed at hearing the constant giggles and chuckles and tap tap tap of the keyboard going away while they are trying to talk? Or maybe the fact that the prof is annoyed that he or she is taking his time to walk around and see how people are doing on a lab, and you are there ignoring everything and doing your own thing?
Do you think students get annoyed by professors who just read out of the book, don't make the lectures even worthwhile to hear? The street runs both ways, but since the profs have the power their point of view (which is cheaper to fix, so it's their way.) Classes should be interesting and engaging intrinsicly, not because someone mandated that you cannot do anything else, but must sit here and listen to me.
As for cell phones and pagers, they should be banned from the classroom unless you have a reason or they vibrate only. No traditional college student is so important that they can't put there phone and pager on hold for 50 minutes.
For freshman just out of college that may be true, but a lot of people in college now have something called a life. Heard of it? They're returning to college, or have other responiblities, they may be expecting a baby. Blanket statements just don't cut it. Although cell phone use should be discouraged since it tends to make all the students not pay attention to what is going around on campus, because they're talking on the cells instead of listening.
In the end, it's better to actually try to improve classes and the college, so that the tendancy to do these "distracting" things would be reduced or even eliminated. But that is the sensible thing to do, and if college has taught me anything it's that it never actually does the senible thing. Almost always the excat oppisite.