I've seen this handled a few different ways. There's a tendency to let the technology staff dictate website appropriateness since they're in direct control of the filters. However, what seems to work best is to leave these decisions up to the curriculum department. They may in turn leave it up to the teacher's discretion. I see my role as an adviser. Let the people in charge of what goes on in the classroom know the risks, and what our tools are capable of, then let them decide. (I'd suggest these decisions be in email/writing, to cover your ass.)
Now, as for the tools, there's some pretty slick filters out there that can block certain elements of Facebook, such as games/third party apps, chatting, etc. without blocking the entire site. We used Palo Alto firewalls for this, but I know there are other products out there that can do the same.
Good luck! Just let me know if you have any questions.
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I've seen this handled a few different ways. There's a tendency to let the technology staff dictate website appropriateness since they're in direct control of the filters. However, what seems to work best is to leave these decisions up to the curriculum department. They may in turn leave it up to the teacher's discretion. I see my role as an adviser. Let the people in charge of what goes on in the classroom know the risks, and what our tools are capable of, then let them decide. (I'd suggest these decisions be in email/writing, to cover your ass.) Now, as for the tools, there's some pretty slick filters out there that can block certain elements of Facebook, such as games/third party apps, chatting, etc. without blocking the entire site. We used Palo Alto firewalls for this, but I know there are other products out there that can do the same. Good luck! Just let me know if you have any questions.