Trying to work..

[kisstine]

So, I'm here at school, proctoring a state-mandated standardized test and trying to get a little lesson planning done at the same time. I need some good, teacher-tested essay questions to use with a novel my 8th graders are reading. Unfortunately for me, every single site that looks like it might be helpful (mostly teacher blogs or message boards where teachers post lessons they've used) are blocked by my site administrator. I'm also looking for the rules to a game I want to play with my 2nd-3rd grade PE class. Unfortunately, again, all of those sites seem to be blocked as well.

I fired off a few emails about how annoying it is that I am unable to do my job due to the incredibly restrictive policies of the county, yet routinely hear at staff meetings about kids who have managed to find their way into completely inappropriate sites in our school computer lab.

Now I'm left with time to fill and have discovered that, at least until someone notices I'm using it, EIC is not blocked.

[styfle]

use a proxy ;)

[kisstine]

The kids get caught. That's why it comes up in the staff meetings. Students and teachers alike sign contracts with the district to be permitted access to the internet at all. The kids don't care, all that happens to them is a little slap on the wrist ban from the computer lab. This is my JOB... I need to follow the rules... they just need to get some rules in place that allow me to get my work done.

[psylichon]

Why not iPhone it? AT&T won't block you.

[iCafe]

What did teachers do before the internet?




























teach

[psylichon]

Ooooh, burn.

Using the best tools available to gather current information is such a wasteful thing for a teacher to want to do. You have a great point there.

The failage is thick in here.

[acosmichippo]

i wonder what teacher forums are like...

zomg epic fail yo.

[kisstine]

Why not iPhone it? AT&T won't block you.

I have virtually ZERO bars in my office. Besides, I can't cut and paste together the things I want... yet.

What did teachers do before the internet?

teach

Um.. yea. I bet my teachers were FAR more knowledgeable what with the memorizing things that happened long enough ago to have already been published in print media.


i wonder what teacher forums are like...

zomg epic fail yo.

Hey! Teacher forums are awesome. :wink:

[psylichon]

Well, you're gonna love 3.0 with cut and paste. You can actually accomplish things with it. Apps that really take advantage of it are surely around the corner... 3.0 is way more lax on the developer side of things.

Regarding connection... have you tried turning off 3g? You probably have, but sometimes, it can give you better results in low-3G areas.

[kisstine]

Yea, that's with 3G off. I don't have 3G coverage at school. Thanks for the suggestion though. :)

[psylichon]

Then your only answer is proxy sites. Are you privy to those? More importantly, is your school?

[kisstine]

Yea, my new "strategy" is that I am submitting EVERY single blocked site for "administrative review". I'm just sick of not being able to do my job during the hours when I'm paid to be doing my job.

Plus... it's only seven weeks until summer. :)

[psylichon]

Yeah! Fight the man! That's one way to go about it... http://dancetech.com/forums/images/ok.gif