Schools
Still No Facebook on District 219 Computers
District has doubled bandwidth, but is monitoring use of it before permitting students to access social networking sites, administrator says.
Students at and High Schools might be using wireless technology in all kinds of ways during their classes, but some doors remain closed, at least for the time being.
Facebook and other social networking sites are blocked on networks, meaning students who are logged into school computers or are using their school-issued netbooks in the schools can’t check their friend requests, update their status or post goofy pictures or comments on their classmates' walls.
The main reason the district blocks social networking sites is not because of the distractions they might cause or because of the potential for inappropriate communication, but because they take up a lot of bandwidth.
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The district doubled its bandwidth from 100 to 200 megabytes over winter break, said Guy Ballard, District 219's chief technology officer.
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"We still have not geared up for Facebook because we're evaluating how the increased bandwidth is being used by students and faculty," Ballard said.
"We want to maximize the educational value of that bandwidth, versus students who just want to watch YouTube or listen to Pandora (a free music-streaming site)."
The district's netbook program is also a consideration, especially as it grows. It started in the 2010-2011 school year, when incoming freshmen were given netbooks loaded with software to use in school. This year, freshman and sophomores have the small computers, and next year, it will be freshmen, sophomores and juniors.
When the program started, the district decided to disable social networking sites.
But school board president Robert Silverman said the district might want to consider allowing students to use them for some purposes. Clubs could set up Facebook pages, he suggested, or philanthropic groups could use it as a fundraising tool.
“I think there could be educationally valid uses for social media,” he said.
The discussion came up when the school board was reviewing a new policy on a related topic: staff use of personal technology and social media. Among other things, that policy calls for staff to communicate with students using school supported platforms, such as their school email accounts, whenever possible and forbids them from posting inappropriate material on Internet sites that are accessible to students, even if they do so outside of school.
During the school day, students who are carrying a smartphone or other personal device that can connect to the Internet without going through the district’s network can still access Facebook and other social media. Students are permitted to use their phones and other devices when they are not in class – for instance, at lunch or during passing periods.
As far as cost for the bandwidth, the district has a contract with a company called Cogent for $2,200 monthly for the first 100 megabytes of bandwith. It purchased the second 100 megabytes for $1,600 monthly from RCN, a Skokie cable company. Ballard explained that the cost of bandwidth is coming down, and when the contract with Cogent expires this year, the district will renegotiate the price.
