Who should be held accountable for students breeching Internet safety measures on school-issued laptops? The parent or the school?

This was a recent issue brought up by a mother located in Fullerton, California, who discovered her daughter was speaking to an online stranger and was able to access pornographic websites on a school-issued laptop by connecting to their neighbour's wireless network. The mother feels that the school did not install adequate Internet safety software.

School-issued laptops, as much as any other wired technology, can be a gateway that leads you to inappropriate content that is available on the Internet. Despite schools' assurance that the laptops had security and safety software, parents have to implement the proper supervision and guidelines (by keeping computer usage in visible areas, and having discussions about the risks and dangers associated with the Internet). Parents need to realize that making electronic devices impervious to all online dangers and risks is not feasible.

What's your take on the situation? Have you encountered this issue at your school? If so, what steps were taken to resolve the problem?

You can read the full article here.

Tags: Internet, laptop, safety, schools., security, software, technology

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Comment by Jay Raines on November 5, 2009 at 6:50pm: Jay wrote: This seems to be an issue all over the U.S.. Yes, maybe the school should have a program installed to keep students out of these areas. Not sure what really happened there. But, why it it always the school's or teacher's responsibility. I side that parents should take a more active role in supervision when it comes to the computer. I know a student who found a way to unlock their parents block at home. Parents need to be involved.
Maybe they should always have their kid in the same room when using the computer.
Maybe kids have too much freedom to easily explore the computer??

Comment by Kiwi Commons on November 30, 2009 at 1:54pm: Hi Jay,

I agree that parents should have an active role in supervising the content that their children access. This can be done by placing the computer in an open area, having someone in the computer room during Internet usage and having open communication about things online and what might be seen or what they might come across. creativity and exploration on the Internet contributes significantly to a child's education and development. With that said, giving complete and open roaming authorization should be earned through displayed responsibility and maturity.