Running head: WEB 2.

0 ADVOCATE

Web 2.0 Advocate Angela D. Kennedy Georgia Southern University FRIT 8132 Dr. Hodges 11/05/2012

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Setting Arnold Magnet Academy is a magnet school located in west central Georgia. This school houses 50 classrooms and 317 computers. There are approximately 875 6th through 8th grade students enrolled at Arnold with a student/teacher ratio of 28:1 (About Arnold Magnet, n.d.). Demographically, the gender ratio is 56% female, 44% male. Approximately 46% of the student population is African American, 40% Caucasian, 3% Asian, and 11% unknown (Arnold Middle School, n.d.). This schools focus is math, science, and technology. Therefore, it isnt surprising in the Muscogee County School District, that 8th grade students from this school had the highest overall percentage of school based experience with technology literacy skills as demonstrated in the administration of the Technology Literacy test available via Georgia OAS. 73% of Arnold students who took this exam met or exceeded technology literacy skills (Muscogee County School District, 2012, p.12).

Process The Muscogee County School District has an Internet Content Filtering Modification Request Form that should be completed by a principal, program head, director, or chief of the Muscogee County School District whenever an instructor or administrator desires to have a particular website blocked or unblocked. The request requires that the initiator identify the building, the website, whether the site should be blocked or unblocked, and for which groups this access or denial of access is requested. If the request is to unblock a site, a lesson plan or business objective must be identified to show how the website directly supports the stated goal. The form is then submitted to a DIS Support Request through the help desk. This form is then

WEB 2.0 ADVOCATE submitted to an Internet Content Filtering Committee who will approve or reject the request.

This process is outlined in a flowchart on the following page (Muscogee County School District, pp. 106-107). This is definitely a worthwhile process for gaining access to web applications that can replace more expensive software that is unlikely to be purchased. This process appears to be reasonable for submitting a request to gain access to a blocked Internet site. There seems to be enough people who may submit the request to the committee that there should not be an issue with one person delaying the process due to an overwhelming number of teachers asking for access to blocked sites. The only potential issue is concerning how large of a committee is in place for approvals and how frequently the committee meets. These factors were not detailed in the documentation and might impact how reasonable the process is or is not.

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WEB 2.0 ADVOCATE

References About Arnold Magnet Academy, Columbus, GA. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2012 from http://arnold.muscogee.k12.ga.us/About_Arnold.htm Arnold Middle School-Columbus, Ga. (n.d.). Retrieved November 1, 2012 from http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/21629 Muscogee County School District. (2012). Three-year technology plan July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2012 from https://www.muscogee.k12.ga.us/AboutUS/Pages/MCSD-Technology-Plan.aspx