“Sometimes I will get a problem, maybe with a new computer program or something, and I can just go to YouTube and look it up. “I see great potential with YouTube especially,” Kemble said. Teachers and administrators see the use of the websites as a new resources for higher learning. “We help them understand what they should be doing.
“In school, we put kids out on the playground to play, and we send adults out there to monitor what they are doing, and sometimes they do things they shouldn’t do,” Kemble said. “Do you hear people talk about 21st century learning? Yeah, well we are already 13 years into the 21st century, so we need to be using these kinds of things, because we need to make it engaging for you.”Īlthough the opposition is obvious, with the distractions the websites can provide, the district is confident that their involvement will ease the minds of skeptics. “The catalyst for me was hearing from principals that we really need to open these websites up so that we can use them for education, this is the way we learn today,” Kemble said. Many factors were considered when making decision to unblock these two websites, but perhaps the most significant factor was the impact social media has on society and its newfound ties with education. But it really picked up traction when Kemble joined the administration and took the initiative to get approval to take action.
While the decision may have seemed surprising to students and teachers, the motion to unblock Facebook and YouTube has existed within the district for some time. “It’s an area that we can really help kids become responsible in.” “Social media is not going to go away,” Kemble said. The district finally took action early in the school year to make these websites available for student use. When assistant superintendent Jerri Kemble was hired in July, the district had already begun discussing the policy regarding some of the blocked websites. Students and teachers alike dealt with limitations that some argued hindered the educational value of the internet.
Two years ago, USD 497 blocked Facebook for everyone, and YouTube for students. Last month, USD 497 made the decision to unblock the full use of YouTube and Facebook, allowing students to browse these sites at all times.
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