Should the school be allowing student access to YouTube? It has been suggested by education technology expert Rushton Hurley that schools should stop blocking Youtube because of the many tutorials that are available to students. YouTube is blocked by schools because of the fear that the students will access inappropriate (aka junk) materials. Hurley suggests that the benefits outweigh the risks. Those students that are caught abusing their computer privileges should be punished, according to Hurley. But those using them appropriately should not.
Making Youtube available to students will require that the school's "computer police" be more active. But I access Youtube myself for videos to use in my Physics and Chemistry classes and I have found some good stuff. It comes down to students being responsible. Giving them a computer implies that we have trust in how they will use it. If the school unblocks Youtube, will they use it appropriately?
