INTERNET
Study: Web Filters Block Health Information
South Africa's Absa Scraps Last Free Internet Access
EDTECH
First Virtual Elementary School in Canada Opens
NONPROFITS
Mapping and Community Organizing in Philadelphia
INTERNET
STUDY: WEB FILTERS BLOCK HEALTH INFORMATION
A study by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation reports that Internet
filtering software, used primarily on public computers to block adult
content, shuts out educational materials as well. Results indicate that
while filters block access to nearly 90 percent of online pornography at the
lowest setting, the highest security setting also blocks roughly 25 percent
of educational information covering subjects such as tobacco use, sexual
health and depression. The study also notes that the higher settings only
marginally restrict access to additional pornographic sites. Legislation
regarding the online protection of children has met with difficulty in the
federal court system when weighed against First Amendment rights. This study
fuels a debate that has reached the Supreme Court regarding the Children's
Internet Protection Act (CIPA), which ties federal E-Rate funding for public
schools and libraries to the use of filtering software.
[SOURCE: The Washington Post, AUTHOR: Ellen Edwards]
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37370-2002Dec10.html)
SOUTH AFRICA'S ABSA SCRAPS LAST FREE INTERNET ACCESS
Absa Bank has announced that it will cancel its free Internet service and
move to a subscription-based service. "After providing the free Internet
access service for over two years, the changing Internet environment has
forced Absa to move towards offering the paid-for subscription based service
only," the bank said in an email to account holders. Dave Donkin of Absa
says the low proposed subscription price -- approximately USD$4.39 per month
-- is a break-even proposition designed to keep the service as affordable as
possible while still sustaining the business model. Donkin estimates that
the bank gave some 56,000 South Africans access to the Internet for the
first time, most of whom could not have afforded it otherwise.
[SOURCE: AllAfrica.com, AUTHOR: Tracy Burrows, ITWeb]
(http://allafrica.com/stories/200212090653.html)
EDTECH
FIRST VIRTUAL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN CANADA OPENS
Canada's first fully virtual elementary school started classes on Monday.
LinkonLearning.com, certified as a private school in Ontario, charges $400
for a year of classes and serves as an alternative for children who have
trouble sitting still in a traditional classroom. With features such as
flashy graphics, an automated teacher's voice and a virtual library, the
school offers much-needed curricula to home-schooling families. Critics
note, however, that the business side of e-learning may have an effect on
the overall educational quality of the content.
[SOURCE: National Post, AUTHOR: Heather Sokoloff]
(http://www.nationalpost.com/home/story.html?id=3C5E244D-C7D1-485A-BEE6-5496
880D0FCF)
NONPROFITS
MAPPING AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZING IN PHILADELPHIA
The Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporation (PACDC)
distributed Compaq iPAQ Pocket PCs to its member Community Development
Corporations (CDCs) to assist them in creating neighborhood inventories of
their service areas by standardizing data collection and establishing a
baseline for measuring neighborhood change over time. According to PACDC's
report, the exercise "has provided CDCs with valuable knowledge in their
strategic planning, community outreach efforts and development of policy
initiatives." The handhelds were used by CDCs to collect information on
urban land vacancies and allowed volunteers with little computer experience
to survey community members to establish buy-in for their projects, among
other endeavors.
[SOURCE: Community Technology Review, AUTHOR: Eric F. Hoffman]
(http://www.comtechreview.org/article_body_fw02.asp?article_ID=129)
----------------------------------------------------------------------