Fred Borges

3/8/2013
Fred Borges | ADM
FRED
BORGES
INGLS INSTRUMENTAL- TETOS!
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1-Computers in Education: A Brief History
By Andrew Molnar
06/01/97
The history of computers in education has been variously characteried as an
!accidental revolution! or !unthin"in# man and his thin"in# machines$! %thers
have said that the computer revolution has chan#ed the ada#e that !necessity is
the mother of invention! to !in a computer world& invention is the mother of
necessity$! 'owever characteried& it is clear that innovators in this field have
created some of the most provocative and stimulatin# ideas in the history of
education$ (hat follows is a brief chronolo#ical history of some of the more
interestin# ideas and developments$
A CONFLUENCE OF CHANGES
Broadly spea"in#& the two ma)or functions of education are to transmit the
culture& values and lessons of the past to the current #eneration* and to prepare
our children for the world in which they will live$ +reparin# children for the
world in which they will live is becomin# more difficult than ever$ ,n retrospect&
there has been a confluence of chan#es that have si#nificantly impacted the
direction of modern education$
1 !"e G#o$a# Economy
Modern& hi#h-speed computers and telecommunications have facilitated the
rapid movement of financial resources& #oods and services& and have created an
interdependence amon# the world.s economies$ To benefit from these mar"ets&
nations must be competitive& and to be competitive they must have a well-
educated wor" force$
/ew& science-based& information industries are emer#in# in which "nowled#e
and human capital are as important as industrial plants$ 0aniel Bell says a
ma)or characteristic of these industries is that they derive from wor" in
theoretical science and are dependent on the codification of theoretical
"nowled#e$ The si#nificance of this development is that if we choose to maintain
our current standard of livin#& our "nowled#e wor"ers must compete in an
international mar"et and must have a #ood understandin# of science$112
% !"e Scientific &nformation E'p#osion
(e are e3periencin# a scientific information e3plosion of unprecedented
proportions$ Today& scientists and en#ineers use computers to access thousands
of rapidly #rowin# data bases that store numbers& words& maps& chemical and
physical structures* and they search them millions of times a year$ The base of
scientific "nowled#e today is hu#e$ ,t is estimated that it would ta"e 44 centuries
to read the annual biomedical research literature or seven centuries to read a
year.s chemical literature$142
/ot only is the volume of new information lar#e& but it is #rowin# e3ponentially$
5apid chan#es in many fields are ma"in# basic "nowled#e and s"ills obsolete$
6nowled#e is continually bein# modified and basic concepts and theories are
bein# revised$ /ew theories emer#e as new discoveries offer new ways of loo"in#
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at the data$ 0isciplines are mer#in# and hyphenated sub-disciplines are bein#
formed
%-Huntin( t"e )"o#e Enc"i#ada: * E'ce##ent Sites for Free +i(ita#
!e't$oo,s
,t7s time to try out 6-14 te3tboo"s that won7t #ather dust on your classroom
shelves$ 'ere are the best sites for di#ital boo"s that won7t cost you a dime$
By 0ian 8chaffhauser
09/01/1:
+lu# !di#ital resources for "14! into ;oo#le and you7ll #et a baillion results <or
maybe it )ust seems that way=$ 'ead to any resource site for teachers and you7ll
lose yourself in a miasma of lin"s$ Thin"finity will lin" you to 8mithsonian&
which will direct you to 'ippo>ampus& and onto 6ahn Academy& and over
to >urri"i& and off to ? well& you #et the picture$
As wonderful as those sites are& sometimes you don7t want to spend all your
plannin# time piecin# to#ether a school year7s worth of lessons from a multitude
of online sites$ @ou )ust want the whole enchilada delivered in te3tboo" form
from which you can select the content you7ll assi#n to your students$ To that end
we have hunted down the top sources for di#ital te3tboo"s ? all free$ (hat you
and your students do with them on the i+ads and >hromeboo"s in your
classroom is up to you$
Ca#ifornia Learnin( -esource Net.or, /CL-N0
The current compilation of open educational resources <%A5s= on >B5/ stands
at 6&06:$ ,f you7re teachin# hi#h school-level math& science& history or social
science& what you want to pay attention to is the free te3tboo"s lin"& of which
there are :0$ The site counts up standards met for many of the te3tboo"s* but
since they7re bein# compared to >alifornia education standards& that metric may
or may not be of use to you& dependin# on what state you7re teachin# in$
As an e3ample& Bi#ht and Matter is an introductory 1&016-pa#e te3tboo" on
physics published by Ben)amin >rowell& a faculty member at Cullerton >olle#e
in 8outhern >alifornia$ The +0C is a whoppin# 90Mb& full of #raphics and color
ima#es$ 'e ma"es an instructor7s #uide available for the te3t on his (eb site$
The site also includes an ample number of non-te3tboo" %A5 resources for
#rades 6-14 that meet >ommon >ore standards$ @ou can filter results by
sub)ect& #rade level& and type of resource$
C1-1% Foundation
This pioneer in the field of %A5 has a simple student interface$ ;o to the home
pa#e& pic" a topic& and choose a !Cle3Boo"! from what7s listed$ An#lish has three
offerin#s <one a teacher7s edition=& history has two& math has five <all for middle
school=& and earth science has five$ This is one of the few resources that actually
allows reviewin#$ Cor e3ample& >6-14 Aarth 8cience >oncepts for 'i#h 8chool
#ets 11 thumbs up& no thumbs down& and two reviews& both positive$ Cle3Boo"s
can be downloaded in three formsD +0C <for most computin# devices=& mobi <for
6indle=& and e+ub <for i+ad and Android devices=$
Esers have to si#n in for access to the te3tboo"s but you can use your ;oo#le&
Caceboo"& or Twitter account for that$ %nce you7ve provided that& you7ll receive a
confirmation email that will #uide you bac" to the site for your downloads$ The
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earth sciences te3tboo" referenced above& for e3ample& written by science writer
0ana 0esonie& runs 1&409 pa#es in +0C format$
!"e App#e App Store
Apple doesn7t ma"e it easy to hunt down di#ital boo"s created with iBoo"
Author that mi#ht be relevant to 6-14 teachers$ But we uncovered a few
offerin#s worth a mention$ Cirst& you7ll find all of the >6-14 te3tboo"s in the App
8tore for easy download$ /e3t& consider these$ <,f you7ve uncovered more& add a
comment to this article to share your "nowled#e$=
2-3ust-1no. Apps for Common Core S,i##s
By 8tephen /oonoo
09/06/1:
This article appears in THE Journal's July 2013 digital edition, focused entirely
on preparing for the Common Core.
free !ideo lesson tool, "no#mia Teach lets users create animated,
se$uentially ordered slides.
Accordin# to Aliabeth >alhoon& an academic technolo#y specialist at the 8anta
>lara <>A= >ounty %ffice of Aducation& the best way to use apps for >ommon
>ore curriculum is not to loo" for apps ali#ned to specific standards but to find
ones that encompass the !ideas of collaboration and creation 1which2 are far
more pervasive in >ommon >ore! than in the current paradi#m$ The followin# is
a selection of apps for ABA and math& curated with help from >alhoon& that do
)ust that$
1$ Firtual Manipulatives allows instructors to create lessons around dra#-and-
drop !fraction bars! that can aid in lessons comparin# fractions& decimals& and
percenta#es$ Free for i4ad
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4$ (ith Thin#Bin"& students can curate a collection of photos and annotate them
with multiple pieces of te3t& @ouTube or personal video& or even Twitter
handles$
Free for i4"one or i4ad
:$ Toontastic records users as they move characters around a screen and narrate
their story audibly$ +hotos can be imported for use in bac"#rounds$ Free for
i4ad
G$ 6nowmia Teach allows teachers to create short video lessons in several small
steps& similar to how they mi#ht develop a slide presentation$ The lessons can
then be posted online$ The apps records fin#erstro"es and audio for later
playbac"$ Free for i4ad
H$ Mindomo& a mind-mappin# app& offers a real-time collaboration feature and
lets users turn their maps into presentations and share them with others$ Free
for i4ad
6$ The mobile counterpart to cloud video editor (eFideo$com& the (eFideo
Eploader allows students to capture videos and photos directly on their device&
import& and even be#in the editin# process& which can be completed
online$ Free for i4"one and i4ad
7$ Teachers can use :0 modelin# software <such as ;oo#le 8"etchEp= to desi#n
pro)ects around virtual manipulatives li"e #eometric shapes and architectural
models$ They can then import them into the 8i#ht8pace :0 app for mobile
viewin#& which can be layered over real-world environments for an au#mented
reality twist$ !"ere is a free 5ersion for i4"one and i4ad6 as .e## as a
72888 5ersion
9-Computer
>omputer is a device that processes information with astonishin# speed and
accuracy$ >omputers process information by helpin# to create it and by
displayin# it& storin# it& reor#aniin# it& calculatin# with it& and communicatin#
it to othercomputers$ >omputers can process numbers& words& still pictures&
movin# pictures& and sounds$ The most powerful computers can perform tens of
billions of calculations per second$
The computer has chan#ed the way we wor"& learn& communicate& and play$
Firtually every "ind of or#aniation throu#hout the world conducts business
with computers$ 8tudents& teachers& and research scientists use the computer as
a learnin# tool$ Millions of individuals and or#aniations communicate with one
another over a networ" of computers called the ,nternet$ >omputer
#ames entertain people of all a#es$
Almost all computers are electronic di#ital computers$ They are electronic in
their use of electric current <a flow of electric char#e= to carry information$ They
are di#ital in that they process information as units of electric char#e
representin# numbers$ The word di#ital means havin# to do with numbers$
To enable a computer to process information that is not numericalIsuch as
words& pictures& or soundsIthe computer or some other device must first
di#itie that information$ A device di#ities information by translatin# it into
char#es that represent numbers$ After the computer processes the di#itied
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information by wor"in# with the char#es& the computer or a device connected to
the computer translates its results bac" into their ori#inal form$
Thus& an artist mi#ht use a machine called a scanner to di#itie a photo#raph$
The artist would ne3t process the resultin# electric char#es in a computer to
chan#e the photo#raphIperhaps to add a border$ The artist would then use a
printer connected to the computer to produce a copy of the altered photo$
0i#ital computers are one of two #eneral "inds of computers$ The other "ind are
calculatin# devices called analo# computers$ An analo# computer represents
amounts with physical Juantities& such as distances alon# a scale& rather than
with numbers$ The remainder of this article deals with di#ital computers$ Cor
more information on analo# computers$ The technolo#y of computer hardware
<the physical parts of computer systems= has advanced tremendously since
19G6& when the first electronic di#ital computer was built$ That machine filled a
hu#e room$ Today& a sin#le microprocessor& a device the sie of a fin#ernail& can
do the same wor" as that pioneerin# machine$
The technolo#y of software <pro#rams& or sets of computer instructions and
information= is also advancin# rapidly$ Aarly users of computers wrote their
own software$ Today& most users buy pro#rams created by companies that
specialie in writin# software$ 'undreds of thousands of different pro#rams are
available for businesses and individuals$ Because of advances in hardware and
software& the price of computin# has dropped sharply$ As a result& the number of
computers in operation has risen rapidly ever since the first commercial di#ital
computers were manufactured in the 19H0Ks$ More than 10&000 computers were
in operation worldwide by 1961$ Ten years later& the number e3ceeded 100&000$
By 1990& about 100 million computers were runnin#$ By the mid-1990Ks& the
number had reached about 400 million$
:-Computeri;ation
LL>omputeriationMM refers to worldwide technolo#y inte#ration and adoption of
computers and otherelectronic ,T devices& alon# with the ,nternet& to support
the activities that people do in the course of their daily lives$ A person who uses
a computer online e3emplifies computeriation& as do millions of other people
who use any type f ,T device$ Thus& computeriation #enerally has to do with the
inte#ration of ,T evices andcomputeried systems into communications&
transportation& manufacturin#& ilitary weaponry& entertainment systems& and
virtually all other technolo#ical reas of modern life$ The process of
computeriation be#an in the late 19G0s with he invention of modern computers
to provide munitions #uidance systems for the $8$ military$ 'owever& it was not
until 1969 with the invention of the Advanced esearch +ro)ect A#ency /etwor"
<A5+A/AT= that computeriation as we now nderstand it really be#an to
e3pand$ This is because A5+A/AT pioneered pac"et witchin# technolo#y& which
be#an the basis for the ,nternet in 199:& its commercialiation n 1999& and
finally the (orld (ide (eb in 1991$ %ver this period of time& 3tendin# half a
century& what be#an as a small number of mainframe computers volved into
personal computers <+>s= that have been widely adopted for academic&
overnment& business& nonprofit or#aniation& and individual user purposes$
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Today over 1 billion computers e3ist on the Aarth& with appro3imately 1$H billion
ndividual users of the ,nternet$ The adoption of computers and other ,T devices
nhances ,nternet usa#e& and vice versa$ 'i#h-speed <broadband= ,nternet
connectivity e3pansion also drives computer& ,T& and ,nternet technolo#y
adoption and utiliation by individuals and or#aniations throu#hout the world$
Etiliation of the ,nternet e3panded nearly 47H percent from 4000 to 4009$ ,n
/orth America alone appro3imately 74 percent of the domestic population <4GG
million out of ::7 million people= now use the ,nternet re#ularly$ /orth
America represents appro3imately 19 percent of worldwide ,nternet users$ And
there are currently over 100 million (eb sites e3istin# on the (orld (ide (eb&
with thousands of new (eb sites created everyday$
;rowth of computer and ,T device users and the ,nternet also stems from how
much easier these technolo#ies are to use$ Bon# #one are the days in which a
user needed to understand pro#rammin# in order to use computers$ %ri#inally&
computers were built with bul"y vacuum tubes and comparatively crude
electronic components by todayMs standards$ >onseJuently& these LLmainframeMM
machines with their computer punch-card readers and their printin#
components would literally ta"e up very lar#e or several rooms within a
buildin#$ Aach mainframe computer cost millions of dollars$
Today di#ital computers& ,T devices& and plu#-in media/components are
increasin#ly smaller& portable& and much more affordable$ They have faster
processin# speeds& #reater memory& and increasin#ly more built-in functions$
Cor e3ample& AppleMs i+hone and i+od touch devices are media players that also
have ,nternet browsin# and communication abilities$ 8everal manufacturers are
inte#ratin# personal di#ital assistant <+0A= and cellular phone capabilities& and
it is difficult to purchase a cell phone without a built-in di#ital camera$
*-USES OF !HE &N!E-NE!
Before the ,nternet was created& the E$8$ military had developed and deployed
communications networ"s& includin# a networ" "nown as A5+A/AT$ Eses of
the networ"s were restricted to military personnel and the researchers who
developed the technolo#y$ Many people re#ard the A5+A/AT as the precursor
of the ,nternet$ Crom the 1970s until the late 1990s the ,nternet was a E$8$
#overnment-funded communication and research tool restricted almost
e3clusively to academic and military uses$ ,t was administered by the /ational
8cience Coundation </8C=$ At universities& only a handful of researchers
wor"in# on ,nternet research had access$ ,n the 1990s the /8C developed an
Nacceptable use policyO that rela3ed restrictions and allowed faculty at
universities to use the ,nternet for research and scholarly activities$ 'owever&
the /8C policy prohibited all commercial uses of the ,nternet$ Ender this policy
advertisin# did not appear on the ,nternet& and people could not char#e for
access to ,nternet content or sell products or services on the ,nternet$
By 199H& however& the /8C ceased its administration of the ,nternet$ The
,nternet was privatied& and commercial use was permitted$ This move
coincided with the #rowth in popularity of the (orld (ide (eb <(((=& which
replaced file transfer as the application used for most ,nternet traffic$ The
difference between the ,nternet and the (eb is similar to the distinction
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between a hi#hway system and a pac"a#e delivery service that uses the hi#hways
to move car#o from one city to anotherD The ,nternet is the hi#hway system over
which (eb traffic and traffic from other applications move$ The (eb consists of
pro#rams runnin# on many computers that allow a user to find and display
multimedia documents <documents that contain a combination of te3t&
photo#raphs& #raphics& audio& and video=$ Many analysts attribute the e3plosion
in use and popularity of the ,nternet to the visual nature of (eb documents$ By
the end of 4000& (eb traffic dominated the ,nternet?more than 90 percent of
all traffic on the ,nternet came from the (eb$
>ompanies& individuals& and institutions use the ,nternet in many ways$
>ompanies use the ,nternet for electronic commerce& also called e-commerce&
includin# advertisin#& sellin#& buyin#& distributin# products& and providin#
customer service$ ,n addition& companies use the ,nternet for business-to-
business transactions& such as e3chan#in# financial information and accessin#
comple3 databases$ Businesses and institutions use the ,nternet for voice and
video conferencin# and other forms of communication that enable people to
telecommute <wor" away from the office usin# a computer=$ The use of
electronic mail <e-mail= speeds communication between companies& amon#
cowor"ers& and amon# other individuals$ Media and entertainment companies
use the ,nternet for online news and weather services and to broadcast audio
and video& includin# live radio and television pro#rams$ %nline chat allows
people to carry on discussions usin# written te3t$ ,nstant messa#in# enables
people to e3chan#e te3t messa#es in real time$ 8cientists and scholars use the
,nternet to communicate with collea#ues& perform research& distribute lecture
notes and course materials to students& and publish papers and articles$
,ndividuals use the ,nternet for communication& entertainment& findin#
information& and buyin# and sellin# #oods and services$
<-Net.or, of Net.or,s
The internet is a #lobal Lnetwor" of networ"sM& allowin# computers around the
world to communicate with each other$ This networ" has been in e3istence since
the late 1960s$ ,n the early 1990s a new lan#ua#e for accessin# information on
this networ" was createdD 'yperte3t Mar"up Ban#ua#e <'TMB=$ This allowed
the creation of web pa#es as we now "now them$
A crucial feature of these pa#es is the ability to move from one to another very
simply& by clic"in# on a hyperlin"$ This allows for easy navi#ation between web
pa#es& which are lin"ed to#ether to collectively ma"e up the (orld (ide (eb$
The ease of access which this enabled facilitated the rapid e3pansion of the
internet& and its development from a military and research tool into a form of
mass communication and commerce$ ,t is hard accurately to measure the true
scale of the web& but one estimate in Cebruary 4007 su##ested it comprised
nearly :0 billion pa#es& on 109 million distinct websites$
Aach computer on the internet has an ,+ address <for e3ample& 14:$G$H$679=& a
numerical eJuivalent to a telephone number$ 8ince ,+ numbers are hard to
remember& the addressin# system has a second element& the domain name
system <0/8=& which uses names such as Lwww$oft$#ov$u"M$ %ne or more domain
names can be associated with a particular ,+ address$ The association of ,+
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addresses and domain names allows a user to easily access a website in its
physical location on a computer& on a networ"$
The networ" is operated by ,nternet 8ervice +roviders <,8+s=& who have
arran#ements to e3chan#e communications between one another$ The domain
name system is mana#ed by international& re#ional and national bodies$ ,n the
E6& /ominet is responsible for re#isterin# L$u"M domain names$
=-4rotectin( >ourse#f )"en Usin( )ire#ess +e5ices and Access
4oints
(ireless networ"in# allows you to connect to a networ" and often the ,nternet
without usin# a cable$ As more people purchase laptops& +0As& and other
mobile devices& wireless networ" access has become increasin#ly popular and
convenient$ (ireless access points must be set up properly to provide sufficient
security$ 'owever& most wireless access points are set up in a manner that is
e3tremely insecure$ (ithout the proper precautions& wireless networ"in# can
place your privacy& your data& and your computer at si#nificant ris"$
(hen connected to an insecure wireless networ"& anyone within ran#e of your
computer and usin# the ri#ht tools can easily capture your traffic as it is
transmitted across the networ"$ This type of LLlistenin# in&MM "nown as sniffin#&
can be done with a laptop <or +0A=& a wireless card& and some freely available
software and is very difficult to detect$
Attac"ers may also use your connection for their own nefarious purposes$ This
could include anythin# from ille#ally downloadin# copyri#hted files to postin#
child porno#raphy on the ,nternet$
Collow these tips to use someone elseMs wireless connection safelyD
P Avoid sendin# sensitive information over a wireless networ"$
P Ancrypt your traffic$
P +rovide sensitive information only to LLsecureMM sites& i$e$& sites that display
httpsD// in the address bar and a padloc"$
P Ese virtual private networ"in# <F+/= to encrypt all networ" traffic to and from
your computer$ ,f you have F+/ access throu#h your company or school& use it
whenever you access a wireless networ"$
,f you have set up your own wireless router or access point& you are responsible
for ensurin# that you have confi#ured the router settin#s to provide sufficient
security$ Ansure that you have confi#ured the followin#D
P 0isable set service identifier <88,0= broadcastin#$ To ma"e it easier to connect
to a wireless networ"& access points broadcast the name of their networ" so that
mobile devices can easily detect them$ 0isablin# 88,0 broadcastin# ma"es your
wireless networ" LLinvisibleMM unless you already "now the name of the networ"$
P Anable media access control <MA>= address filterin#$ Aach wireless networ"
card has a uniJue identification number "nown as a MA> address$ By allowin#
only your networ" cards to access your wireless networ"& you can prevent other
people from usin# your ,nternet connection without your permission$
P Anable (i-Ci protection access <(+A= encryption$ Anablin# encryption on
your access point serves two purposes$ Cirst& it prevents attac"ers from sniffin#
your traffic& which prevents them from watchin# what you are doin# online$
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8econd& it forces anyone attemptin# to access your wireless networ" to enter
a password to #ain access to your networ"$ (ireless routers provide a number of
other ways to ensure only permitted computers are accessin# the networ"$
8-Hot Spots
The number of dedicated ,nternet cafQs in the Enited 8tates and many other
hi#hly developed countries has been declinin# in recent years$ This is lar#ely
due to the #rowin# number of people who connect to the ,nternet throu#h their
own laptops and other mobile devices$ Thus many locations& includin# coffee
chains such as 8tarbuc"s& do not provide machines& but simply offer wireless
,nternet access$
Areas where one can ma"e such a wireless connection are called Nhot spots$O
Today virtually all ma)or hotels and airports provide hot spots* there is normally
a fee for access as with ,nternet cafQs$ <The fee is collected by routin# all access
throu#h a portal$= 'owever& a number of venues offer free (ifi access$ Esers of
,nternet cafQs or hot spots should be aware that they are sharin# an ad hoc
networ" with stran#ers and may be e3posed to malicious software$ +asswords or
other sensitive data may be NsniffedO usin# special software$ ,t is therefore
#enerally a #ood idea not to conduct financial transactions or otherwise send
sensitive information when connected to such venues& unless one has provided
for encryption or can access a virtual private networ"$ Additionally& users
connectin# their own machines to a hot spot should have up-to-date firewall and
antivirus software$
1?-3&crosoft Net.or,
The Microsoft /etwor" <M8/=& collection of (orld (ide (eb sites operated by
Microsoft >orporation that provide news& information& entertainment& and
electronic mail <see e-mail= to users of personal computers$ M8/ also acts as an
online service by providin# ,nternet access on a subscription basis to customers&
who connect to the service over telephone lines or cable television lines$
8ites within M8/ include M8/B>& an ,nternet news service operated by
Microsoft and the /ational Broadcastin# >ompany </B>=& and various channels
that offer information on financial mar"ets and personal finances& services for
di#ital photo#raphy& and a variety of information about automobiles$ %ther sites
on M8/ include Ancarta Ancyclopedia& which is published by Microsoft* 8late&
an online ma#aine about news& politics& and culture* and 'otmail& which offers
free (eb-based e-mail$ 8ome M8/ sites provide their content free of char#e$
%ther M8/ sites char#e users a subscription fee for access to premium content$
Microsoft launched the Microsoft /etwor" in 199H& when it included a lin" to
the service within its (indows 9H operatin# system software <see (indows=$
Althou#h M8/ attracted more than a half-million subscribers in the first several
months of operation& its subscription base did not match that of the other online
services$ ,n 0ecember 199H M8/ abandoned its strate#y of reJuirin# specialied
software and allowed users to access its content on the (orld (ide (eb$
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By the end of its first year of operation& M8/ had about 1$6 million subscribers&
surpassin# +rodi#y in numbers of subscribers but still behind America %nline
<A%B=$ ,n %ctober 1996 Microsoft launched a radically redesi#ned version of
M8/ that more closely resembled television pro#rammin#$ The revamped M8/
featured NchannelsO that focused on news& entertainment& travel& youn# adults&
and teens$ ,n 1999& however& Microsoft retreated from this strate#y by
eliminatin# most of its entertainment pro#rammin#$ M8/ be#an producin#
more information-oriented and transaction-related (eb sites and offered more
of its content for free$ By 4004 the M8/ free site was offered internationally in
many lan#ua#es and surpassed the audience of A%B and other ,nternet portals$
'owever& as an ,nternet subscription access service& M8/ still trailed A%B by a
wide mar#in$
,n %ctober 4004 M8/ released a ma)or redesi#n of its site "nown as M8/ 9$
The new site featured stron#er controls enablin# parents to protect their
children from undesirable (eb sites and e-mail solicitations$ ,t also offered
premium services& such as MicrosoftMs Money& +icture ,tR& and the delu3e edition
of Ancarta Ancyclopedia$
11- &nternet Censors"ip in C"ina
>hina has played a central role in the debate over censorship$ The rapidly
#rowin# >hinese economy offers seemin#ly unlimited mar"et potential for
,nternet-based businesses and sellers of software and hardware$ 'owever the
>hinese #overnmentMs desire to closely control the spread of NsubversiveO ideas
has brou#ht it into collision with the liberal ideas shared by many of the
,nternetMs most important developers$ 'uman ri#hts or#aniations such as
Amnesty ,nternational have criticied online service providers such as @ahoo&
;oo#le& and Microsoft for providin# the ,nternet addresses of users who have
then been arrested$ The companies have been accused of puttin# the potential
profits of >hinaMs hu#e mar"et ahead of ensurin# free access to information$
;enerally& the companies say they have no choice but to comply with all local
laws and le#al demands for information about users$ 'owever& critics char#e
that the technolo#y companies have often #one well beyond mere compliance to
the provision of sophisticated filterin# software for (eb sites& blo#s& and online
chat and discussion #roups$
The actual e3tent of censorship in >hina seems to vary considerably& dependin#
on shiftin# political considerations$ The nationMs increasin#ly sophisticated
users often find ways around the censorship& such as throu#h usin# Npro3y
serversO that are inside the N;reat CirewallO but can connect to the outside
,nternet$ <Ancrypted protocols such as F+/ 1virtual private networ"s2 and 88'
1secure shell2 can also be used& because their content is not detected by
monitorin# and filterin# software$= Althou#h #enerally not as hi#hly or#anied&
,nternet censorship can also be found in countries such as Burma <Myanmar=&
/orth 6orea& ,ran& and 8yria and to a lesser e3tent in 8outh 6orea and 8audi
Arabia$ (hile ,nternet censorship can be viewed as bein# ultimately a political
problem& technical realities limit its effectiveness& and curtailin# the free
13
e3chan#e of information and open-ended communication that the /et affords is
li"ely to have economic costs as well$
1%-C"i#d Safety6 Censors"ip6 and Fi#terin(
,nternet access and user protection is a controversial issue amon# libraries&
families& and schools$ 5ecent Enited 8tates statutes include the >hildrenMs
,nternet +rotection Act <>,+A& 4001=& /ei#hborhood >hildrenMs ,nternet
+rotection Act </>,+A& 4001=& and>hildrenMs %nline +rivacy +rotection
Act <>%++A& 4000=$ The >,+A and />,+A ma"e selected federal fundin# for
some libraries dependent on usa#e of Ntechnolo#y protection measuresO such as
filterin# Bibrary Applications pro#rams$ Thus& the issues of censorship and
intellectual freedom have been raised$ The issues of filterin#& intellectual
freedom& censorship& and child safety raise Juestions of who decides what is
filtered& what criteria are used& and the effectiveness of filterin# pro#rams$
Cilterin# and controllin# (eb/,nternet access and child safety are primarily
issues for public and school libraries and are handled differently at various
libraries$ 'owever& all libraries should have a written ,nternet access policy and
#uidelines$
8huler <in Ansor& pp$ 404I40:= provides an overview of options for controllin#
web access in libraries includin# <1= do nothin#& <4= restrict minorsM use of
unfiltered access& <:= provide filtered access in areas where minorsM collections
are located& and/or <G= use filterin# throu#hout the library and as" adults to
reJuest e3ceptions$ Farious filterin#/control technolo#ies includeD
P Cilterin# by (eb site location or by sub)ect usin# a separate filterin#/bloc"in#
pro#ram
P Esin# an ,nternet service provider that offers filtered ,8+ service<s=
P Esin# E5B ratin# or labelin# technolo#y standards as devised by the +latform
for ,nternet >ontent 8election <+,>8= <these technical standards allow a (eb
creator or a third party to rate (eb site content=
12-Science Fiction and Computin(
The ima#e of the mechanical brain or N"nowled#e en#ineO has a surprisin#ly
lon# history in (estern literature$ As far bac" as Sonathan 8wiftMs ;ulliverMs
Travels <1746=& we find a #i#antic en#ine that can create boo"s on every
conceivable sub)ect$ (hile this was a satirical )ab at thin"ers who were usherin#
in a rational& mechanistic cosmos& the idea that the cunnin# mechanical
automatons bein# created for the amusement of princes mi#ht someday thin"
did not seem so far-fetched$ This belief would be stren#thened in the comin#
two centuries by the triumph of the ,ndustrial 5evolution$ ,n Sules FerneMs +aris
in the Twentieth >entury <written in 196:=& #iant calculatin# machines and
facsimile transmissions were used to coordinate business activities$ As early as
the be#innin# of the 40th century& writers had been e3plorin# what mi#ht
happen if some combination of artificial brains and robots offered the
possibility of caterin# to all human needs$ ,n A$ M$ CorsterMs NThe Machine
8tops&O published in 1909& people no lon#er even have to leave their insectli"e
cells because even their social needs are provided throu#h machine-mediated
communication not unli"e todayMs ,nternet$ ,n the 19:0s and 19G0s& other
writers such as Sohn ($ >ampbell and Sac" (illiamson wrote stories in which a
13
worldwide artificial intelli#ence became the end point of evolution& with humans
either becomin# e3tinct or livin# static& pointless lives$
8cience fiction writers had also been considerin# the ramifications of a related
technolo#y& robotics$ The term robot came from 6arel >T ape"Ms 5$E$5$
<5ossumMs Eniversal 5obots=$ Althou#h the robot had a human face& it could
have inhuman motives and threaten to become AarthMs new master& displacin#
humans$ ,saac Asimov offered a more beni#n vision& than"s to the Nlaws of
roboticsO embedded in his machinesM very circuitry$ The first law states& NA robot
shall not harm a human bein# or& throu#h inaction& cause a human bein# to
come to harm$O ,n the real world& of course& artificial intelli#ence had no such
built-in restrictions <see artificial intelli#ence=$
8cience fiction of the N;olden A#eO of the pulp ma#aines had only limited
impact on popular culture as a whole$ %nce actual computers arrived on the
scene& however& they became the sub)ect for movies as well as novels$ 0$ C$
SonesMs novel >olossusD The Corbin +ro)ect <1966=& which became a film in 1970&
combined cold war an3iety with fear of artificial intelli#ence$ Soinin# forces with
its 8oviet counterpart& >olossus fulfills its orders to prevent war by ta"in# over
and institutin# a world #overnment$ 8imilarly& 'al in the film 4001D A 8pace
%dyssey <based on the wor" of Arthur >$ >lar"e= puts its own instinct for self-
preservation ahead of the frantic commands of the spaceshipMs crew$ 'owever&
the artificial can also strive to be human& as in the 4001 movie A$,$ 0urin# the
19G0s and 19H0s science fictional computers tended to be lar#er& more powerful
versions of e3istin# mainframes& sometimes aspirin# to #odli"e status$ 'owever&
in Murray BeinsterMs boo" A Bo#ic /amed Soe <19G6=& a NBo#icO is found in every
home& complete with "eyboard and television screen$ All the Bo#ics are
connected to a hu#e relay circuit called the Tan"& and the user can obtain
everythin# from TF broadcasts to weather forecasts or even the answers to
history trivia Juestions$ Althou#h the Bo#ic is essentially an electronic-
mechanical system& its functionality is startlin#ly similar to that achieved by the
,nternet almost half a century later$ (riters such as (illiam ;ibson
</euromancer= and Fernor Fin#e <True /ames= later be#an to e3plore the
world mutually e3perienced by computer users as a settin# where humans could
directly lin" their minds to computer-#enerated worlds <see virtual reality=$ A
new elite of cyberspace masters were portrayed in a futuristic adaptation of such
archetypes as the cowboy #unslin#er& samurai& or nin)a$ Enli"e the morally
unambi#uous world of the old western movies& however& the novels and movies
with the new Ncyberpun"O sensibility are #enerally set in a )umbled& fra#mented&
chaotic world$ That world is often dominated by #iant corporations <reflectin#
concerns about economic #lobalism= and is #enerally dystopian$ Meanwhile as
cyberspace continues to become reality& cyberpun" has lost its distinctiveness as
a #enre$ ;ibsonMs latest wor" <and that of other writers such as Bruce 8terlin#
and Fernor Fin#e= is more apt to e3plore ways of communicatin# and
networ"in# that belon# to )ust the day after tomorrow& if not not already
appearin# <particularly amon# youn# people= today$