The biggest trend in online safety over the last year has been tracking user behavior online, rather than just filtering inappropriate sites. F iltering is just the first step, and everybody needs to filter. But with the rapid increase in online learning programs, school districts are a lot more interested now in tracking what people are doing and why, so they can plug holes in their policies and address the issues—whether it’s students going to social networking sites, online predators or open-source proxies.
People just don't know what they don't know, so the ability to track exactly what's happening on the network is something that enterprise has been concerned with for some time, and now education is making this a priority.
There's a responsibility when you bring the Internet into a school district. Somebody has to be aggressive in reviewing the sites the kids are accessing, and the content they are viewing. You have to have a content filter in place that meets the minimum requirements of CIPA (the Children's Internet Protection Act). And you have to back that up with reporting and monitoring of activity on your network, by students and staff.
Obtaining this total view of online behavior is easier said than done, and overburdened IT staffs struggle to implement and manage these complete solutions. However, there are vendors who do it all—filtering, reporting, monitoring, whom also offer easy installation and administration. By working with these one-stop shop vendors, there is just one number to call, which is critical for today’s over-burdened K–12 IT staff.
The award-winning 8e6 Professional Edition from 8e6 Technologies is the most comprehensive solution available, integrating best-in-class, appliance-based URL filtering, forensic Web usage reporting and real-time monitoring to protect schools and districts against threats arising from Internet-based learning.
The 8e6 solution includes:
- 8e6 R3000 Internet Filter—offers high-performance, enterprise-level filtering optimized for speed and scalability. Filters URLs, anonymous proxies, spyware, instant messaging, peer-to-peer and other emerging threats utilizing the 8e6 100+ Category Database enhanced by Intelligent Footprint Technology.
- 8e6 Enterprise Reporter—provides detailed drill down forensic reporting without compromising filtering performance or impacting network functions. Ensures enforcement of AUPs.
- 8e6 Threat Analysis Reporter—proactively monitors and mitigates student/teacher generated Internet threats by offering an up-to-the-minute graphical “gauge view” of online activity.
Internet-assisted learning can extend beyond the classroom and into students’ homes, providing more resources and better teacher-student communication. However, most IT staffs or administrators do not have a comprehensive and cost-effective solution to enforce Internet use policies for mobile users.
For schools exploring laptop programs, 8e6’s technology and service also extends to support 1:1 programs. 8e6’s Mobile Client—a software-based solution that filters remote PC and Mac laptops, works in conjunction with the R3000 Mobile appliance, and is simple to deploy, manage and maintain.
8e6 directly addresses the challenges of online child safety by giving network administrators and educators the tools to view, understand and react to Web-based threats arising from online learning.
For more information about 8e6 Technologies, call 888-786-7999, visit www.8e6.com/education or stop by NECC booth 5146.