BVSD and Web Security

The+notification+that+appears+if+a+students+tries+to+access+a+site+that+is+not+aloud+by+the+new+web+filter%2C+such+as+Hulu.

The notification that appears if a students tries to access a site that is not aloud by the new web filter, such as Hulu.

As the school year begins to pick up steam and students return to their tutor time study habits, they may have noticed that they are encountering something new blocking the path. This is the new BVSD Web Filter. Sites such as online radio service Pandora, tv streaming Hulu, and news sources such as Vox. While this may seem to be an unnecessary obstacle to place into their free WiFi, BVSD has reason for this.

According to the BVSD Technology Blog, the new BVSD Web Filter was created to comply with CIPA (Child Internet Protection Act). While the old filter did pass, it was not adequate for what the district needed. So they turned to iBoss. This is the new BVSD bouncer. This is harder to crack or get around. It is also much easier for the IT staff to use. Teaching staff members can temporarily override some of these blocks, but unfortunately students cannot.

Bandwidth is considered the highway of the internet. Everything viewed travels along here, but when there is too much at once, thing slow down. Like an actual highway. And last year, the audio streaming took up nearly a third of the district’s. Music streaming services were blocked in order to provide enough bandwidth to educational web applications. This prevents runaway usage. “For instance a teacher could be in a classroom, turn on Pandora and just walk away,” says Monarch IT manager, Ben Kulpinski. “We’re trying to prevent that and make it a little more conscious.”

BVSD WiFi is now cleaner and hopefully faster. As far as music goes, the district may be revisiting the issue later in the year.