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Although the first paragraph can be a little grating for ITs/Tech. Coordinators to read, I think it is a perception we must address. Here is my response to one IT whose view of teachers was low. Joe, I can hear the frustration in your reply. I can appreciate some of it. However, I think that the first paragraph,  I think, reflects a perception that we as IT's/Tech. Directors/Coordinators need to address honestly, but respectfully. So when I read the first paragraphs, I asked myself, "How is this true for me?" I think we need to honestly assess that in our practice.  Next, the points that follow were written to be more general in scope to give each reader a chance to explore how they might fit for them in their unique situations. Patronizing? I think they are points of practice we can all reflect on. That's the purpose I see in the blog post. In regards to filtering, we all live with it. It's coming to terms with how much filtering is necessary and how to manage the filter. I get frustrated not having the ability to filter content the way I would like. I didn't hear the author say things like "Get over it," but instead "Consider....". I think a helpful approach for IT's, teachers, and admin. is to form a partnership/relationship that allows each to better understand the needs/challenges each faces to provide the best for students. That's the goal. As a tech. coordinator, I proactively work at that. I taught for eight years, but also was instrumental in helping press into tech. integration and perhaps that has helped me to be more balanced than some in my approach to IT and embrace change. I think also we have to expect failures along the way as we feel our way through new approaches, methods, and devices. Right now, I think most IT's are a bit intimated by the level of change and diversity of needs we have to address. I know I am! Let's become more a part of the dialogue and abstain from labeling and finger-pointing. We're in this together. 

Great tips to helping thin your Inbox. "While lots of newsletters and mailing lists fall into the "spam" category, sometimes you want to read them but don't want them cluttering up your inbox. Filter them out in Gmail by including these oft-used phrases." Also read the post comments for another great way to subscribe to things and not have them end up in your Inbox.

More good writing about the role of filters and how they are used

OpenDNS Home: Our classic service with customizable filtering and security. Blocks access to adult websites. Free.

Anne Hinchcliff shared this great article that I think will help clarify for school admin., tech coordinators, teachers, students, etc. what our responsibilities and roles are in digital citizenship with regard to appropriate content. BalancedFiltering.org is a grassroots campaign to promote balanced content filtering in schools which complies with the law, promotes accountability, and encourages responsible digital citizenship.

An interesting on filtering GAFE with objectionable content (based on word lists) and examples of word lists/policies. Some of the features discussed not available are now available in GAFE Admin. Setup (Email blocks, quarantines, etc.) Here is a video by Google Guru showing the setup. http://goo.gl/ejC3Eq

Good discussion on CIPA compliance and who is in charge of determining what is appropriate or not. This discussion articulates why a filtering company shouldn't be in charge of telling me what is appropriate or not. There is no standard that can be applied by a 3rd party provider.

U.S. Dept. of Education Technology Plan - Infrastructure: Access and Enable - discusses the role of filtering and providing access - read "Balancing Connectivity and Student Safety on the Internet" 

Nice basic introduction to hashtags in education and has groupings of tags that will be helpful to use in filtering what you want to find and share on Twitter

Another great blog post by Wesley Fryer to help us understand CIPA compliance and it's role in our schools. Wow!