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Blocking social networks and banning cellphones in schools makes it difficult for teachers to do their jobs effectively in a digital world, a new report says. "School policies around technology are very frustrating to me," an elementary school teacher from Atlantic Canada says in the report from the Media Awareness Network, a Canadian non-profit that promotes digital literacy.

Others complained of similar restrictions. A teacher in Atlantic Canada tried to get students to use Twitter to collaborate on solving math problems, but the school refused to unblock the site. Teachers in Ontario and Quebec complained they couldn't incorporate video into their lessons because the schools wouldn't allow access to YouTube.

When schools do use technology in the classroom, they focus too much on teaching kids how to use devices, which they already know.

While Canadian educators believe that digital technologies can enrich students' learning, there are still significant challenges to overcome in making this happen – with one of the main barriers being students' lack of digital literacy skills. And school filters and policies that ban or restrict networked devices in the classroom take away the very opportunities young people need to develop digital literacy skills such as good judgment and responsible use. These are among the findings in Young Canadians in a Wired World, Phase III: Teachers' Perspectives –a new report from Media Awareness Network(MNet)