Filtering Content from the Internet FAQ
All networks installed and managed by Classmate are equipped with industry-standard content filtering to ensure everyone at school has a safe and productive technology experience. Rest assured, it's natural to have questions so check out the details below for common answers.
Content Filtering
What Content Filtering system is used?
Most Classmate schools use a content filtering system known as Meraki Advanced Security (MAS). This is widely used by schools all over the world, covering the spectrum of school size and age group.
Some Classmate schools use a more advanced content filter, known as Securly Filter, to meet additional needs around reporting, take-home devices, and more advanced filtering requests.
What kind of content is filtered?
Content Filtering is a balancing act as we want to ensure everyone has a safe experience, while also having access to the plethora of valuable information related to any subject covered in class. You can rest easy knowing there are a handful of categories we block without question:
- Abused Drugs
- Pornography
- Cheating (Academic)
- Dating
- Gambling
- Hate and Racism
- Violence and Weapons
- Illegal Activities & Substances
- Child Abuse Content
- Terrorism and Violent Extremism
While the list goes on, I'm sure you get the jist of things. When anyone stumbles upon a website that fits within one of the aforementioned categories, they'll see a Meraki-branded page letting them know the requested content is blocked.
What kind of content is not filtered?
Anything coming from the School, Apple, Google, or other well-known sources is allowed (within reason). There is still some level of filtering applied but it's done so more discretely. For example, if we blocked Google Search because you can find information about drugs - then we'd also be blocking a valuable learning tool. As a result, instead of blocking Google Search itself, we filter the results of a search based on the categories mentioned above.
Is filtering identical for Staff and Students?
While the Content Filtering applied to the Staff WiFi and Student WiFi is similar, there are slightly fewer restrictions on the Staff WiFi network. Guest WiFi has similar filtering as well but with slightly more filtering than Student WiFi.
Can Classmate see who visits inappropriate content?
Classmate can generate a report describing the occurrence of each event resulting in a blocked website. The same report would list the attempted website, it's assumed category, and the device attempting to visit said website. Keep in mind, it's just the device. In the case of Shared Devices, we'd need to work with staff to identify who was using the device at that moment in time.
How can I access something that is incorrectly blocked?
If a particular website is being blocked incorrectly,
submit a request including the URL of the website you'd like to visit.
What about WiFi at home?
Meraki Advanced Security is only active when connected to the school network. Content Filtering outside of the school is possible with Securly Filter and comes with its own set of challenges.
We're always improving the experience at schools, the information above is subject to change based on industry-specific best practices.
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