School filtering systems

School filtering systems

by Sarah Hackett -
Number of replies: 21

Have you had any problems with school filtering systems? I am trying to get it so that my pupils can access the resources I put up for them in school. They can get to the front page of my Moodle website but not beyond that.

I have raised the issue at school and rang the help desk of the extremely well known company which does the filtering but so far we have a stalemate. The company say they are not blocking it but the pages keep coming up being blocked by them. They say that the school has an additional filtering system (which also seems to be provided by them) where words have been selected by the school. The school say they can only afford a basic filtering package and if they want the more advanced one where they can choose sites to allow it is going to cost them a whole heap more money.

I can't get to the bottom of what their system doesn't like about my site. There is nothing on my site that is risque. I don't run Chat. There are Forums but I need to be able to give advice to pupils online otherwise what is the use of a VLE?

Any suggestions would be most welcome. The company help desk even went so far as to say I'd have to tackle the issue on a school by school basis to which I suggested that schools would be an awfully long time meeting Government deadlines for VLEs at this rate.

Yes, I did suggest that the school might like to change their filter providers but so far no dice!

Sarah

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In reply to Sarah Hackett

Re: School filtering systems

by Don Petersen -

Sarah,

I don't know if this will work for you, but try https://kproxy.com  Note that the http also adds an "s" for systems.  It might allow you to bybass your filtering system so that you can use a legitimate site.  I'd warn you about going some place your filtering system trys to keep you from because you will eventually get shut down.  If this doesn't work, try looking up additional proxy sites at home and then try using them at school.  Good luck in your quest.

Don

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In reply to Don Petersen

Re: School filtering systems

by Sarah Hackett -
kproxy uses an invalid security certificate. Any decent filtering system would have spent a lot of time banning this kind of escapism activity.

I do need a proper solution and not something that is just a work around. If school filtering systems are banning independent Moodle sites we need to know why. There is absolutely nothing dodgy about my site, no risque words or pictures. It is designed as being completely suitable for school children. I am simply teaching lessons.

Regards

Sarah
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In reply to Sarah Hackett

Re: School filtering systems

by Mary Cooch -
Picture of Documentation writers Picture of Moodle HQ Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Testers Picture of Translators
Hi Sarah,. Which pages/sites is is specifically that are getting blocked? Or is it all of them? Who hosts your Moodle?  Are you saying once they log in any resources of the 'link to a file or website' type are banned?
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In reply to Mary Cooch

Re: School filtering systems

by Sarah Hackett -
Everything beyond the website home Moodle page is banned. The Moodle is hosted on my server. Pupils don't get as far as clicking on any resource links.

Regards

Sarah
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In reply to Sarah Hackett

Re: School filtering systems

by Russell Waldron -
Sarah,

The steps below have been effective in pushing me (in my IT management role) or my school to fix situations like yours.

Ordinary solutions
Politely pursue a solution or a written refusal from your organisation's technical support.

Document the error
Build up a (small) gallery of screenshots of the blocking message paired with screenshots of the content that was blocked.

Check your reputation
You can test to discover how your pages have been classified by major filter products.

Visit one of your course pages, copy the URL and paste it into the URL test field on these pages:
Build appropriate concern
Your organisation is having its reputation trashed by its firewall or filter, in a forum that is public and of growing importance, long term. Find an ally in your organisation who cares about your organisation's reputation. Point out that your organisation has apparently not attempted to influence the source of hostile public assertions about it (the filtering company's database).

Prove and price a workaround
Backup your course, and restore it into an external Moodle site, such as ninehub.com. Ask your organisation's technical support to outline in writing the likely impact if your learners use an externally hosted Moodle. Make your own calculation of the financial costs to both the organisation and to the learners.

Compare with competitors
Collect screenshots of a course run by the organisation that your school normally aims to emulate.

Present well
Find the person in your organisation who is most successful at putting a persuasive case to the executive, and enlist them in making your case.

Good luck,

Russell
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In reply to Russell Waldron

Re: School filtering systems

by Sarah Hackett -
Thanks Russell for taking the trouble to write such a detailed response.

I've just checked the urls you've suggested and none of those sites have heard of my site so my reputation seems fine. Mind you I wouldn't really have expected them to have marked me down as there is nothing remotely controversial on it.

My organisation is me alone. In between daytime teaching work I'm pushing the boundaries of what is taught using a VLE because I have an unusual set of skills for my subject and access to equipment that other colleagues don't have. The resources take ages to create as I'm really trying to avoid book automation. It is more than just a tad disappointing to encounter such a problem and to feel that wheels are grinding so slow.

There is obviously something in the page that the filtering system doesn't like. Will print out your list of things to do and keep plugging away as time allows.

Regards

Sarah
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In reply to Sarah Hackett

Re: School filtering systems

by ben reynolds -
Going along with Mary, I'd like to know the specific message about blocking. I'd like to know what "can't get beyond the front page" means.

For example, if cookies are blocked, no one gets beyond the login page. That may throw up a message that Extremely Well Known School Filter System is blocking your page, but, in fact, EWKSFS is simply blocking cookies.

Also of note, some words are explicitly banned. One of those banned in most router ad blockers is "banner." We once had a server named banner.cty.jhu.edu and it was banned.
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In reply to ben reynolds

Re: School filtering systems

by Sarah Hackett -
Dear Ben

Not getting beyond the front page means that none of the links to my course pages work i.e. pages you have to log in for, either as a guest or as a named person.

I'll ask about cookies. If it does turn out to be that, then presumably other schools have done likewise. This would be more of a battle than I can fight as a one person part-timer simply because I don't have the time to throw at it that it would need in order to change people's attitudes to Moodle sites. It would be a shame as there is potential in my site to train pupils from different schools who could then get together once a term to perform.

Does anyone know of a list of banned words? 'Banner' is not one I've got.

I haven't given up but at the moment it feels a bit like lifting a stone to look for a worm and finding you've got an ants' nest instead.

Sarah
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In reply to Sarah Hackett

Re: School filtering systems

by Sarah Hackett -
I've had an offer of testing from John Lagrue but cannot find the message he posted on this site. I'll edit my profile and that might help.

Regards

Sarah
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In reply to Sarah Hackett

Re: School filtering systems

by John Lagrue -
Sarah

That's because I sent it to you as a Message, rather than a forum post smile

John
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In reply to John Lagrue

Re: School filtering systems

by Sarah Hackett -
Not having had the need to learn to use Message in Moodle I didn't realise that was what you were doing! big grin

Regards

Sarah
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In reply to Sarah Hackett

Re: School filtering systems

by John Lagrue -
If you want to email me a link so I can take a look at your pages I might be able to figure out why they're being filtered.

John
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In reply to John Lagrue

Re: School filtering systems

by Sarah Hackett -
Done. I've sent you an audio course and a video course link via the Message system.

Regards

Sarah
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In reply to Sarah Hackett

Re: School filtering systems

by ben reynolds -

Not getting beyond the front page means that none of the links to my course pages work i.e. pages you have to log in for, either as a guest or as a named person.

So, users can see the links *as links* (blue, underlined), but the links are not active?

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In reply to ben reynolds

Re: School filtering systems

by Sarah Hackett -
Yes, they can see the link but when clicked the links go to a page that says that one is not allowed to access the linked page.

Regards

Sarah
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In reply to Sarah Hackett

Re: School filtering systems

by ben reynolds -
Hi Sarah,
What is the exact wording of the message?

Also, this may sound weird, but have you actually made sure that the link is correct? Half a year or so ago, there were a couple of schools where the directory "moodle" was interpolated into the links, which thus became inaccessible.
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In reply to ben reynolds

Re: School filtering systems

by Sarah Hackett -
Dear Ben

Something to the effect that 'This page is being blocked by this establishment' and the policy is 'staff'.

The link is correct because it all works fine from home.

I'm going in to that school tomorrow. I reminded them last week that I still wasn't able to access anything so something may have shifted in the meantime. If not, I'll print out the page and give you the exact words.

Regards

Sarah
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In reply to Sarah Hackett

Re: School filtering systems

by Sarah Hackett -
Wey Hey! It appears to have been sorted.

Apparently the school was subject to a double filtering system which meant that it was discovered my site 'hadn't got a hope of getting through'. Links that had been filtered were getting filtered again. The filtering service has 're-built' the section of their package that was doing this. I can now access all my site in school.

The IT staff at the school are pleased because a by-product of the re-build means they can access YouTube videos. They haven't had to pay any more to get these alterations made and feel they now have a better service. They also realise that even though they are on the most basic package, and have been told they cannot ask for individual sites to be added, that it is worth saying to the filtering company 'We really should be able to access this site'.

I will probably ask for official confirmation at some point when I have a mo but as John Lagrue has the same filtering service and can get to my site without any problems I think we can say it is sorted.

Thanks very much everybody for moral support when I was totally flagging in energy on this one.

Regards

Sarah






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