The tech infrastructure of your school, the security of your pupils, and the effectiveness of your online learning all depend on your web filter.
School IT departments have had to quickly adjust as new and developing digital learning systems are put in place for K–12 education. Schools have a lot more to manage to keep children safe online as a result of increased device usage, mobility, and collaboration.
As a result, your web filter must:
- Provide cutting-edge technology, such as AI, that can accurately classify material and spot harmful behaviors.
- Offer cloud-based web filtering services that let you scale up or down quickly and easily, all while saving you money and simplifying management.
- Have options for each device that make it easier and better to control your filter and SSL decryption.
If you’re not sure at any point in time that your school’s website filtering software is not up to date, then here are six signs it’s time to upgrade.
1: Running a man-in-the-middle proxy
The initial stage in decrypting the internet traffic you’re trying to censor requires a dependable MITM proxy, PAC files, and trust certificates. However, managing those procedures shouldn’t burden your IT personnel; the proper web filtering system should take care of them as well.
The majority of supplemental services you may already use should follow the same principle. You can be adding needless complexity to IT and expenses to your district if you use a separate student monitoring solution that lacks the necessary context and AI, or if you are constantly upgrading hardware to meet the demands of your current solution.
2: Lack of Reporting and Monitoring Capabilities
The capacity to monitor online activity and derive insights from internet usage trends is crucial in the field of digital security. If the reporting and monitoring capabilities of your current web filtering software are inadequate, you can unintentionally miss out on opportunities to identify new problems.
So, keep checking that policies are being followed, and make sure that usage is in line with accepted standards. A system upgrade that includes powerful reporting capabilities creates opportunities for well-informed decision-making by supplying priceless information gleaned from rigorous data analysis.
3: Inadequate Protection from Emerging Threats
The range of online risks is continually enlarging in the quickly changing digital environment, including new malware types and phishing attacks that are intended for both students and employees.
It indicates a compelling need for an upgrade if your current web filtering software finds it difficult to keep up with these emerging risks. To maintain your school’s network’s defense against the most recent online dangers, upgraded solutions typically include real-time threat identification procedures together with automated updates.
By implementing cutting-edge filtering technologies, your institution guarantees continuing security and maintains a safe online environment for all users.
4: Poor User Experience
The importance of a smooth user experience cannot be overstated in the context of education. When faulty filtering results—false positives blocking safe content or false negatives allowing harmful information—present students and educators with recurrent difficulties, there is space for system improvement.
Moving to a more sophisticated system with content analysis and machine learning can successfully reduce these differences. This upgrade guarantees a more streamlined and trouble-free online experience for all users within the educational ecosystem.
5: Both Parents and Educators have Queries
Parents frequently express concerns regarding student data privacy, online safety, browser blocking, screen time, and general device usage when school-issued devices are brought home.
You should be able to communicate with parents about those worries without clogging up IT departments thanks to your web filtering solution’s clear, uncomplicated responses.
Concerns about how your online filtering will be incorporated into the classroom may also come from teachers. Effective classroom management will be supported by the ideal solution, not undermined by it.
6: Increase in Students Accessing Inappropriate Content
Pornography and hate speech are both examples of inappropriate content. If you notice an increase in pupils accessing this kind of content, your web filtering software can not be blocking it effectively enough.
This is a significant problem since unsuitable content may harm students’ mental health and well-being. It’s critical to intervene if you notice a rise in the number of pupils viewing inappropriate material.
You can start by instructing pupils on how to stay safe online and the perils of unsuitable content. Ensure that the web filtering software is set up to block unsuitable content by reviewing it.
Conclusion
To sum up, a secure and effective online learning environment must include web filtering software. If you’ve noticed any of the warning flags listed above, it’s a sure sign that updating the web filtering system at your school is a proactive move to improve digital safety and offer a better educational experience.
Your school can guarantee a safe and beneficial online environment for staff and students by investing in an advanced filtering solution that solves the changing challenges of the digital real time.
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