No more social media: B.C. school district restricts Wi-Fi access

High schools in Maple-Ridge andPittMeadowsare cutting off studentsfrom one of their favouritethings: social media.

SchoolDistrict42 has re-configured itsschool Wi-Fi networks to block access to popular sites such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram and Netflix.

IrenaPochop, the senior manager of communications for the district, said the changes come at the request of the secondary school principals.

"They were concerned that certain social media platforms werea distraction in the classroom, so they came to the district to see what we can provide at the district level,"Pochopsaid.

Education tool or distraction?

Not all educators agree with the blanket ban, though.

Former chair of theVancouver School BoardPatti Bacchusdescribed the change as a "crude block" that is unlikely to be successful.

"There is a lot of constructive uses for these sites that can be incorporated into education," Bacchussaid. "Students might have legitimate reasons to be using these and, if they are determined to use themeven if they are not using them legitimately, they will find a way to do that."

Therestrictions won't affectstudents using cellular data plans to access the sites.

Classroom expectations

Bacchussaid instead of banning social media,teachers shouldlay out expectations about their use in the same way they would with anyother classroom rules.

"As we evolve and technology evolves, it's important that we stay on top of it in a constructive way," shesaid. "Like in any workplace, there are clear expectations,or thereshould be, about when it's appropriate to be using the devices and when it's not, and that's part of learning."

Jesse Miller, a social media expert who has worked with students in thedistrict, said the new policy is fair as he thinks most social media use in the classroom isfor entertainment and not education.

"They're not saying you can't access social media and utilize it for the purpose of education," he said."If at the end of the day, we just have kids getting frustrated that they can't get onSnapchat, that's not a school issue."

The school districtwill revisit the policy change with the secondary principals as the semester progresses.