To Filter on Not to Filter- That is the Question

I regard information literacy as one of the most important 21st century skills we can develop in our students.  A huge part of information literacy is the ability to sift through all of the chaff out there on the internet to get to the wheat.  Unfortunately, some of this chaff is extremely dangerous to our children, and for us for that matter.  What if we filter everything and don't teach our kids how to deal with the dangers?  Shouldn't that be a part of our work?  Can we assume that parents are doing this job and that this is not really our role?  Judging by all of the kids out there getting in trouble on the internet, I'm not so sure.  This issue is one that needs to be discussed opening and honestly by everyone involved with children, especially the parents of our students.  Until we are ready,wiling, and able to have these discussions, there are a number of ways to protect our students from some of the dangers out there on the internet.  I found an inexpensive web-based filtering system at the Mobile Learning 2011 Conference in Phoenix.  Check back tomorrow for details.