BASCOM, a developer of e-curriculum filtering solutions, has announced the “next generation” filtering technology at this week’s National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in Chicago.
The new Internet Communications Server (ICS) 4.0 is based on BASCOM’s proprietary “Learning Zones” technology. Learning Zones are online resources grouped in four distinct zones: the Lesson Zone (which routes students to resources made available by individual teachers for particular lessons), the School Zone (which gives students access to a premier education community categorized by subject), the Research Zone (which allows students broader use of the Internet while restricting access to non-productive sites), and the Internet Zone (which provides unrestricted access to the whole Web).
BASCOM’s ICS purportedly combines the benefits of proxy caching and firewall protection with curriculum-based content, content-management tools and Web portals. It provides remote administration, enhanced mobile computing functionality and a more, according to the folks at BASCOM.
The Internet Communications Server is fully compatible with all standard operating systems from Mac to Windows, from Unix to Linux. Unfortunately for Mac fans, BASCOM has made strategic alliances with Dell and Toshiba, not Apple, in their efforts to make their filtering technology available to schools nationwide.