Week 3 - Acceptable Technology Use

Technology - AUP Policy

This week's assignment was difficult to add my personal touches to the Technology Acceptable Use document for my district.

I read over our district's policies and we have three school board policies. (815, 816, 817) The first is for students using the Internet, Computers and Network resources.  The second is electronic communication and social media.  The third is freedom of speech related to appropriate online communications for staff.  Each board policy is several pages and very specific and detailed.  Here is my own version of the technology acceptable use   -

Central Bucks School District (815)

ACCEPTABLE USE OF INTERNET, COMPUTERS AND NETWORK

RESOURCES

The Board supports use of the computers, Internet and other network resources in the district's instructional and operational programs in order to facilitate learning,

teaching and daily operations through interpersonal communications and access to

information, research and collaboration.

Computer use is restricted when a picture or image is deemed harmful to minors including images that:

Depicts, describes or represents in an offensive way with respect to what

is suitable for minors, an actual or simulated sexual act or sexual contact, actual

or simulated normal or perverted sexual acts, or lewd exhibition of the genitals;

and taken as a whole lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.

The Board declares that computer and network use is a privilege, not a right. The

district’s computer and network resources are the property of the district. Users shall

have no expectation of privacy in anything they create, store, send, delete, receive or

display on or over the district’s Internet, computers or network resources, including

personal files or any use of the district’s Internet, computers or network resources.

The district reserves the right to monitor, track, and log network access and use;

monitor fileserver space utilization by district users; or deny access to prevent

unauthorized, inappropriate or illegal activity and may revoke access privileges

and/or administer appropriate disciplinary action. The district shall cooperate to the

extent legally required with the Internet Service Provider (ISP), local, state and

federal officials in any investigation concerning or related to the misuse of the

district’s Internet, computers and network resources.

Administrators, teachers and staff have a professional responsibility to work together

to help students develop the intellectual skills necessary to discern among

information sources, to identify information appropriate to their age and

developmental levels, and to evaluate and use the information to meet their

educational goals.

Students, staff and other authorized individuals have the responsibility to respect and

protect the rights of every other user in the district and on the Internet.

Personal additions to the AUP Policy - 

•   Use restricted to specific activities related to classroom curriculum

•   Filtering will be used at all times

•   Use limited to information directly related to course content or other approved topics

•   students may not obtain, view, or download inappropriate information (illegal, non-school related activities, offensive materials)

•    students may not share username, password

New Hope Solebury – AUP (Small school district right next to ours & similar to our AUP policy)

http://nhsd.schoolwires.net/cms/lib03/PA01001961/Centricity/Domain/64/AcceptableUseForInternet.pdf

Lower Merion School district - AUP (Large district similar to ours.  Students must take several comprehensive technology use classes in middle school and then are given a laptop for (4) years o high school.)

http://www.lmsd.org/data/files/gallery/BoardPolicies200/Policy_AR234.pdf

http://www.lmsd.org/data/files/gallery/BoardPolicies200/Policy_P234.pdf

I read over the federal laws and I understand what each school district needs to include to meet the requirements.  I also enjoyed listening to the interview with Bud Hunt, Joe Wood and Mike Gras.  Several takeaways that I got from the interview are - First,  the IT department is not looking to restrict teachers, they want what is best for teachers and students alike.  Second, restrictions on the network could be from bandwidth and also recommendations from system providers.  Last, social media and iPhone's have changed district computer use and it is very important for teachers and schools to guide students through acceptable technology uses.