Acceptable Use Policies in K-12 Schools

Technology’s influence on contemporary K-12 education is undeniable.  Students today routinely conduct research online, plan and execute virtual science experiments, debate current events in Internet chat rooms, collaborate with peers via wikis and review math concepts by watching online instructional videos.  While these and other technologies have opened new and exciting windows to the outside world, they have also exposed our students to risks not typically associated with K-12 classrooms.

Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) are attempts by school administrators to promote responsible technology use among students and staff in ways that ideally maximize learning opportunities and outcomes, discourage student misuse of resources, and minimize student exposure to harmful or inappropriate words, images or interactions.   School administrators typically publish the AUP on the school/district website and in student handbooks, often requiring parents and students to return signed copies, acknowledging they have read the AUP and agree to abide by the policies within.

Education World suggests following the AUP guidelines created by the National Education Association when writing an AUP (“Getting Started on the Internet,” n.d.).  According to the NEA, an effective AUP should contain the following elements:

• A preamble detailing the goals of the AUP, as well as an explanation for why it is needed.
• A definition section in which key policy terms are clearly defined to ensure accurate reading of the AUP by all community members.
• A policy statement which describes which technologies are appropriate at school, as well as the conditions under which students may use them.
• An acceptable uses section which conveys what the school considers “appropriate use” of computers and technology.
• An unacceptable uses section which gives specific examples of what constitutes unacceptable student computer/technology use (e.g. cyberbullying, sending or viewing violent or pornographic images, plagiarism, etc.).
• A violations/sanctions section which provides information for how to report unacceptable use, as well as how violations in the AUP will be handled by school administration.

While most school/district AUPs contain the appropriate sections and information described above, many are written from an overly negative perspective, focusing primarily on the consequences of unacceptable student use (McLeod, 2014).  Compounding this problem in tone are the words themselves: AUPs often read like documents written by and for attorneys, not students and their families.  Many schools, however, have chosen to buck this trend and create more student-friendly AUPs.  Siskiyou Union High School’s AUP spells out what steps students should take online to “Protect Yourself” and “Respect Yourself,” while Anastasis Academy promotes responsible technology use with “I will” statements.  Administrators at Science Leadership Academy clearly believe that explaining the “why” behind their policies will encourage students to make better choices than focusing on consequences of misuse, and school leaders in the Washoe County School District included a section entitled, “Network Etiquette” in their AUP written in simple, student-friendly language.

Whether you’re writing your school’s Acceptable Use Policy or updating it to include recent advances in technology, consider creating a student-friendly document that seeks to educate students and families, not just inform them of the consequences of misusing technology.  Choose language and craft rules that are easy to understand, provide clear examples of what both “acceptable” and “unacceptable” use looks like, and provide insight as to why these rules are important.  In short, think guidebook, not rulebook.

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References

Getting started on the Internet: Developing an acceptable use policy (AUP). (n.d.). Education World. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr093.shtml

Lehmann, C. (n.d.). Science Leadership Academy acceptable use policy. Retrieved from http://scottmcleod.org/SLA_AUP0809.pdf

McCloed, S. (2014). Instead of an AUP, how about an EUP (Empowered Use Policy)? dangerously!irrelevant: Technology, Leadership and the Future of Schools. Retrieved from http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/2014/03/instead-of-an-aup-how-about-an-eup-empowered-use-policy.html

Siskiyou Union High School acceptable use agreement. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/a/u.boisestate.edu/file/d/0B9J6Vg1nXv1XOW5FVWVRaHlTdVN1aUdRRlYwSGVadw/edit

Washoe County School District acceptable use policy. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://pinemscomputers.weebly.com/uploads/1/0/5/3/10532712/wcsd_technology_agreement.aup.docx.pdf

Vision Statement

The transition of teachers away from the role of “content-deliverer” and into that of “learning-facilitator” is among the most dramatic paradigm shifts in American K-12 education in recent years.  Technology has enhanced the ability of teachers to guide students through the process of knowledge-building in numerous ways, and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) acknowledges this in its current definition of educational technology:

Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources (Januszewski & Molenda, 2008, p. 1).

Vision Statement

The ideal 21st Century Classroom is a student-focused learning environment in which technology is seamlessly incorporated into the daily lives of all stakeholders.  Teachers not only utilize technology to efficiently measure and record student progress through formative and summative assessment, they also use it to build educational ecosystems in which students explore aspects of the world not easily experienced in physical classrooms.  Students wield technology to demonstrate mastery in novel and creative ways and to communicate and collaborate with peers more often and with greater efficiency than through conventional approaches.  Finally, parents and guardians embrace technology as a means to more actively monitor their children’s progress through clearly articulated educational standards and benchmarks.

In order for this vision to be realized and to justify the time, effort and financial investment that such technology-enabled public classrooms require, additional commitment from all stakeholders is needed:

Teachers

Technology’s ability to motivate and engage students in K-12 classrooms is well documented (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 25).  However, technology must be integrated thoughtfully and with purpose to maximize its impact on learning.  By adopting pedagogically sound approaches such as the Technology Integration Planning (TIP) Model (Roblyer & Doering, 2013, p. 52), teachers can ensure that the appropriate technology is matched to the desired learning outcome, maximizing its efficacy and justifying its adoption.  By leveraging the ability of technology to provide real-time formative data, teachers can use it to modify class instruction and to create individualized learning plans for students.  Simulations, webquests, virtual field trips and virtual experiments allow teachers to create activities for students in which they build their own knowledge base, often by exploring real-world scenarios.  Wikis, online forums, blogs, Google Docs and a myriad of other online platforms can be utilized by teachers to encourage collaboration and co-learning, as well to make the revision process less time-consuming for students (Resta & Laferriere, 2007).

Students

Students must embrace technology’s ability to take them “outside” of the physical classroom to explore more authentic learning environments.  They should embrace the challenge of solving real-world problems, drawing their own conclusions about the natural world via simulations and virtual experiments, and demonstrating their knowledge through the creation of multimedia projects.  In short, students must embrace the opportunity to control their own learning (NETP Executive Summary, 2010).

Parents

Parents and guardians must recognize the increasingly important role technology is playing in education and make every effort to ensure that their children have access to a computer and the Internet at home, if possible.  Families facing financial hardship should seek out when and where free computers/Internet access are available to students (at school, local libraries, etc.), and make every effort to allow their children ample time to complete computer-based activities at these locations.  Parents facing financial hardship should contact their school’s administration and their children’s teachers; many schools have programs in place to provide hardware and technical assistance.

References

Januszewski, A., & Molenda, M. (2008). Educational technology: A definition with commentary. New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Resta, P., & Laferrière, T. (2007). Technology in support of collaborative learning. Educational Psychology Review, 19(1), 65-83. doi:10.1007/s10648-007-9042-7

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2013). Integrating educational technology into teaching. Boston, MA: Pearson.
U.S. Department of Education. (2010) National Education Technology Plan 2010 Executive Summary. Retrieved from http://tech.ed.gov/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/netp2010.pdf#page=11

Welcome!

Welcome to my EdTech Learning Log, the blog where I reflect on different aspects of the classes, readings and projects associated with my Master’s in Educational Technology program.