Acceptable Use Policies
Addendum Written by Max Uhls, Highland High School,
Original Written by Jim Peterson, Bloomington School District,
Issues Regarding
Acceptable Use Policies
Addendum Written by Kona Taylor, Doctoral Student, Department of
Curriculum &
Instruction,
AUP Standards
While the previous information details what should be included in a school AUP, currently there are few if any preset standards or requirements. Mandated by the Children’s Internet Protection Act, if a school receives funding through the E-rate program they are required to have some form of an AUP in place (along with other things including filters; http://ftp.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cipa.html). Additionally, some states have started to require all public schools to have an AUP in place (see http://www.doe.state.in.us/olr/aup/aupreg.html for an example). Yet, many states have no formal or informal requirements for AUP’s, other than the requirements mandated through E-rate funding. This is an important consideration because the basic requirements set forth through the E-rate funding and possibly the state board of education may not be appropriate or substantial enough for a particular school’s use of the internet. Thus, when creating an AUP policy it is important to make sure not only federal and state requirements are met, but also those of your particular school.
Who Should Create
Your School Districts AUP?
It is very important that as a school constructs
their AUP the right people are involved. In order to have the most efficient
and effective AUP, a committee should be set up consisting of some of the
following: parents, school board members, technology coordinator, principal,
superintendent, students, librarian, & teachers (Chmielewski,
1998; http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3617/is_199810/ai_n8818865). This make-up is important because it allows
all that will be affected by the AUP a chance to speak up and bring different
points of view to the table.
Who Upholds the
Guidelines of Your Schools AUP?
This is a very important consideration and one that should be specifically included in all AUP’s. Just having an AUP in place is not good enough if no one is quite sure who is suppose to be making sure the AUP guidelines are being followed and the procedure to follow if one thinks the AUP is not being followed. While most would assume the technology coordinator and librarian would be the ones mainly responsible, it is also important for teachers and other school employees to be aware of what is expected from them and the procedures for doing such. “Student abuse most often occurs when they are unsupervised” (Hall & Kelly, 2005; http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:MfzRqWGXeWwJ:www.kent.k12.wa.us/staff/donhall/Security.pdf+%22security+code+red+or+ready%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3).
Students
Understanding of Your School’s AUP
Unfortunately, in today’s society, it has become imperative for schools to be legally covered in terms of internet usage to avoid potential lawsuits. This often causes AUP policies to resemble legal documents more than understandable policy for internet use (Loverro, 2002: http://students.washington.edu/loverro/projects/AUP-NECC.htm). This is problematic because in many cases, AUP’s are handed out to students just to “sign” or to “sign and have their parents sign” before being able to use the internet. Even if the student was to try to read the AUP or have someone else read and explain it to them, in many cases the legal jargon confuses the real message behind the purpose of the AUP. For this reason, it is vitally important for students as well as teachers to be educated on what the AUP actually means and what it is they are really signing. Suggestions include having an on-line interactive AUP that requires the students to answer questions about the terms of the AUP (like a quiz) before being able to sign it. Alternatively, at the beginning of each school year the teachers would take the time to explain each part of the AUP to students and answer questions about it before the students sign it. The following are suggested steps a teacher can take to interpret their school’s AUP for their classroom:
The Seven Steps to AUP Interpretation and Translation
1. Locate the district policy.
2. Identify individual regulations that apply to students.
3. Craft these regulations in age-appropriate language, using sample activities and examples.
4. If desired, include additional classroom-specific rules for computer use
5. Identify appropriate, hierarchical consequences for failure to follow the rules
6. Create a packet that includes a cover letter to parents; the "kid-friendly" AUP; the district AUP; and a permission slip to be signed by the student, parents, and teacher.
7. Develop a measurement instrument (test) to determine level of student mastery of the "kid-friendly" AUP.
(Loverro, 2002: http://students.washington.edu/loverro/projects/AUP-NECC.htm).
Future of AUP’s
“As a final contribution, I would like to paraphrase another brilliant idea shared with me by teenage Internet expert Jennifer Barovian: It may be that we shall soon see a different attitude, and we may need different approaches to Acceptable Use Policies, because students are now increasingly required to participate in an Internet curriculum. Until quite recently, voluntary initiative was the basis of educational involvement in the Internet. But now there may be less personal choice available to students, and perhaps our AUPs will need to be adjusted for this new reality.”
Critiquing Acceptable Use Policies An essay written in June 1995 by Dave Kinnaman http://www.io.com/~kinnaman/aupessay.html
References:
Chmielewski, C. M. (1998). Savvy about cybersmut. NEA Today, 17, 27- 31. Retrieved May 27, 2006. Located at: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3617/is_199810/ai_n8818865
Federal Communications Commission. (2006). Children’s Internet Protection Act. Retrieved May 25, 2006. Located at: http://ftp.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cipa.html
Indiana Department of Education. (2005). State Requirements for Public School Internet Acceptable Use Policies and Guidelines. Retrieved May 25, 2006. Located at: http://www.doe.state.in.us/olr/aup/aupreg.html
Hall. D. & Kelly, P. (2005). Security code red or ready. Learning and Leading with
Technology, 12(6). 28 -30. Retrieved May 27, 2006.
Located at: http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:MfzRqWGXeWwJ:www.kent.k12.wa.us/staff/donhall/Security.pdf+%22security+code+red+or+ready%22&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3
Kinnman. D. (1995, June). Critiquing acceptable use policies. Retrieved May 27, 2006.
Located at: http://www.io.com/~kinnaman/aupessay.html
Loverro,