Part 1
I have learned so many great things in this class as the focus has been using technology in the classroom and that was one of the main goals I had when I enrolled in this program. There are definitely some things that I have already been doing (pats self on back) but a number of new concepts I was able to take and use in my classroom - creating digital books, cross-content integration, etc. This class has given me pedagogical reasoning for many of the things I have done to integrate technology into my classroom.
I saw many of the AECT standards being met while working on the various assignments over this course. We pursued research on a weekly basis with a focus on content knowledge and pedagogy. We also learned how to differentiate using technology in the classroom - this was a very valuable section of the class for me. In addition, we met the standard for evaluating technology for classroom use.
Looking back on where I was when I started my journey at BSU, I was a classroom teacher who was interested in making my interest in technology something that could improve my classroom. Over the course of the last two years, I have grown in proficiency and confidence in that area. In this class specifically, I felt more confident about the technology I was trying out in my room as we read about the various ways would could integrate. I also grew in my confidence in sharing these ideas with my colleagues at work. I've learned a number of great skills and this class have really helped me nail down some ideas I've wanted to try in my language arts classroom.
I think the biggest impact this class has had on my teaching thoughts and practice is, that it has increased my confidence in trying things in my classroom. Prior to this course, I would try things here and there without really having a plan in place. Now, I have a plan for how and when certain tools will be used and a lot more confidence in using them with my students. This course has also helped me to reflect on how I evaluate the technology I use to determine if it is worthwhile or if I need to find another resource to use.
As I mentioned previously, I feel like my evaluation of the technology I'm using is more complete and has more "bite" to it. Determining if a tool I'm using provides an improvement (RA) over what I was already doing is always in play when I'm looking at a tool or application. I also think more about who will be using it and if it makes sense to incorporate it. Theory was in practice in all components that I created for this course.
Part 2
Self-grading always weirds me out...here we go.
Content - I would rate myself between proficient and outstanding in this area. I think my posts were generally thoughtful, included insight, and were a synthesis of what I learned. I tend to write about my real-life experiences a lot as there is no better way to connect to what you are learning. (65)
Readings and Resources - I used the readings and other appropriate content to support my blog posts and I used APA style to cite. (20)
Timeliness - I believe most of my posts were made on Friday/Saturday in this class which should have given time for classmates to respond. (20)
Responses to Other Students - I responded to at least two blog posts every week - at first I was doing more than two but as I got busier through the school year and in my other BSU classes I just made sure to give two responses. My responses were generally thoughtful and focused on the information posted by the blogger. (30)
Saturday, December 1, 2018
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Accessibility Features on Google Chromebooks
All students deserve a chance to do their absolute best in any classroom. When a student has a disability, it can make daily activities seem impossible at times. Assistive technology is a tool that a classroom instructor can use to help that student feel and be successful in a classroom setting. As discussed in the text, the use of assistive and adaptive devices (along with other components) should be used to find the best solutions for all students. (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019)
My focus is usually on language arts and when I began looking I found that assistive technology can be used in a number of ways in that specific content area. Based on certain studies, students with reading disabilities are able to use assistive technology assimilate and communicate text to promote participation in a general classroom. (Nordstrom et al, 2018) The key is that using assistive technology allows for inclusive opportunities where students with disabilities feel confident that they can work with peers and collaborate in my classroom.
I currently use Windows 10 on a typical PC platform at home and in my classroom. The majority of assignments and work that my students perform on a daily basis involve the use of Google Classroom, so I am going to discuss some of the accessibility features that are add-on applications or that currently exist on the Google platform.
The first add-on that I use with my students (and definitely for myself) is called Mercury Reader. Mercury Reader allows you to basically clean up the page you are reading by removing ads, pop-ups, videos, etc. What you are left with is a clean version of the text or article you were attempting to read. Often times websites are so cluttered by junk that it makes it nearly impossible to tell where the article begins and ends. I share articles on a very consistent basis with my students and the use of Mercury Reader allows us to focus on the important stuff and not the distractions. For students who struggle with attention issues (ADD, etc.) this is a very helpful way to minimize their issues. In addition, this would benefit students with visual or cognitive disabilities by simplifying the screen. I personally use this tool as well because often the articles or pages I view for class suffer from the same overabundance of advertising and distractions that the ones I share with my students do.
Sometimes it's easier to talk about what you want to write than it is to type it out on a computer screen. In the past, I have had students use an application called SpeakIt! on Google but eventually, Google rolled out a Speech-to-Text product of their own that works really well. It is very easy to activate this tool and I purchased some cheap microphones that came with mini-tripods off of Amazon. This was a huge help in my classroom, as I work with struggling learners in language arts on a consistent basis. For students who struggle with writing (for cognitive or other reasons), it can often be easier to talk to the screen to get their ideas down than struggling through the activity with a pencil and paper. The quality of depth and writing vastly improved in my classroom when I introduced this to students for the first time. I personally have used speech-to-text products both on my computer and smartphone to allow me to make notes or give feedback to students. If struggling with a keyboard is something that you do consistently, speech-to-text could be a huge benefit to you.
In addition to these add-on products, there are a number of features built into the Chromebooks that I use and make my students aware of. There are display settings to increase the size of the mouse cursor, zoom in/out on the page, change the brightness or contrast of the screen, or change the resolution. There are also toggles for sticky-keys, an on-screen keyboard, highlighting, word prediction, and speech-to-text. An additional option is the ChromeVox screen reader which assists visually impaired users in their use of the Google Chrome system. These settings can benefit students with a wide variety of learning disabilities in an educational and non-educational setting.
References
Nordström, T., Nilsson, S., Gustafson, S., & Svensson, I. (2018). Assistive technology applications for students with reading difficulties: Special education teacher’s experiences and perceptions. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 1-11. doi:10.1080/17483107.2018.1499142
Roblyer, M.D. and Hughes, J.E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: transforming learning across disciplines (8th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education Inc.
My focus is usually on language arts and when I began looking I found that assistive technology can be used in a number of ways in that specific content area. Based on certain studies, students with reading disabilities are able to use assistive technology assimilate and communicate text to promote participation in a general classroom. (Nordstrom et al, 2018) The key is that using assistive technology allows for inclusive opportunities where students with disabilities feel confident that they can work with peers and collaborate in my classroom.
I currently use Windows 10 on a typical PC platform at home and in my classroom. The majority of assignments and work that my students perform on a daily basis involve the use of Google Classroom, so I am going to discuss some of the accessibility features that are add-on applications or that currently exist on the Google platform.
The first add-on that I use with my students (and definitely for myself) is called Mercury Reader. Mercury Reader allows you to basically clean up the page you are reading by removing ads, pop-ups, videos, etc. What you are left with is a clean version of the text or article you were attempting to read. Often times websites are so cluttered by junk that it makes it nearly impossible to tell where the article begins and ends. I share articles on a very consistent basis with my students and the use of Mercury Reader allows us to focus on the important stuff and not the distractions. For students who struggle with attention issues (ADD, etc.) this is a very helpful way to minimize their issues. In addition, this would benefit students with visual or cognitive disabilities by simplifying the screen. I personally use this tool as well because often the articles or pages I view for class suffer from the same overabundance of advertising and distractions that the ones I share with my students do.
Sometimes it's easier to talk about what you want to write than it is to type it out on a computer screen. In the past, I have had students use an application called SpeakIt! on Google but eventually, Google rolled out a Speech-to-Text product of their own that works really well. It is very easy to activate this tool and I purchased some cheap microphones that came with mini-tripods off of Amazon. This was a huge help in my classroom, as I work with struggling learners in language arts on a consistent basis. For students who struggle with writing (for cognitive or other reasons), it can often be easier to talk to the screen to get their ideas down than struggling through the activity with a pencil and paper. The quality of depth and writing vastly improved in my classroom when I introduced this to students for the first time. I personally have used speech-to-text products both on my computer and smartphone to allow me to make notes or give feedback to students. If struggling with a keyboard is something that you do consistently, speech-to-text could be a huge benefit to you.
In addition to these add-on products, there are a number of features built into the Chromebooks that I use and make my students aware of. There are display settings to increase the size of the mouse cursor, zoom in/out on the page, change the brightness or contrast of the screen, or change the resolution. There are also toggles for sticky-keys, an on-screen keyboard, highlighting, word prediction, and speech-to-text. An additional option is the ChromeVox screen reader which assists visually impaired users in their use of the Google Chrome system. These settings can benefit students with a wide variety of learning disabilities in an educational and non-educational setting.
References
Nordström, T., Nilsson, S., Gustafson, S., & Svensson, I. (2018). Assistive technology applications for students with reading difficulties: Special education teacher’s experiences and perceptions. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 1-11. doi:10.1080/17483107.2018.1499142
Roblyer, M.D. and Hughes, J.E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: transforming learning across disciplines (8th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education Inc.
Saturday, November 10, 2018
Obstacles and Solutions for Integrating Technology in Language Arts
The definition of literacy is changing in the educational world. Instead of focusing on onlu reading and writing, a new form of digital literacy is taking place in the language arts content area (Robyler & Hughes, 2019) One of the possible obstacles that you would face when integrating technology into language arts (or really any content area) is the red-tape of your school district. I ran into this issue earlier in the school year as I tried to integrate student blogs into my sixth-grade classroom. Over the summer I took a course on blogging and it really lit a fire for me to get my students working online with their writing. Before I could implement the blogging into my curriculum, I had a number of hoops to jump through to avoid complications or issues later on. There was paperwork, a meeting, a discussion with the district technology coordinator and administration. I had to make parents aware and offer an opt-out for families not interested in having their students participate. I chose a private blog host and created a rationale before I even began the process but it still took almost a month to get everything lined up. While some districts adopt technology across the district, it can be difficult for an individual classroom instructor to integrate technology because of red tape. The best thing to do is to make sure you get approval and make the administration aware of your plans to avoid having issues later on. After a couple of weeks blogging with my students it's been amazing to see the increased interest in writing because of the blogs we use.
A second obstacle that I have faced is the difficulty in choosing what technology to use in your classroom and how it is used. There are so many technology tools available for a language arts classroom and I expect that this number will grow in the future. As an instructor, you are constantly having to choose between products that provide similar services to your students. As an example, there are currently two free grammar/spelling check tools that can be used - Gradeproof and Grammarly. Each one offers certain advantages and each one has its own set of issues as well. I've seen instructors use Google Classroom, Moodle, Blackboard, DropBox, Turnitin, and more as virtual classroom tools. As I dug into this problem, I came across a study done in 2005 by Britten and Cassady. In the study, the researchers focused on how the technology could be integrated into classrooms and used ISTE standards as a basis to create a set of rules and guidelines called the Technology Integration Assessment Instrument (TIAI). The TIAI rubric gives a consistent framework for an instructor (or other stakeholders) to evaluate how technology tools are used and how that technology is tied to critical pedagogical features such as assessment, student needs, and educational standards (Britten & Cassady, 2005).
References
Britten, J. S., & Cassady, J. C. (2005). The Technology Integration Assessment Instrument. Computers in the Schools, 22(3-4), 49-61. doi:10.1300/j025v22n03_05
Roblyer, M. D., & Hughes, J. E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: Transforming learning across disciplines. New York: Pearson Education.
A second obstacle that I have faced is the difficulty in choosing what technology to use in your classroom and how it is used. There are so many technology tools available for a language arts classroom and I expect that this number will grow in the future. As an instructor, you are constantly having to choose between products that provide similar services to your students. As an example, there are currently two free grammar/spelling check tools that can be used - Gradeproof and Grammarly. Each one offers certain advantages and each one has its own set of issues as well. I've seen instructors use Google Classroom, Moodle, Blackboard, DropBox, Turnitin, and more as virtual classroom tools. As I dug into this problem, I came across a study done in 2005 by Britten and Cassady. In the study, the researchers focused on how the technology could be integrated into classrooms and used ISTE standards as a basis to create a set of rules and guidelines called the Technology Integration Assessment Instrument (TIAI). The TIAI rubric gives a consistent framework for an instructor (or other stakeholders) to evaluate how technology tools are used and how that technology is tied to critical pedagogical features such as assessment, student needs, and educational standards (Britten & Cassady, 2005).
References
Britten, J. S., & Cassady, J. C. (2005). The Technology Integration Assessment Instrument. Computers in the Schools, 22(3-4), 49-61. doi:10.1300/j025v22n03_05
Roblyer, M. D., & Hughes, J. E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: Transforming learning across disciplines. New York: Pearson Education.
Sunday, November 4, 2018
Relative Advantage of Using Technology in Language Arts
When thinking about the relative advantage of using technology in a language arts classroom I found many examples. I'm going to focus on three specific advantages of technology use for my own classroom.
Level of Engagement
One of the greatest advantages technology affords is that instructors can give students a level of autonomy in the classroom. Instead of standing in front of the students and becoming a talking head, educators can use technology to interact with their students. The idea of releasing responsibility to students (Zoch et al, 2016) is something that instructors need to be comfortable with. By giving away control through the use of technology, instructors can boost the level of engagement they see with the students. By shifting the role of students and teachers and giving purpose to the learning in the classroom student engagement can increase engagement and deepen student learning. (McKnight et al, 2016) When students are engaged in a classroom, the bell that ends class is looked on as a disappointment - technology makes them enjoy being in the classroom.
Real World Learning
Technology gives an opportunity for students to build skills they can use on assignments and once they start to engage with the real world. The use of technology in the classroom increases access to resources and enhances both communication and feedback. (McKnight et al, 2016). Being able to communicate effectively, give feedback, and locate resources are all skills that employers value in their employees. In my classroom, we do all three (and more) through the use of technology on a daily basis. In addition to those ideas, students are building basic skills and learning about personal responsibility. When I first started teaching language arts, I sometimes had trouble connecting what we did in the classroom with what students would experience in the world. With the integration of technology into our daily schedule, it has become a much simpler task to convey the usefulness of what we do.
Makes Life Easy!
There are a number of ways that technology makes the classroom easier to navigate for both students and instructors. In my sixth grade classroom, we use Google Classroom and the Google Suite on a daily basis. I post information in the Stream (discussion, links, etc.) and assignments/materials under Classwork. Since integrating Google Classroom into my classroom I have eliminated any issues with missing materials (I can't find it is no longer an excuse) and students are well aware of what is turned in and missing. In programs like Google Docs, I can leave feedback directly on work and return the assignment to the student for them to revise and improve their work. Students can also collaborate with each other with shared documents or by posting revision feedback as well. My district also uses Turnitin which provides writing support, plagiarism checkers, and a drop box for assignments. I use a number of other technology resources in my classroom that have replaced live/paper assignments and materials (Vocabulary, No Red Ink, Grammarly, GradeProof, etc.).
These three advantages are not the complete list of advantages technology affords a language arts classroom, there are many more out there!
References
Mcknight, K., Omalley, K., Ruzic, R., Horsley, M. K., Franey, J. J., & Bassett, K. (2016). Teaching in a Digital Age: How Educators Use Technology to Improve Student Learning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 48(3), 194-211. doi:10.1080/15391523.2016.1175856
Zoch, M., Myers, J., & Belcher, J. (2016). Teachers’ engagement with new literacies: Support for implementing technology in the english/language arts classroom. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 17(1). Retrieved from https://www.citejournal.org/volume-17/issue-1-17/english-language-arts/teachers-engagement-with-new-literacies-support-for-implementing-technology-in-the-englishlanguage-arts-classroom
Level of Engagement
One of the greatest advantages technology affords is that instructors can give students a level of autonomy in the classroom. Instead of standing in front of the students and becoming a talking head, educators can use technology to interact with their students. The idea of releasing responsibility to students (Zoch et al, 2016) is something that instructors need to be comfortable with. By giving away control through the use of technology, instructors can boost the level of engagement they see with the students. By shifting the role of students and teachers and giving purpose to the learning in the classroom student engagement can increase engagement and deepen student learning. (McKnight et al, 2016) When students are engaged in a classroom, the bell that ends class is looked on as a disappointment - technology makes them enjoy being in the classroom.
Real World Learning
Technology gives an opportunity for students to build skills they can use on assignments and once they start to engage with the real world. The use of technology in the classroom increases access to resources and enhances both communication and feedback. (McKnight et al, 2016). Being able to communicate effectively, give feedback, and locate resources are all skills that employers value in their employees. In my classroom, we do all three (and more) through the use of technology on a daily basis. In addition to those ideas, students are building basic skills and learning about personal responsibility. When I first started teaching language arts, I sometimes had trouble connecting what we did in the classroom with what students would experience in the world. With the integration of technology into our daily schedule, it has become a much simpler task to convey the usefulness of what we do.
Makes Life Easy!
There are a number of ways that technology makes the classroom easier to navigate for both students and instructors. In my sixth grade classroom, we use Google Classroom and the Google Suite on a daily basis. I post information in the Stream (discussion, links, etc.) and assignments/materials under Classwork. Since integrating Google Classroom into my classroom I have eliminated any issues with missing materials (I can't find it is no longer an excuse) and students are well aware of what is turned in and missing. In programs like Google Docs, I can leave feedback directly on work and return the assignment to the student for them to revise and improve their work. Students can also collaborate with each other with shared documents or by posting revision feedback as well. My district also uses Turnitin which provides writing support, plagiarism checkers, and a drop box for assignments. I use a number of other technology resources in my classroom that have replaced live/paper assignments and materials (Vocabulary, No Red Ink, Grammarly, GradeProof, etc.).
These three advantages are not the complete list of advantages technology affords a language arts classroom, there are many more out there!
References
Mcknight, K., Omalley, K., Ruzic, R., Horsley, M. K., Franey, J. J., & Bassett, K. (2016). Teaching in a Digital Age: How Educators Use Technology to Improve Student Learning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 48(3), 194-211. doi:10.1080/15391523.2016.1175856
Zoch, M., Myers, J., & Belcher, J. (2016). Teachers’ engagement with new literacies: Support for implementing technology in the english/language arts classroom. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 17(1). Retrieved from https://www.citejournal.org/volume-17/issue-1-17/english-language-arts/teachers-engagement-with-new-literacies-support-for-implementing-technology-in-the-englishlanguage-arts-classroom
Saturday, October 20, 2018
EdTech 541 - Relative Advantage to Digital Games
If you were to listen to a typical conversation between middle school students in a classroom, a subject that invariably pops up is that of video games. Currently, students spend their after-school hours playing games like Fortnite or Roblox. As a classroom instructor, I'm always looking for new ways to engage my students in the classroom. The use of games to enhance learning is clearly a way that I can take student's interests from outside of school and include them in what we are doing in the classroom. Like the Edutopia article Why Serious Games Are Not Just Chocolate-Covered Broccoli stated, "just because it's serious doesn't mean that it shouldn't be fun!"The biggest advantage that I see is that games engage students. This is not an "every student" situation, but most students in middle school become engaged through games. The idea of putting engagement before content in education (Prensky, 2005) resonates with me when thinking of digital games in learning. I can stand in front of students and discuss the amazing world of sentence fragments with them or give them the opportunity to try a game like Floyd Danger Adventure to recognize complete sentences and fragments. When I was a student a concept like this was taught with worksheets and practice. Now I can show them the concept and have them practice with a game.
Another terrific advantage that games bring to learning is collaboration.
On page 179 in Roblyer and Hughes, they point out the Tsekeleves et al. study which identified prominent benefits for learning from the inclusion of collaboration in both immersive and realistic setting using problem-based learning. Students love to work in groups or with a partner in the classroom. Games give them an opportunity to solve problems together and learn in a social setting that they crave.
Students often learn through shared experience. When students are all playing the same game, you can hear the conversation as they share what happened or how they did or any number of other details from the time spent at the keyboard.
Digital games can offer an instructor an amazing tool when working to engage students in the classroom. The games also offer an amazing tool to allow for student collaboration and shared experiences in the classroom. On top of all of that, games are just plain fun for students.
Resources
Farber, M. (2014, February 19). Why Serious Games Are Not Chocolate-Covered Broccoli. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/serious-games-not-chocolate-broccoli-matthew-farber
Prensky, M. (2005). Listen to the Natives. ASCD, 63(4). doi:10.4135/9781483387765
Roblyer, M. D., & Hughes, J. E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: Transforming learning across disciplines. New York: Pearson Education.
Monday, October 15, 2018
Social Networking and Walled Gardens
Please see the embedded voice thread about Walled Gardens and Social Networking below.
References
Reed, J. (2007). Global Collaboration and Learning. EdTech Magazine. Retrieved from
http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2007/09/global-collaboration-
and-learning
Smith, A., & Anderson, M. (2018, September 19). Social Media Use 2018: Demographics and Statistics | Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/
Sunday, October 7, 2018
EdTech 541 - Acceptable Use Policy
An Acceptable Use Policy is a vital component of a classroom, schoolwide, and district-wide understanding of the use of electronics and online behavior. Having a clear and concise set of rules and guidelines will eliminate many possible issues that students might have when using electronic devices at school. More importantly, an AUP is about keeping all users in a network safe (sometimes from themselves).
At the beginning of the year in my classroom, we always go over my district's AUP before students are allowed to log in for the first time. As part of the deal, I ask my students to always think about what they are doing online and discuss with them the use of electronics for entertainment versus academic use. It's always an interesting discussion and it helps my students understand why the district policies are in place. One comment I generally make to my students regarding electronics use is to never find themselves doing something on the screen that their parents or teacher would disapprove of.
My district has a fairly extensive Acceptable Use Policy: CdA Schools Acceptable Use Policy
As a part of student orientation every year, students are required to sign the Technology Agreement (bottom of the document) to receive their access rights. The thirteen-page document that precedes that agreement is rather cumbersome and difficult for students to understand. As a sixth-grade teacher, I often wonder how the early elementary teachers get through it. My school has a presentation that we go through and post for students - but again pretty dry and some components are still hard to understand. This policy was adopted in 2014 and hasn't been revised or updated since. I would think updating the policy yearly is probably in the best interest of all involved and that there should be a version that focuses on kid-friendly language so that our most important users are able to understand just what the AUP is telling them.
The closest school district to mine is the Post Falls school district. Their acceptable use policy is a much leaner three-page document, of which the third page is the student agreement for technology use. Their initial document was created in 1996 and was most recently updated in 2011. The policy is very straightforward and does not get into the legal details of my district - I do like that the document is likely a much easier and less daunting activity than the CdA Schools document. I wonder if this policy is as detailed as it should be to deal with student misuse.
One of the largest districts in my area is the Spokane School District (Spokane, WA) located about thirty minutes west. Being in a different state and with a different set of expectations, Spokane Schools has actually broken their AUP into some different components.
The first is a student-friendly summary of the AUP for the district. This one-page document covers the basics of the policy in language that can be understood by most students. It also offers some specific examples of behavior that would be inappropriate. This district has also created documents for students that outline internet use, telecommunications/technology use, and e-mail/online expectations.
I grew up in Portland, so I ventured to Portland School District and found they have posted an acceptable use policy on their website. One interesting facet of their AUP is that they specifically state the policy is for staff and students which I would like as a student, knowing everyone has the same standards applied. I also found a very neat AUP Poster for students with kid-friendly language and a Red/Yellow/Green stoplight theme to help students understand what is okay and what is not. The district has also listed a number of other technology-based policies and documents on their IT Department page.
Looking at these examples of acceptable use policies across a number of districts, I was surprised to find that some of them are not updated yearly - hopefully they are at least being reviewed. Another concern I have is that the language is not always kid-friendly which makes it difficult for the students (who should have the best understanding of the AUP) to understand what the policies are.
At the beginning of the year in my classroom, we always go over my district's AUP before students are allowed to log in for the first time. As part of the deal, I ask my students to always think about what they are doing online and discuss with them the use of electronics for entertainment versus academic use. It's always an interesting discussion and it helps my students understand why the district policies are in place. One comment I generally make to my students regarding electronics use is to never find themselves doing something on the screen that their parents or teacher would disapprove of.
My district has a fairly extensive Acceptable Use Policy: CdA Schools Acceptable Use Policy
As a part of student orientation every year, students are required to sign the Technology Agreement (bottom of the document) to receive their access rights. The thirteen-page document that precedes that agreement is rather cumbersome and difficult for students to understand. As a sixth-grade teacher, I often wonder how the early elementary teachers get through it. My school has a presentation that we go through and post for students - but again pretty dry and some components are still hard to understand. This policy was adopted in 2014 and hasn't been revised or updated since. I would think updating the policy yearly is probably in the best interest of all involved and that there should be a version that focuses on kid-friendly language so that our most important users are able to understand just what the AUP is telling them.
The closest school district to mine is the Post Falls school district. Their acceptable use policy is a much leaner three-page document, of which the third page is the student agreement for technology use. Their initial document was created in 1996 and was most recently updated in 2011. The policy is very straightforward and does not get into the legal details of my district - I do like that the document is likely a much easier and less daunting activity than the CdA Schools document. I wonder if this policy is as detailed as it should be to deal with student misuse.
One of the largest districts in my area is the Spokane School District (Spokane, WA) located about thirty minutes west. Being in a different state and with a different set of expectations, Spokane Schools has actually broken their AUP into some different components.
The first is a student-friendly summary of the AUP for the district. This one-page document covers the basics of the policy in language that can be understood by most students. It also offers some specific examples of behavior that would be inappropriate. This district has also created documents for students that outline internet use, telecommunications/technology use, and e-mail/online expectations.
I grew up in Portland, so I ventured to Portland School District and found they have posted an acceptable use policy on their website. One interesting facet of their AUP is that they specifically state the policy is for staff and students which I would like as a student, knowing everyone has the same standards applied. I also found a very neat AUP Poster for students with kid-friendly language and a Red/Yellow/Green stoplight theme to help students understand what is okay and what is not. The district has also listed a number of other technology-based policies and documents on their IT Department page.
Looking at these examples of acceptable use policies across a number of districts, I was surprised to find that some of them are not updated yearly - hopefully they are at least being reviewed. Another concern I have is that the language is not always kid-friendly which makes it difficult for the students (who should have the best understanding of the AUP) to understand what the policies are.
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