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.