Emily Mullis

Running Head: ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY ISSUES

Acceptable Use Policy Issues

Emily Mullis

Georgia Southern University

FRIT 7132

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 Emily Mullis

Running Head: ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY ISSUES

Acceptable Use Policy Issues

The 21st century classroom is vastly different from the classrooms of the past.

The use of technology, especially computers connected to the internet, is a daily

occurrence. Many schools offer internet access for student use. This enables students

to explore thousands of libraries, databases, museums, and a vast quantity of other

resources. With this amount of information available at the click of a mouse, issues and

concerns surrounding access and use by students and teachers are surfacing that must

be acknowledged and addressed.

Many schools are developing and implementing acceptable use policies

regarding the internet. By definition, an AUP is a written agreement signed by students,

their parents/caregivers, and their teachers that outlines the terms and conditions for

using technology-based devices maintained by schools and personal technology based

devices used during school hours on school property (Virginia DOE). There are many

components that should be included in a school’s AUP, according to the US Department

of Education’s online Alphabet Superhighway. As I looked over the components

needed for a stellar AUP and compared these components to the AUP of Bleckley

County Middle School, as well as the policy of Bleckley County Schools, I found some

significant gaps. The biggest problem I noticed was that the policy of my school district

is very vague and leaves many potential questions unanswered.

Running Head: ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY ISSUES

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A good AUP should include a description of the instructional philosophies,

strategies, and goals to be supported by Internet access in school and a statement

about the educational uses and advantages of the Internet (Media Awareness Network).

Bleckley County’s policy contains a blanket statement about using the internet for

instructional purposes, but is not specific about what those uses will be and how using

the Internet will add educational value.

Virginia DOE states that an AUP should contain a statement that it complies with

state and federal telecommunication codes, laws, and regulations, as well as a

statement regarding the need to comply with fair-use laws and other copyright

regulations while accessing and utilizing the Internet and other network materials and

resources. The policy of Bleckley County Schools contains no such statements. This

would be easy to add.

The AUP from New York City Department of Education has a statement that

really got my attention. It states, “As with other curricular offerings and tools, parents do

not have a general right to opt their child out of classroom use of the internet. As set

forth more fully below, however, parental consent is required with respect to certain

aspects of Internet use (e.g. posting a child’s photograph on a school web page).

Parents moreover are strongly encouraged to discuss and monitor their child’s school

internet use and to discuss any issues or concerns that they may have with the school’s

teacher and administrators.” I think this is a good attitude to adopt with regard to

Running Head: ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY ISSUES

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Internet use. As an educator, I often plan lessons that involve Internet use. If there are

students who are not allowed to use this technology at school, it makes it very hard to

carry out my lesson as planned. I think as long as students are closely monitored they

should be expected to participate in the assigned activities.

Bleckley County’s AUP doesn’t say anything about the roles and responsibilities

of educators except that students will be under supervision while on the Internet. I think

this section should include something about how students will be monitored and whose

responsibility it is. There should also be roles and responsibilities of parents and

students with regard to Internet activity. This should include who will be held liable for

inappropriate Internet behavior.

One really thorough AUP that I found contained a section on limitation of liability.

I think this section is necessary to protect the district from any blame for errors in the

functions and services provided by the school. It should contain a statement that the

school is not responsible for the accuracy or quality of information obtained or stored on

the system (NYC DOE).

Most good AUPs include a section about how information students have access

to is filtered. From my research, I found that this is most often done by age or grade

level of students attending the school. I think this is a good addition to an AUP because

often times, older students may need to access things that are inappropriate for younger

Running Head: ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY ISSUES

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students. Parents should be aware of what their children are allowed to view online

when at school.

One huge problem that I found with the AUP of Bleckley County is that it does

not contain a code of conduct that governs Internet activity of a list of

appropriate/inappropriate behaviors. As I was looking through the AUPs of other

schools and districts, this was a constant. I think our district is making a huge mistake

by not outlining what students can and cannot do while on the Internet. This list should

address things such as network use, personal safety violations, inappropriate language,

plagiarism and copyright, access to inappropriate material, web page information, an

email policy, and social networking sites. There are so many things that students can

do online. I believe it is dangerous to leave things unsaid.

Along with a list of do’s and don’ts, there should also be an outline of

consequences of violating the AUP. This should be specific and detailed and should

leave nothing to question. Some of the policies I looked at stated that violating the AUP

would result in restriction of Internet use. However, none of them had a time period for

the restriction or the extent of the restriction. Other policies indicated that legal action

would be taken when appropriate. “When appropriate” is very vague and I believe that

consequences should be spelled out. Parents, students, and educators should know

exactly what to expect when an AUP violation is reported.

Running Head: ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY ISSUES

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Reading Public Schools AUP states that users are responsible for keeping all

food and drink away from computers, printers, etc. I haven’t thought about this being a

part of an AUP before, but I think it is a good addition. This ensures that if students

violate this, they will be responsible for replacing or repairing the damaged technology.

Overall, I think Bleckley County needs to completely rewrite their AUP. It is

outdated and lacks critical information for parents, students, and educators. There are

so many things students can access online, and educators need to be prepared to deal

with whatever may arise.

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Running Head: ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY ISSUES

References

Flowers, B., & G. (2000). Analysis of Acceptable Use Policies Regarding the Internet in

Selected K-12 School. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 32(3),

351. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Acceptable Use Policies: A Handbook. Virginia Department of Education: Department

of Technology. http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/Technology/AUP/home.shtml

Acceptable Use Policies for Internet Use. Media Awareness Network. Web Awareness

for Teachers.

http://www.mediaawareness.ga/english/reaources/special_initiatives/wa_resour...

Computer and Internet Acceptable Use Policy. Reading Public Schools.

http://www.edline.net/DocViewBody.page?curentDocEntid=3228803874619960...

Internet Acceptable Use Policy. Web Information. New York City Department of

Education.

http://schools.nyc.gov/Offices/FinanceandAdministration/DIIT/WebServices/iaup/defau...

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