Acceptable Technology Use Policy

With the current push for computer technology in the classroom, many educators and parents fear dangers that the uncensored Internet might hold for children: inappropriate or obscene words and images; violence; and people who pose an online threat. One strategy that many schools use to defuse such dangers is a student Acceptable Use Policy, or AUP, for the Internet.

WHAT IS AN AUP?

The National Education Association suggests that an effective AUP contain the following six key elements:

• a preamble explains why the policy is needed,
• a definition section defines key words used in the policy ,
• a policy statement must tell what computer services are covered by the AUP and the circumstances under which students can use computer services ,
• an acceptable uses section must define appropriate student use of the computer network ,
• an unacceptable uses section the AUP should give clear, specific examples of what constitutes unacceptable student use , and
  • For example:
    • "what kind of computer network sites, if any, should be off limits to students;
    • what kind of student sending, forwarding, or posting of information, if any, should be prohibited, and
    • what kind of student behavior will be destructive to the computer network services and should, therefore, be restricted."
• a violations/sanctions section should tell students how to report violations of the policy or whom to question about its application.

A typical AUP has a section where students and parents sign the document, in acknowledgement that they are aware of students' restrictions to network access and releasing the school district of responsibility for students who choose to break those restrictions.

Access the following link to see an active AUP in use by a local school in Oak Park, Illinois. http://www.oprfhs.org/Educational-Technology/Acceptable-Use-Policy-Students.cfm

A popular resource, especially for elementary-age children, is Lawrence J. Magid's "My Rules for Online Safety." Among those rules are:

• "I will tell my parents right away if I come across any information that makes me feel uncomfortable.
• I will never agree to get together with someone I 'meet' online without first checking with my parents. If my parents agree to the meeting, I will make sure it is in a public place and I will bring my mother or father along.
• I will never send a person my picture or anything else without first checking with my parents."

Read the following article by Kari Rhame Murphy, chief technology officer for a suburban Texas school district, as she shares the experience of developing an acceptable-use policy (AUP). https://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/bringing-acceptable-use-policies-into-21st-century.shtml

Sample Acceptable Use Agreements: https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/tech_suite/app_a.asp