An Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is a document created by a school district (or other business) that defines how technology should and should not be used. The user (and parent/guardian) of the technology must agree to these rules of use prior to the privilege of using the technology. An AUP informs the students and parents that there should be no expectation of privacy for the student, that teachers can monitor student activity at any time. If the rules set forth in the AUP are violated, the consequences for the violations are outlined in the AUP.
Acceptable Use Policies should contain:
I found this assignment interesting and informative. Even though I discuss the elements of an AUP with my students whenever we begin using technology in our classroom and throughout the school year, our school does not currently have an official Acceptable Use Policy.
After searching through my district’s resources and document library, I could only find references to acceptable use of technology in the Code of Conduct booklet that parents can access through the district website. Within that Code of Conduct booklet, there are guidelines for school computer use found on page 55. Parents are given a form that must be signed to show that they understand the rights and responsibilities of their child as outlined in this 72-page document. Through a Google search, I located the Poudre School District Parent/Student Notebook Computer Handbook which was created for the school year 2011-2012. This document lists how to care for the computer received as well as rules and expectations of use. Students in second grade do not get their own computer, so this would not be a document that is relevant to my students.
In my second grade classroom, we talk about rules you must follow when you are using technology as well as online netiquette. When researching for this blog post, I decided to specifically search for elementary appropriate AUPs. I found some great examples of AUPs that I would be comfortable using in my classroom. I will also bring these examples to my principal to consider using in the upcoming school year. I think it is imperative that we set the expectation for responsible technology use as early as possible.
Acceptable Use Policy - Elementary school examples:
I liked this one due to its simplicity for elementary students.http://sites.isdschools.org/technology_department/elem_auc
Specifically for K-2 students. I like how it is in “kid language” and the child must sign the agreement in addition to the parent.
http://www.westport.k12.ct.us/media/aup/aup-k2.pdf
Another example of a nice K-2 AUP.
http://www.sbschools.org/our_schools/policies/docs/acceptable-use-pk-2.pdf
This AUP breaks it down by category.
http://www.wayland.k12.ma.us/administration/technology_department/elementary_aup/
My district’s resources:
Poudre School District Code of Conduct
Student Use of District Computers, E-mail & Internet Access (JS) listed on page 55
https://www.psdschools.org/webfm/3874
Poudre School District, Parent/Student Notebook Computer Handbook - 2011 - 2012
https://www.psdschools.org/webfm/3459
Other resources:
What I share with my students about internet safety:
http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/deniseholder/502/netiquette.html
Peterson, J., & Uhls, M. (n.d.). Acceptable Use Policies. Retrieved from http://education.illinois.edu/wp/www.sjfschool.net/whitepages/acceptableusepolicy.htm
Acceptable Use Policies should contain:
- value of and educational uses for technology use in the school setting
- expectations for acceptable/unacceptable use of technology
- netiquette guidelines
- responsibilities of all parties - teachers, students, parents
- how students will be monitored
- consequences for violating the policy
I found this assignment interesting and informative. Even though I discuss the elements of an AUP with my students whenever we begin using technology in our classroom and throughout the school year, our school does not currently have an official Acceptable Use Policy.
After searching through my district’s resources and document library, I could only find references to acceptable use of technology in the Code of Conduct booklet that parents can access through the district website. Within that Code of Conduct booklet, there are guidelines for school computer use found on page 55. Parents are given a form that must be signed to show that they understand the rights and responsibilities of their child as outlined in this 72-page document. Through a Google search, I located the Poudre School District Parent/Student Notebook Computer Handbook which was created for the school year 2011-2012. This document lists how to care for the computer received as well as rules and expectations of use. Students in second grade do not get their own computer, so this would not be a document that is relevant to my students.
In my second grade classroom, we talk about rules you must follow when you are using technology as well as online netiquette. When researching for this blog post, I decided to specifically search for elementary appropriate AUPs. I found some great examples of AUPs that I would be comfortable using in my classroom. I will also bring these examples to my principal to consider using in the upcoming school year. I think it is imperative that we set the expectation for responsible technology use as early as possible.
Acceptable Use Policy - Elementary school examples:
I liked this one due to its simplicity for elementary students.http://sites.isdschools.org/technology_department/elem_auc
Specifically for K-2 students. I like how it is in “kid language” and the child must sign the agreement in addition to the parent.
http://www.westport.k12.ct.us/media/aup/aup-k2.pdf
Another example of a nice K-2 AUP.
http://www.sbschools.org/our_schools/policies/docs/acceptable-use-pk-2.pdf
This AUP breaks it down by category.
http://www.wayland.k12.ma.us/administration/technology_department/elementary_aup/
My district’s resources:
Poudre School District Code of Conduct
Student Use of District Computers, E-mail & Internet Access (JS) listed on page 55
https://www.psdschools.org/webfm/3874
Poudre School District, Parent/Student Notebook Computer Handbook - 2011 - 2012
https://www.psdschools.org/webfm/3459
Other resources:
What I share with my students about internet safety:
http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/deniseholder/502/netiquette.html
Peterson, J., & Uhls, M. (n.d.). Acceptable Use Policies. Retrieved from http://education.illinois.edu/wp/www.sjfschool.net/whitepages/acceptableusepolicy.htm