Spotlight on Digital Media And Learning

2.24.11 | An acceptable use policy (AUP)—whether at a corporation or a school—has traditionally been where those concerned with the dangers of technology put up barriers to its use, often with legal liability issues in mind. But forward-thinking educators who are more concerned with exploring technology with their students than blocking it are beginning to see the AUP as a place to codify an enlightened approach to digital literacy.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Children’s Internet Protection Act, under which the federal government requires schools receiving federal funds to “have an Internet safety policy that includes technology protection measures.” Schools in Portsmouth, N.H., choose to call their guidelines a “Responsible Use Policy” (pdf). The introduction to the policy puts it simply:

The Portsmouth School Department provides its students and staff access to a multitude of technology resources. These resources provide opportunities to enhance learning and improve communication within our community and with the global community beyond our campus. The advantages of having access to these resources are far greater than any potential downside. However, with the privilege of access is the responsibility of students, teachers, staff and the public to exercise appropriate personal responsibility in their use of these resources. The School Department policies are intended to promote the most effective, safe, productive, and instructionally sound uses of networked information & communication tools.

This is one of the sets of policies that the Participatory Learning Initiative of the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) points to as “exemplary” for the ability to balance protecting students with providing them with access and choice.

The Consortium’s FAQ guide—“Acceptable Use Policies in the Web 2.0 and Mobile Era”—helps school districts with both the nuts and bolts of creating a good policy (breaking down specific state requirements, for example) and with a new way to frame AUP’s “within a context of the benefits or necessity for the use of ICT [Information and communications technologies] in teaching and learning” and as a way to provide “a policy endorsement and rationale for the use of ICT as a critical component of the teaching/learning process.” 

To see what a new AUP framework might look like—especially the way it integrates new cloud-based and mobile technologies—check out the very specific language of the Duxbury (Mass.) Public Schools’ AUP (pdf) concerning “Messaging” and “Blogging/Podcasting”:

Messaging. Teachers may incorporate: email, blogs, podcasts, video conferencing, online collaborations, PDAs, IMing, texting, Virtual Learning Environments and other forms of direct electronic communications (i.e. cell phones, PDAs, cameras) or Web 2.0 applications for educational purposes. Although teachers monitor student online activity, it is the direct responsibility of the user to comply with this acceptable use policy.

Blogging/Podcasting. Uses of blogs, podcasts or other Web 2.0 tools are considered an extension of the classroom. Whether at home or in school, any speech that is considered inappropriate in the classroom is also inappropriate in all uses of blogs, podcasts, or other Web 2.0 tools. Students using blogs, podcasts or other Web 2.0 tools are expected to act safely by keeping ALL personal information out of their posts. Comments made on school related blogs should follow the rules of online etiquette detailed above and will be monitored by school personnel. If inappropriate, they will be deleted. Never link to web sites from a blog without reading the entire article to make sure it is appropriate for a school setting.

While it certainly provides legal protection for the school and clarity and caution for the school’s network users, this policy is exciting in its welcoming appreciation of all the good that technology can bring to education and students’ lives.