Acceptable Use Policies

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At the beginning of each school year, my district provides students, parents, and teachers with a copy of our district's acceptable use policy for technology. This document also includes information on guidelines, the take home agreement, and obtains parental consent. 

When I first look at this document, it seems completely overwhelming and wordy. It contains seven long pages of information and two consent pages. One page for parents/students and the other for teachers. I know we provide this document to the parents every year, but I can't imagine that many of them are thoroughly reading this document and sharing the information with their child. It is not very user friendly, especially for our non native speakers of English, which is a large population within our district. 

The acceptable use part of the agreement is addressed very generally. It is not specific to students, but to the users all throughout the district. It really focuses on what students and staff should not be doing and the etiquette they should be following. The policy does not outright outline examples of how students should be using technology tools and the internet while in possession of a district device. This is something that could be addressed in a future update of the policy. 

The document itself is very thorough. It covers a multitude of topics. It goes on to outline the use of G Suite for Education and the responsible use of G Suite for students as well. It then goes on to touch on the various privacy and protection acts in place for students and families. The document also gives parents information about the terms the parents agree to while the student device is used at home, vandalism, damages, and charges. This is all very important information for the parents, but it is a lot for them to take in at one time. 

At the end of my district's policy it provides a statement that can be read to primary students as an alternative since the language may not be easy for them to understand.

The statement is as follows:

"I will listen to my teachers and follow their directions when I use the internet/network and technology tools at my school. I will only use the internet/network and technology tools to do the school work my teachers told me to do and for no other reason. I will ask my teacher for help, when I do not understand something or if I see something that makes me scared or uncomfortable. I understand that if I break any of these rules, I will not be able to use technology tools or the Internet/network at school anymore." (Mannheim District 83, 2021).  

I think that is a great statement to read to not just our students in elementary school, but puts it in terms that my middle school students would also understand. 

Areas for Improvement

My district's acceptable use policy does provide students, parents, and staff with important information about technology and internet usage. However, I do feel like there are a couple ways that the document could be improved. 

 

First of all, I believe there should be two separate documents for acceptable usage and the take home agreement. In doing this we could provide the parents with more specific information regarding these two topics. I would also recommend to my technology director that we use more parent friendly language with explicit examples on these documents. This would help the parents understand the expectations for technology and device usage at both home and school. 

Another improvement that could be made is creating a student friendly sheet of the dos and don'ts for technology and the internet. This could be shared with the students during the first couple days of school before they receive their laptops. It would be helpful to reinforce this information with them so they remember that the use of the district's tools is a privilege and not a right.  This document could be made in conjunction with the teachers and technology department.

Phishing

Along with acceptable usage of school devices and the internet, my district has been providing staff with information and training on how to stay safe from phishing attacks. Unfortunately, in the past, we have had some staff members succumb to some of these phishing scams through their email. Some of the spam emails that we receive are very believable. At times, it is hard to decipher if these are coming from a real person within our district or if it is just a scam. 

The article, "Phishing Scams, Don't Take the Bait" written by Tech & Learning provides technology departments with ways they can help keep personal information safe and provide staff with information in order to not fall victim to phishing scams. 

Some of the tips they provide are:

1) Send email reminders about phishing strategies.

2) Connect with users on a personal level.

3) Make sure the staff feels comfortable discussing mistakes and reaching out for help. 

4) Backup data regularly.

5) Reevaluate staff policies. 

6) Provide staff with phishing simulations to limit the urge to fall for the real thing.

Implementing some of these tips can help limit the number of successful phishing attacks within the district. Just like the article states, "A failure of basic email safety impacts everyone - teachers, students, families, and the community. Keeping communication flowing is a shared responsibility." It is the only way we can work to keep private information safe.