Terms of use

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First Glances....

When I first went to our schools website and visited the technology page I immediately found the Acceptance use policy. However, after looking at it this was only for teachers and I was not able to find the ones for students. To view the agreement click on the link below.  Scroll down on the right hand side and you will find the policy sections. 



Link to Policy



What caught my eye here was they say using the network is a privilege, which I completely agree with, but then the next section which is 15 bulletin points long is the unacceptable use. To be honest, I never read any of these forms. I also feel I am pressured to just sign it in front of who ever is waiting for it. The section labeled M stood out to me. It states that we are not able to connect any other devices to the network without district approval. For example, our own personal computers or cellphones. Now to me I do not care because we have unlimited data on our cellphones. BUT I use my phone throughout the day to award students Class Dojo points using an app on my phone. We do have iPads that I can carry around with my, but my phone can fit in my pocket and an iPad can´t. So does this mean if I wanted to use my phone to award points I would´t be able to??? I have brought my personal computer into school and our technology leader did connect me to the network, but it was just easier to use the schools computer there. I do use the schools computer to go on Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers, but these are all for educational purposes. Even at home I try to avoid using the schools computer to go on Facebook or log into my banking information. 

Photo Credit 

Photo Credit 
Photo Credit 







Students Terms and Usage

I was finally able to find the student terms of usage policy. I asked a co-worker who has a student in the district if they have to fill it out. It is all online and within the student portal so I would not be able to see it. She printed it out for me and then directed me to where I might be able to find it. Since I am not a parent I did not think to look under the parent section (that would make sense though right!)  This policy must be signed from the parent and the student. 

 Like the staff agreement they say it a privilege and not a right to have access to technology. They also state the the district takes precautions to restrict access to controversial material. The agreement states that any use of the network should be consistent with the District´s goals of promoting education excellence. Like the staff agreement this one also states that all the things you cannot do on the network which in my opinion makes both an acceptable use policy.  
If you click on the link above go to community and under school information you will see the acceptance use policy. 

 Here is an article that explain why it is important to have these agreements and how these agreements are set up. There is also a link in there that discusses how a school in Boston used their high school students to help them develop language that the students would understand!  
Article

Comments

  1. ElizabethJanuary 23, 2019 at 4:12 PM

    Hi Amanda,

    We have the same rule for teachers at my district. We are not supposed to connect personal technology to the network as well. In my opinion it's a great rule, because what every is done on the school network can be accessed by the district. I wouldn't want my phone on the network because I has all my personal information on it. Chances are nothing would happen, but you never know. I also use Dojo in my classroom. I don't use my phone for it though. As inconvenient as it is I walk back to my computer to add or subtract points on dojo. Like you said, I try not to do anything personal on my work computer and anything work on my personal technology.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 23, 2019 at 5:04 PM

    Hello! I could not find the student policy on my site either. I may have to go back and look under the parent section now and edit my blog. Our policy did not state anything about us connecting our personal technology to the school's internet. Because I have unlimited I do not use the school's wifi! But, I do use the computer pretty freely at home...and may need to be more careful about that. I understand your concern about using your phone for your student's rewards. It is definitely easier to carry your phone around then the iPad. How do you award the points now? Do you just use your own data?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownJanuary 26, 2019 at 5:10 PM

      I award points based on effort and teamwork. Basically if the students are able to follow directions for the 20 minutes I have them and try their best they always get a point. Within our 20 minute session if I see a student going above and beyond I award extra points. If students are focused and working while I am with another student they can also get a point. I like to use my phone when I push into the classrooms and once again if I see them focused they can award themselves a point.

      Delete
  3. NMZumpanoJanuary 24, 2019 at 5:28 PM

    Amanda, do you think both of these policies contain reasonable requests?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownJanuary 26, 2019 at 5:19 PM

      I do think they do. There is no need for anyone to use their personal computers if the school has given them one. The only thing I would be upset about is if I didn't have unlimited internet on my phone to use my Class Dojo system that works extremely well. I would just have to get used to carrying around the iPad then. I really like how the school district in the article you shared had their students write the agreement in 'kid-friendly' terms. I think this would make more sense for students. I also think their should be a presentation within each classroom presenting to students in a 'kid-friendly' way the material written in the agreement because who knows if their parents even explained to them what they are agreeing too.

      Delete
  4. Eric SantosJanuary 26, 2019 at 9:05 AM

    Hi Amanda,

    I find it interesting that your school's Terms of Use don't allow personal devices on the network. That is understandable from the standpoint of security and possibly also bandwidth. However, I wonder if a more open approach that focused on education in proper use would be more beneficial for staff and students. My district has a separate network just for devices from home. It is only open to teachers (password protected) and allows anyone to connect while at school and bypass the typical filters (allowing access to TPT, Pinterest, Vimeo, etc). There is still monitoring and filters in place, but most importantly guidelines for teachers on how to safely and appropriately use it. What we are missing at my school is education on the risks - what can and can't be monitored, and how connecting to the district network doesn't mean we have access to all your 'stuff'. :-) I think that would go a long way towards building trust on both sides. It's definitely nice to have this network - especially since my cell phone service is non-exist throughout parts of my school!

    I wonder if you can dig deeper into the thoughts behind this policy, and drive a discussion or case study on what other schools are doing. Best of luck!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. UnknownJanuary 26, 2019 at 5:13 PM

      Eric,
      Its weird that nothing is really blocked when we are logged into our teachers computers. If we want to find a YouTube video on a lesson we can easily search and stream it. At my old school teachers were required to enter their credentials into a log in to access YouTube which I think is a great idea. I have not tried accessing YouTube from a student computer but I am not interested if it would go to the site.

      Delete

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