What is an Acceptable Use Policy?
An acceptable use policy, AUP is a written set of rules and expectations set by leaders on how they expect their students to behave with technology. The policy is set in place to not only protect the schools and the school district, but also the students. Many different types of organizations benefit from using acceptable use policies, such as; schools, businesses, universities. Before having any access to the internet, students must sign the acceptable use policy proving that they understand the guidelines and taking responsibility for their actions.
Students are not the only ones expected to sign the AUP. Teachers and anyone who will have access to the internet must also agree to the guidelines. For example, staff must use the internet for school/work purposes. They should not use the school provided internet for social media purposes or online shopping for example.
In this day and age, it is vital to protect our children on the internet. There are many people on the internet that do not have good intentions. It is important that we educate our children on how to protect themselves and how to stay safe.
When adressing an AUP, the first item that needs to be addressed is internet safety. This will include items such as:
* I will not give out any personal information such as: address, phone number, personal photos
* If I see anything that makes me feel uncomfortable I will tell an adult
* Never let someone else use your passwords
This is a great video clip made from Powtoon, to show students to give them a visual on learning about internet safety. It gives some examples of do's and don't's on the internet.
The importance of an acceptable use policy is so important that this school district in South Carolina's superintident made a video for students and parents.
Below is an example of an acceptable use policy for students using ipads in an elementary classroom setting. It requires the signature of both the student and the parent.
Once you have thoroughly gone over the expectatons of the acceptable use policy with the students, these posters are a great resource to post in the classroom as daily reminders.
I have also posted an example of a digital citizenship bookmark that may be printed out for students to keep in their books as daily reminders.
Click HERE to see additional great resources of acceptable use policy from a fellow teacher's blog page!
EXAMPLE:
Baltimore County Public Schools video clip on their Acceptable use policy.
***CLICK HERE to see an example of an acceptable use policy for a school district in South Carolina.
**Article on the debate of Internet Safety
References
Cromwell, Sharon. (2002, April 26). The Internet Safety Debate. Education World. Retrived from
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr070.shtml
Fajks, K. (2015, September 14). Acceptable Use Policy. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbHxDIdS4q8
The Geeky Library Lady. (2015, October 4). Acceptable Use Policy Explained. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=MarXQ8IRIbE
Simmons, T. (2016, September 6). Student Acceptable Use Policy. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9G0ztsBpfs
Soaring Sandy. (2012). Acceptable Use Policies for Students. Retrieved from http://www.soaringsandy.com/2012/07/acceptable-use-policies-for-kids.html