Does Your AUP Need Updating?

It seems, these days, that our Acceptable Use Policies are constantly in need of updating. It’s difficult to cover every possible problem our schools and students may encounter, which means that in your AUP, you have to be both specific and general. Sometimes, I wonder whether our AUPs are simply reminders and warnings to students and their parents about the misuse of technologies and the Internet. We have written them both for guidance and for evidence of wrongdoing. While I understand it’s necessary to remind students about their digital behavior, I don’t know why we need a separate list of rules for technology. Wouldn’t school policies about behavior, respect for others, expectations, etc. cover tech issues as well? That’s just a thought, and I know that today schools have both school rules and tech rules. In the future, this may not be so. In the meantime, if you need help with your AUP development, t|h|e Journal offers a link to a white paper that covers why we need AUPs, how far our AUP should go, how to better manage student’s online behavior, and the essentials of a strong AUP.

DELETE CYBERBULLYING Competitions

Take the “Delete CyberBullying” Challenge by creating an original poster design or a public service announcement. The poster competition is open to students in Grades 4-11; the PSA competition, Grades 6-11. To be eligible to participate, students must be legal residents of the United States and live in areas served by Cablevision, so check the rules for specifics. Students under 13 years of age must provide a Parent Consent Form. Public Service Announcements must be videos of 30 seconds or less and cannot contain any copyright material. Don’t forget to take a look at the Downloads area of the competition. It’s a place where you can learn more about how to delete cyberbullying. Prizes include: Viewsonic Android G-Tablets, Microsoft Xbox 360, Flip HD Video Cameras, and Zune MP3 Players.

Free Technology for Teachers

The site Free Technology for Teachers is a great place to head when you are looking for resources to help you and your students.  On the site you’ll find downloads, Google Tools Tutorials, Video Creation Resources, and loads of other goodies for education. You can subscribe to the site through email for RSS feed or follow Free Technology for Teachers on Twitter. Some of the offerings for early June 2010 were: a technology curriculum for teaching digital citizenship, a micro-messaging network service, widgets and activity tools for Web pages, a guide to technology integration, a 33-page Google for Teachers PDF, a program for creating digital portfolios, a service that turns pictures into audio stories, and a system for creating and mixing sound tracks. All that is just what’s available from the current site page. There’s lots more in the archives.

Cyber Communication: Progress or Problem—What Kids Say

This year’s Optimist International Oratorical Competition for students focuses on the topic: Cyber Communication: Progress or Problem. After listening to many student speeches, these thoughts went through my mind. (1) Students, at least the ones participating in this competition, know the dangers of the Internet. (2) They know social networking sites have a minimum age, but they ignore it—it’s like it’s not there and doesn’t matter. (3) They realize cyber communication is here to stay and say people should get used to it and learn how to use it correctly. (4) They have no idea what to do about the problem of cyberbullies, but they know that it happens and feel for those who have been victims. (5) Although they text and video chat mostly, and still use email and instant messaging, many love to get written letters—one speaker even wrote an obituary of a love letter and then recited from one of Abigail Adam’s letters to John.  (6) They can’t imagine carrying a dictionary around or having to look words up in a dictionary. (7) It’s foreign to them not to be able to type their essays into the computer. “I couldn’t just sit down and write my stories on paper,” one commented. (8) They see cell phones as a necessary part of their lives, but they do not think parents should give cell phones to young children. (9) They are not sure about the option of technology to locate where they are. “That’s scary,” according to some. Others thought it could be useful for parents but noted that parents might purchase a cell phone for young children for this reason and not realize the other dangers present in cell phone options. (10) They see that cyber communication can be a powerful force for good in our world even though they realize that everyone doesn’t use it as they should—one speaker said, “You’ve got to remember that everyone isn’t nice.” Another said, “Alexander Graham Bell didn’t invent the telephone so that people could make crank calls or threatening calls. We must step forward with the technologies we have today thinking how we can help our world.”

 

Are Your Students in the Here & Now Only?

At the Annual Conference for the Association of Independent Maryland Schools, several of the sessions focused on students and their use of technologies.  Discussion during the sessions addressed problems students face and/or students cause when using the Internet, computers, and digital devices. The consensus was that students are so focused upon “the here and now” that they don’t take time to consider how their actions online may cause problems in the future. For example, why do many post inappropriate photos online, when they’ve certainly been told that these photos can damage their reputation, attract those they don’t want to attract, and stand in the way of their college admissions or job opportunities? Why do some students continue to bully others when they have to know that this behavior is unacceptable? Is it about looking good in front of peers? Is it about social acceptance and wanting to make oneself look better than others? Is it about students asserting their independence from the adults in their lives—students trying to grow up and be noticed and accepted? As educational professionals we know that kids’ problems, which sound silly to us often seem like “life and death” dilemmas to them. How do we find ways to give kids what they need so that they will feel safe enough with their “here and now” to do what’s right for their future?

Students Videoing Teachers Without Permission

Even if you are not doing anything wrong, would you like to be secretly videoed? Almost no one would. And if you are a classroom teacher, you can't be the perfect, most interesting teacher all the time. No one expects you to be. Enter the cell phone camera and other small video cameras. Students have used these to video teachers. One teacher in Canada had to take a leave of absence for stress because a video of him shouting at a student was placed on YouTube. The teacher, who was described as one of the best, was too embarrassed to return to the classroom. Apparently, one student purposely upset the teacher and another filmed the incident. At the school, the two students were suspended and a rule made that digital devices were no longed allowed in classrooms. Might there be other ways to handle the problem? Should teachers be expected to be in control at all times? Should what happens behind classroom doors be available to all? Should student behavior be videoed? What do you think? Is there an answer? No matter what, in today's world it's dangerous to say or do anything in public that you wouldn't want to see online, on television, in the newspapers, or on a cellphone.

Stand Up for Technology

Why do schools outlaw digital products (cell phones, iPods) that could be wonderful techie tools? - Because there are some kids who have caused problems and probably will continue to cause problems with these devices. There are some kids who might spend their time text messaging instead of participating in class projects. You know what we mean. So why not talk to your students about this problem and get the kids to understand what their responsibilities are. Have the kids stand up for technologies. You'll find ideas to promote standing up for tech in Power to Learn's elementary, middle school, and high school Computers & Homework sections.

Too Many Cyberbullies

The latest report from the PEW Internet & American Life Project finds that approximately one in three teens online report incidents of cyberbullying of some type. Many have received threatening messages, have had their comments forwarded without their permission, have had others post unkind things about them, have had someone publish embarrassing photos of them, and/or have had others spread rumors about them online. Those who experienced these problems were most often girls and generally those who were more active in online socializing. The study also found that teens feel "they are more likely to be bullied offline than online." The fact that those who engage in social networking and like to share information about themselves are most often the targets of bullying incidents is not surprising. However, in these days when we seem to think of the Internet as the place where such things happen, have we forgotten that bullying, as the kids are saying, continues its rampage offline, too?

Court Rules MySpace Postings are Free Speech

A Court of Appeals in Indiana has ruled that a judge violated the First Amendment rights of a teen when he placed her on probation for posting an expletive-laden entry on MySpace criticizing a school principal. In February 2006, Greencastle Middle School Principal Shawn Gobert discovered a Web page on MySpace purportedly created by him. The unidentified teen, who did not create the page, made derogatory postings on it concerning the school's policy on body piercing. The state filed a delinquency petition in March alleging that teen's acts would have been harassment, identity deception and identity theft if committed by an adult. A judge ruled that her comments were obscene and placed her on nine months probation. The teen argued that her comments were protected political speech under both the state and federal constitutions because they dealt with school policy. This incident magnifies the growing concern of many schools about exactly where does a school's authority end. Will parent and teachers become more and more adversaries rather than partners because of these kinds of incidents? Would love to hear your comments on this.