AUP

Acceptable Use Policies (AUP) are essential in schools. I teach in a middle school and in this day and age, kids are used to believing whatever they read on the internet, whatever they hear on TV and posting every detail of their lives on social media. They are used to getting everything they want almost instantly, which might be one of the reasons they believe everything they read; they don't want to do the hard work to make sure it is accurate. This is not to say students are not hard working, they just don't always realize, despite being told over and over, that this extra work needs to be done.

An AUP can help students to see what both the right and wrong ways of using the Internet can be. Putting something in writing to tell students that things like plagiarism or illegal downloading will not be tolerated is important, and should be discussed often. But as Common Sense Media (2017) points out, "defining positive goals for incorporating technology into the school day" should also be a part of AUPs, which I suppose is why they are not called "unacceptable use policies".

It is so easy to find the wrong things on the internet-there is simply too much available to catch it all and students are very tech savvy and can often find what they are looking for. AUPs are in place for student safety, which is our responsibility once they are inside the walls of our schools. We need to teach them digital citizenship, "the responsible, civil, safe, and productive use of modern technologies" (Roblyer, 2016) so that when they are on their own, they will not do something they will regret later, or something that can harm themselves or others.

My school's acceptable use policy is told to every student during their first week or two of school when they come into library orientation. They are told where they can find it and some basics, but they hear these things so often that the 3 minute talk probably has little effect on them if they weren't already aware of the damage that can be done by ignoring these policies. They either know it well and are going to abide, or they will do what they want. The way to change this is to talk about it often, have it displayed prominently around the school and to truly stand by our word of consequences if need be.

The fine print is not something we often read, but students should be shown the AUPs of companies that they use such as Twitter and Facebook as well as the one we use for our school (see below) and perhaps look at other schools in another part of the country. They will see that this is not something to be taken lightly or to be brushed aside, but rather something to keep people from treating one another as anonymous nobodies, but rather that we are all important and should be treated as such.

GVMS: Communications Network Access ­ Policy #815 ­ Obtaining access to the Internet intentionally and without proper authorization is misuse of the Communication Network. A misuse includes any message(s) sent or received that indicate or suggest pornography, unethical or illegal solicitation, racism, sexism, inappropriate language or any violation of local, state or federal laws relating to use of the Internet.

References

Acceptable use policies. (2017). Retrieved February 23, 2017, from Common Sense Media website: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/1to1/aups

GVSD procedural manual. (2016, August 26). Retrieved February 23, 2017, from Garnet Valley Schools website: http://www.garnetvalleyschools.com//site/default.aspx?PageID=784

Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

Why have a technology policy in your school or library? (2017). Retrieved February 23, 2017, from Scholastic website: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/1to1/aups

Teachers Using Video

I teach in a middle school serving students in grades 6-8. I found that teachers in my school are coming around to video in different ways and actually caught one of my teachers using the green screen in my makerspace to create a quick video opener for one of his classes when I stopped him for his interview. From getting kids up and moving for a break to creating a flipped classroom, video can be used for all subjects and levels to help students.

Enjoy!

The Basic Suite

When we discuss the basic suite, most people think of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, but I want to discuss instead Google Docs, Sheets and Presentation instead. These are the Basic Suite as presented by Google, but are easier to use when it comes to sharing and collaborating.

If I want my students to work on an assignment that requires one of the three basic suite components, they can very easily share with one another and with me, particularly in my school where each student is given a google mail account through the school. Sharing, editing and commenting are a huge advantage to using this suite as well as it being simple. Rather than having to email attachments back and forth and then editing and emailing again; once a document, sheet or presentation is shared, editing can be done by all parties involved.

Another relative advantage of using this suite is that it is accessible from any computer with internet access. The Microsoft suite must be installed (not to mention paid for) ahead of time and not everyone has ownership. With Google, everything is free and easy to access.

Overall, the relative advantage of knowing how to use the basic suite is that they will be useful in many fields of study as well as at many levels of that study and then in future careers. Being able to communicate through writing, math and presentations (which includes public speaking) will help all students succeed throughout their careers at school as well as when they leave.

Lastly, new things are added to the programs as they become available, so students are learning how to do new things with technology they are already familiar with. People who are used to using Microsoft know that the difference between 2000 and 2010 is vast and the same can be said of Google, except that the changes are added for everyone and not all at once, meaning that users can do more and more without being overwhelmed by a completely new look all at once.