Reflection on Final Project: HS AUP (May 12, 2009)

For our final project, Patience Soule, Jonathan Eales and I decided to take what we had learned from the course to revise—update and improve (we hoped!)—the current ISB HS AUP, the ISB Electronic Resources Acceptable Use Policy, which had been created in large part by Dennis Harter, our HS Technology and Learning Coordinator, a few years ago.

Patience, Jon and I began by independently reviewing current 'best practices' in the creation, revision, and use of secondary school AUPs on the web. We reviewed what an AUP is, its purpose, importance, contents, and various school models as well as guidelines for revising and updating existing school AUPs. Next, we contacted key individuals at our school (those most closely involved in the creation, implementation and enforcement of the HS AUP) and requested their feedback, based on their experience, on how they would like to see the HS AUP revised, updated and improved.

Patience, Jon and I then discussed and worked out our 'big picture' view for the revised HS AUP, renamed the ISB Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy for the High School. Before beginning the actual task of revision, we were all in agreement that we had the following goals for the revised HS AUP. The HS AUP we wanted to create would:

1. provide a vision, a philosophy, of IT use at ISB

2. have a positive tone focusing on the responsible use of IT, showing respect to self and others

3. address misuse of IT as it connects to respecting self and others

4. summarize consequences of misuse with reference to ISB's Discipline Code

5. be relevant to current uses of IT but not limited by mention of specific IT tools

6. be informative and accessible to all readers

In keeping with these goals, we added a statement, a Philosophy of Information Technology Use, at the beginning of the AUP. We framed responsible use around two basic principles: Respect Yourself; Respect Others. Under these two principles we bulleted seven categories of responsible use and used these seven categories as organizing threads for the subsequent information on responsible use. We also added information on IT uses and issues not specifically addressed in the ISB Electronic Resources Acceptable Use Policy such as support copyright and intellectual property laws and inclusion of IT resources, both personal and school provided.

I think the final document we created, ISB Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy for the High School, meets the goals we set for ourselves. As we began reworking the document, we kept these six goals in mind and used these goals to guide our decisions as to what to add, delete, and modify in terms of the language, content and format of the current HS AUP. Ultimately, changes were made to all aspects— language, content and format—in line with the goals we established for the project. In working together, Patience, Jon and I were able to express our personal thoughts and opinions and yet where unanimity was not initially evident among three individuals (three writers/editors), in viewing any difference of opinion through the lens provided by our project goals, agreement could fairly quickly be found. In collaboration, I feel we came up with a better AUP than any of us could have done alone.

Prior to submitting our final project, we again sought feedback from key individuals at ISB closely involved with the creation, implementation, and enforcement of the current HS AUP. I would like to acknowledge the time, effort and commitment shown by one of these individuals, Rob Rubis. In reflecting on his personal experience (as ISB's HS librarian) using and enforcing ISB's current HS AUP, Rob provided much food for thought and constructive feedback for Patience, Jon and I.

Finally, I would like to thank Dennis for his support and final words of encouragement and praise, and most importantly for offering to talk and encourage the HS Admin to use the ISB Information Technology Acceptable Use Policy for the High School put together by Patience, Jon and I.

To read more on the changes and rationales for changes made to the HS AUP, I would direct you to Patience's and Jon's blogs on our final project.

If you are interested in further readings, I found the article AUPs in a Web 2.0 World from EdTech online magazine and the Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) white paper from Nancy Clemens most informative.

Three Dragons Image link

When and where should we be teaching students about their digital footprint? Part II (March 22, 2009)

After reading some of the other blogs in the class -- particularly science in flower, Eschew Obfuscation, and Martin's COETAIL -- I would like to say more on the topic of when and where educators should be teaching students about their digital footprint and AUPs. As stated in Part I of my blog on this topic, I feel that teachers and parents should both be educating students about the nature of their digital footprint and how to manage their digital footprint in a way that protects them and others (starting with first time online users, children) and allows them to create an online image (starting with MS students) and brand (starting with HS and college students and adults) that contributes to and showcases their learning, accomplishments, values and relationships. Given the wired world kids of today are born into, this education needs to take place at a very young age -- when they first enter the wired world -- both at home and in our schools.

In her blog on the topic, Patience stated that she felt educators (and ISB) need to do more than teach about the "dangers of online life" and that while there was some classroom instruction on the topic taking place at ISB, "these efforts (by teachers 'in-the-know') can not be counted upon to reach all students" she was not sure of the best place ('approach') for these lessons (whether it should be the classroom, freshman seminar, or counseling).

In his blog on the topic, Jonathan stated that he feels "we need to be teaching students from an early age about their digital footprint." and that "ISB’s AUP ... is more a statement of ideas and philosophies, than a policy."

Finally, in his blog on the topic, Martin stated that "Digital footprints are most likely not the domain of any one course and time" nor of just parents or teachers and that classrooms (technology, Humanities and others) are places where he could see this issue addressed recurrently throughout the school years. As for the MS AUP, Martin expressed general satisfaction with its wording in addressing this issue and stated, "it's just a matter (now) of disseminating this information to staff, students, and parents."

Reading these three blogs and others helped me clarify where I feel students should be 'taught' about digital footprints in the schools. And I do think they should be taught. Having a clear and targeted AUP, especially an AUP that staff, students and parents are not familiar with nor invested in, is clearly not sufficient. I believe such instruction belongs appropriately embedded in the curriculum of every class students take K-12, not in a separate technology course, or 'home room', or grade-level seminar. Just as we were asked to embed the NET Standards for Students into our final course project (to combine our unit standards, or outcomes, with the NET-S standards), I think each course, grade-level, or department should be asked to similarly embed 'standards' addressing the safe, responsible and effective management of students' digital footprints. Doing so will allow all students to be effectively 'reached', to allow students to become safe, responsible and effective managers of their own online brand (a 'transportable gift' in the parlance of ISB), and to allow staff and students to feel comfortable enforcing and following a clear and targeted AUP about which both students and teachers are knowledgeable and invested.