Acceptable Use Policies: For our benefit.

At class last Tuesday, Mr. E. gave out an article about the substitute teacher Mrs. Julie Amero and how she was wrongly accused of looking up adult content while students were watching. But in reality, she had stepped out of the classroom and came back to see the students at at hairstyle site, which ended up having endless amounts of popups that included adult material, causing her to panic and rush off for help. She was fortunately taken of her change, but she was sentenced to up to 40 years in jail because of what she “did”, or didn't do. This example shows that there was something wrong with what the students did, but they didn't know any better because they did not have a policy to stay off those kinds of sites.

If the students had an Acceptable Use Policy for the computers, the situation would have ended up completely different. Since the students did not have any Policy for the computer, they were free to do anything they wanted and only the teacher would be to blame for not handling the situation. Acceptable Use Policies for Internet use are for the safety of students and of the teachers. AUPs are to be read carefully by the students and parent/guardians and signed as to agree with the policies written for Internet or network use.

When children are near the computers, they need to be careful of what kind of site they go on because it is such a dangerous place to be. As a teacher, I would send this list home with the student so that the parents would be able to know what the Acceptable Use Policies. The 10 AUPs that I have put are:

1)Do not run around or play around the computers.
2)Do not bring food or drinks near the computers.
3)Do not change or tamper with any of the hardware, software, or the settings on the computer.
4)The computer and the Internet are only used for schoolwork. A website or program that is not on the bookmarks must be approved by the teacher before accessing.
5)Do not share your student password with anyone other than your teacher or parent/guardian, and respect other student's passwords.
6)Tell the teacher immediately if you read or see something inappropriate on the computer.
7)Do not use the computer when it is not computer time, unless otherwise told to by the teacher.
8)Do not use the computer to bully or attack others.
9)Do not go onto other people's folders or files.
10)Ask the teacher when you need help with the computer- do not do anything when you do not know what to do.

Children must understand that if they do not follow these Policies, they will not be able to use the computer. This will help protect the students, teachers, and computers from harm. If students have specific rules to follow, they will be the ones responsible for what they have done wrong, keeping the teacher out of the mess. Students must understand that since they are not being limited, they are actually more free by being able to use the computer at the school. With AUP, everyone will be responsible, and not just the teacher. In this way, children are free to do what they want as long as they follow the policies.