EVALUATION OF YOUR CURRENT AUP

Elizabeth Patton
1. Find your schools current AUP.

2. Is your current AUP missing any of the suggested sections? Explain where you
believe the plan is lacking.

COMPONENTS OF AN AUP
The aim of the AUP- Our district has included an aim of the AUP it is in the beginning of the
document: Freedom of expression is an inalienable human right penned in the

Constitution of our country. It is the foundation for self-government. Freedom

of expression encompasses the right to freedom of speech and the corollary
right to receive information. Such rights are influential to the complete
spectrum of its citizens. Madison Consolidated Schools facilitate the exercise
of these rights by providing access to information regardless of format or
technology. In a free and emocratic society, access to information is a
fundamental right of citizenship.

An AUP should address all aspects of Internet usage. These include:

Searching- My districts AUP does not include anything about searching. It does state,
Users will not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the district system or to
any other computer system through the district system, or go beyond their
authorized access.
Downloading- The AUP does have a statement regarding downloading, No downloading
or installation of software on Corporate network or computers without the
approval of the MCS Technology Department. This has been an issue in my
classroom. A few of my students downloaded games online illegally and the
technology department came and took their iPads. I was very impressed with
how quickly the technology department responded.
Publishing a school website- The AUP does not state anything about publishing a school
website.
Browsing websites- The AUP discusses the policy on free access to the internet, Free
Access. All members will be granted free access to netowrk services.
Exploration of the Internet is encouraged relative to the purposes of the
network. It may be necessary to remove personal files if total system storage
space warrants it.
Electronic communication such as email, social networking, messaging etc. I was informed
that students were not allowed to use their school e-mail, it was only to sign onto other
websites. However, after reading the AUP I found students are allowed to use their e-mail:
Student Use of Email. The use of email by students will be taught in appropriate
situations. Student use of email for personal correspondence will be at the
discretion of the supervising faculty member. In all instances, students are
responsible for, and are accountable for the content of the email they write and
send.
Other issues that an AUP may include:
Online research skills
Where to locate Internet safety advice and guidelines
Definition of inappropriate material
Illegal and harmful use of the Internet
Use of equipment for commercial gain
Use of email accounts
Sanctions
Copyright guidelines
Online games
The AUP also discusses students safety and privacy. It has a section about never
sharing your password or username. As well as to never meet anyone online in
person or to give out personal information. It also informs students about digital
citizenship and states that if a student receives a message that makes them feel
uncomfortable they need to contact a staff member. The AUP includes cyberbullying and the policy does not allow personal attacks on other students or
harassments on other students.
The AUP has a copyright infringement and plagiarism section. This section states that
students are not allowed to plagiarism and they must read copyright laws. Lastly, the

AUP has an illegal activities section. This section states that students can not view
obscene or profane material.

3. Go through the AUP checklist below and answer each question in regards to
the current state of your school.

AUP checklist
For an AUP to be robust it needs to be reviewed and updated regularly taking into consideration
implementation issues that may arise. The following is a checklist that may be used when
developing or revising an AUP.

Have AUP implementation issues arisen since the AUP was designed/revised?
Yes, the AUP implementation has had issues since it was designed. It was created two
years ago with the implementation of iPads. Since then, it has been revised to better
accommodate the students, teachers, and their safety.

Have these issues been discussed with parents, students and teachers and incorporated
into an updated AUP?
No, the issues were not discussed with parents, students or teachers. The technology
department created it and to my knowledge no one was on the committee except for
the technology department.

Given that an AUP is in place, can the school confidently address the following scenarios?

A student is found using a website to arrange a face-to-face meeting with a friend

We allow this if it is for educational purposes. For example, my class Skypes with other
students in different regions to share their learning. However, students cannot Skype
or arrange a face-to-face meeting alone.

The school uses filtering software but a student accidentally accesses a pornographic
website while in your care.
Unfortunately this has happened this year. I was unaware of the situation. Then two
people from the technology department walked in my classroom and very seriously
said we need, Students: Student ______ and Student _____. As well as their iPads.
The technology department handled it very quickly and contacted the parents. The
students were not allowed on their ipads for a few weeks. But I feel like the students
learned their lesson because they were terrified when the technology department
came in my room.

A student publishes defamatory information on a personal website about a peer

I have never witnessed this, but I believe they could confidently address this matter. I
also believe consequences for those involved would take place.

Has the AUP had a positive impact on curriculum delivery?

Yes, I think the AUP has had a positive impact on curriculum delivery and especially on digital
citizenship. This is my first year at this school district and the students were very aware of
what they were allowed to do on their iPads and what they were not allowed to do. This was
very helpful to me.

Has the AUP as a code of Internet use transferred to home use?

Yes, students must log onto our Lightspeed network even at home to use the internet.

Does an open dialogue exist between students and teachers relating to Internet misuse and
safety issues?
Yes, I contact several teachers about internet safety. I think at the elementary level we have
to be extremely careful and very aware of what our students are viewing.

Are teachers and students internet safety training needs being met?
Personally I do not think so. I have not had any internet training on how to block sites or ads.
I would like internet safety training and I think it would be very beneficial to all students.

4. Using the knowledge gained thus far, make at least 5 additions or changes to
your plan to improve it for teaching and learning in the future.
1- The AUP needs to include a section about searching. The section about
searching needs to include specific details about what students can and
cannot search.
2- The AUP needs does not include anything about publishing a school website. I
dont feel like that would be needed.
3- I think we need to add copyright guidelines because many of my students do
not really know what copyright is and those that do know what copyright is
they dont really understand it.
4- I think the most important section we need to add is where to locate Internet
safety. This would be great if they had websites for parents to view or specific
regulations to have at home and school.
5- Lastly, the school should consider adding something about use of equipment
for commercial gain. I do not think this would be an issue at the elementary
level, but the high school should have it.