Acceptable Use Policy

Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs) are agreements between the student and the district in order to help keep students safe online. This Kajeet article states that there are two main components to an AUP: protecting students from harmful content on the Internet and providing students with access to digital media that supports engaged learning. After reading the article, I learned that there are different elements that are included in an AUP. The three elements that stood out to me were (1) Acceptable Uses, (2) Unacceptable Uses, and (3) Violations/Sanctions. These elements will outline what is acceptable/unacceptable for students to use on devices and the consequences should they not follow the AUP.

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My school is 1:1 for student devices, each student has their own Chromebook. Because of this, I think it is important students know what is acceptable/unacceptable when they are using a school device. The AUP for my school district can be found in the Student Handbook. The AUP for Acero is written for what students can do with their school technology. When reviewing Acero's AUP I noticed that it included two of the three elements I mentioned above. It had a long section on unacceptable uses as well as the violations, or discipline consequences, should students engage in the prohibited uses. The policy included how Acero has the right to access to any message sent in the system and will monitor students' use of their devices. However, I did not read a section that explains what students are able to do with their devices. I

What Am I Signing? 

The AUP was written for students to know what is acceptable, but I had difficulty understanding what I was reading. With this in mind, how can we expect our students to know what they are acknowledging they can do on their school devices by signing it? I think that a way for students to better understand AUPs is by having them be a part in writing them. A group of students can work with district staff to create a policy that is student-friendly and grade-specific that all students will understand. 

Acceptable vs. Responsible

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This blog post discusses what districts should create a Responsible Use Policy (RUP) rather than an AUP. An AUP is written in a manner that outlines what students can't do whereas an RUP outlines how students should act. A big takeaway that I got from the blog was that RUPs "promote positive behaviors, expectations, and guidelines." This will allow students to take responsibility for how they use the Internet. High-quality RUPs will:

• Lay the foundation for digital citizenship and personal accountability
• Include input from students, teachers, administrators, school board members, and the community
• Include school-owned and personal devices
• Encourage high levels of access
• Value student and community voice
• Promote the responsible use of social media
• Are age-appropriate and easy for students to understand

I believe that by taking the time to create an RUP will help students better understand what they are able to do on the Internet, both at school and in their personal lives. It will also be easier for students to understand what they are signing, especially if they were a part of creating the RUP. Having an RUP will show students what they can do, rather than tell them what they can't, like in our district's current AUP.