15/6/2011 Acceptable Use Policy: A fresh approach.

This originally was posted on 15/6/2011

With the move to using mobile devices and the ease at which anyone can access the web it was becoming increasing clear that we had to rethink the Acceptable Use Policy to reflect more accurately what was happening and likely to happen. I evolved a set of criteria:

1. It would involve the School Community (students, staff, parents and Governors) in consultation before being finalised.
2. It would try to include all devices and services used within the Community.
3. It would try cover all use within the  Community (which includes Social networking).
4. It would not be written like the Ten commandments or in pseudo legal jargon. It is a policy.
5. It would not include policies already covered elsewhere ie behaviour, property liability.
6. It would not includes the laws of the land such as copyright.  These apply whether included or not.
7. It would not do a Canute and try and ban all non-educational use as that’s frankly impossible. Every Teacher would be in breach for starters! Pragmatism rules.
8. It would treat the students with some respect because their day to day usage in the vast majority of cases is exemplary.

Going through the many AUPs online it became clear that there is absolutely no trust in many Schools regarding their students use of ICT. Draconian sums up the majority: one had four pages and three of them required multiple signatures! Many tried to fit the AUP into one page even if it meant size 8 font!

I found two exceptions:  Edorigami’s original concept http://edorigami.edublogs.org/2009/05/21/digital-citizen-acceptable-use-agreement/ which was in turn followed by Daniel Stucke  (link dead).

Not surprisingly I used this approach in drawing my own AUP. As I write this has gone out to the entire School Community for comment (online of course) and no doubt the Student Council will have plenty to say! At least they will be able to quickly read and understand it.

Of course what might work in one School Environment might not in another.But ask yourself the question.Would respectingand trusting the students’ intelligence in their use of ICT not be the better approach?

The new AUP