# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For Successful Acceptable Use Policies, Communication is Key

With each new school year comes a barrage of emails and letters sent out to teachers, students, and parents. Newsletters, permission slips, and teacher notes form piles around the house. One of the many forms of communications sent out that must be returned with a signature of understanding and approval is the acceptable use policy (AUP), or technology use policy. Because of the enormous amount of compliance paperwork shuffled across the population of a school district, it's likely that this all-important piece of information is merely skimmed over.

And when the technological landscape of your school is constantly changing, the acceptable use of technology is paramount for parents, teachers, and pupils to understand. It's up to the school's IT department to make sure that acceptable use of technology is communicated, understood, and accepted. The key to achieving these goals is to keep communicating to all parties involved, even after the note has been sent home. It's the equivalent of hanging up your kid's report card on the fridge to keep his good grade goals in mind.

Making the message of AUP clear doesn't have to be homework, though. Here are some helpful tips to communicate the policy to the many types of school stakeholders:
Communication with faculty
We know - the beginning of the school year is crazy for teachers. Another mandatory teacher meeting or training about technology would be met with a collective eye roll. Still, it is of great importance to give teachers the information they need about any changes to the technology AUP so they are prepared to educate students and answer parent questions.

Ultimately, group training on AUP changes and updates would be ideal. And it could be just as effective and efficient to hold an online internal webinar. Better yet, you could even create a video for teachers to watch on their own time. There would be no shortage of information or examples to fit into this video! What to cover? Include anything in the AUP that is different from previous years. Use examples of policy guidelines on actual computers. Take screenshots, or record live use of websites and other resources that convey the information covered in the AUP.

Arm teachers with the language they need to explain the AUP to parents and students. You know the parents will have questions, so you should prep your staff with the accurate answers. Create an FAQ just for teacher-parent conversations. But don't just spoon-feed information to teachers. As an IT department leader, you should show them how to find resources to back their answers. To cover all of your bases, though, discuss who is next in command after educators for in depth explanations about the AUP.
Communication with parents
As previously mentioned, it's no secret that the beginning of the school year evokes a bombardment of paperwork for parents. There are health care forms, field trip permission slips, syllabi reviews, and conference schedules to read over and sign off on. For parents with busy schedules and multiple children, it's common for even the most engaged parent to simply skim over permission slips and sign the dotted line.

Communicating AUP changes or updates to parents involves more than sending a note home. Parents need to be alerted in a more significant way. The AUP is crucial for both child and parent to understand, but another flyer home isn't the best way to inform them.

Create an interactive booth at the school's open house where students can see Internet use and technology in action. Illustrate violations so parents can experience what their children see. This will (hopefully) prevent school faculty and IT teams from angry parent phone calls.

It is likely that these parents are on social media as often as their kids. So this should be a no-brainer: take to social media. Utilize the school's Facebook and Twitter accounts to project links to an updated policy on the school's website.

You can go old school, too, with a mass voice message via the school's phone tree service. Give parents a phone number to call with any questions, and give them a ring when the policy changes.
Communication with students
Who is the most important person involved in the AUP? The student is, of course. Students are the reason the policy is created. AUP's protect the student from doing harm or being harmed. If you have to educate just one person on the AUP, it should be the student. If students have accurate information about the policy, then they can be key conveyors of its importance to their parents.

Ideas for communicating AUP guidelines with students are similar to those for parents and teachers. It's all about showing and telling. Students understand best when they are given examples. If you give them hands-on experience and allow them time to understand the concepts behind the school's AUP, then they will walk away feeling confident about the AUP guidelines. When teachers simply read through policies, students tend to tune out. Don't give them that option in the first place.

Again, demonstrations and hands-on experience is where it's at. To drive home the importance of AUP, teachers can schedule activities students and messages that can be incorporated into lessons. One great way to help pupils understand this is to provide tours of the school through the IT department's eyes. Show students the network, the monitoring system, and the tools used to keep track of what they are doing online. Don't keep it a secret.

Part of being transparent with students about AUP is also showing them what happens when they violate the AUP. How do teachers and IT administrators know if students have been on inappropriate websites? Show them.

Additionally, it's helpful to instruct student on communicating to adults when someone else is violating technology rules. Teach them about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking websites and in chat rooms. Touch on cyber bullying awareness and response, as well, as it is required by for E-Rate program compliance. If you give students the tools and info they need to understand the AUP, then they will work within it instead of fearing it.
Communication with community
The community at large may not seem like an immediate priority for conveying the contents of a school's technology AUP. But if the community isn't informed, then headaches are sure to follow due to miscommunication. It is best to prevent confusion rather than fight fires caused by it.

Consider different ways to be transparent about expectations to the stakeholders in your school district. In some cases, a public forum that allows community members to ask questions and voice concerns will do the trick. Invite the local newspaper to write an article on the school technology policies. Get the school principal involved, too, by asking him to post about new policies on a school blog. Provide ways for community members to get involved, such as volunteering time to help students learn technology.
Conclusion
For acceptable use policies to be successful, all school stakeholders must understand and have access to transparent information. To have transparency, communication must be made a priority. To get buy-in, all parties must open up lines of communication - from IT staff to teachers, students, parents, and community members. Illustrate changes instead of just sending written information and hoping people will read it. Provide means of two-way communication and avenues for answering questions. And finally, focus on how current and future technologies will enhance learning, as that is the mission of a good AUP.
Resources for communicating your acceptable use policy:
1-to-1 Essentials - Acceptable Use Policies - Common Sense Media

Transforming Your School with Digital Communication - ASCD

Bringing Acceptable-Use Policies into the 21st Century - Education World

Rethinking Acceptable Use Policies to Enable Digital Learning: A Guide for School Districts - COSN
Need a network management software solution that provides infinite scalability and integrates all your digital devices? Impero Software can help. For a full list of the features and benefits of Impero Education Pro network, classroom, and device management software, go here download the trial software, sign up for a webinar, email , or call 877.883.4370 today.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
For Successful Acceptable Use Policies, Communication is Key - Impero US

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
With each new school year comes a barrage of emails and letters sent out to teachers, students, and parents. Newsletters, permission slips, and teacher notes form piles around the house.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Have a Technology Policy in Your School or Library? | Librarians | Scholastic.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
One of the best ways to keep the internet safe in your school or library is to teach responsible use, which is why developing and implementing your Appropriate Use Policy (AUP) is so imperative. Make sure that students understand that agreeing to the terms of your AUP is their "ticket" or "pass" for going online in the library.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
EducationWorld is pleased to present this article by Kari Rhame Murphy, chief technology officer for a suburban Texas school district. Murphy shares the experience of developing an acceptable-use policy (AUP) that reflects the changing realities of 21st century learning and incorporates the input of school-community stakeholders.

This article originally appeared in the August/September 2011 issue of EdTech: Focus on K-12, published by CDW*G. The article was also reprinted in TechEdge, a quarterly magazine published by for Texas Computer Education Association members. To join or for more information, visit www.tcea.org.

Wikipedia defines an acceptable-use policy (AUP) as a collection of rules established by the owner or manager of a network, Web site, or computer system to restrict the ways in which it's accessed and used. Sounds autocratic and binding, doesn't it?

But what if a school district's IT department didn't write its AUP? What if, instead, a variety of stakeholders collaborated to write a policy that reflects the district's values in terms of instruction and how technology is used?

Like most other districts in the United States, the Deer Park (Texas) Independent School District wrote its first AUP in the mid-1990s when it began providing Internet accessibility to staff and students. Over the years, as technology changed and a few students and staff members misused district resources, we added some rules to the AUP and rewrote others. What began as a two-page document ultimately grew to exceed four pages.

Shifting the Focus from Acceptable to Responsible

As the "bring your own technology" (BYOT) movement has gained traction among educators, it's become increasingly clear that most districts' AUPs need to be revised. Ours was no different.

Beat BYOT Barriers

Implementing a "bring your own technology" (BYOT) program may seem daunting. But it doesn't have to be. Ease the process by following these pointers:

Have a vision for how BYOT can shape student success.

Communicate that vision and the needfor change to all stakeholders.

Plan for the change.

Address lingering fear, uncertainty and doubt.

Develop appropriate policies that address all relevant issues.

Identify and make the necessary modifications to support BYOT.

Determine which pedagogies need to be modified and make the necessary adjustments.

Determine the types of professional development that need to occur and develop programming to provide that training.

So about two years ago, district administrators began by modifying the student handbooks and student code of conduct to allow our 12,500 students to bring their personal computing devices to school on one condition: The devices could be used only for instructional purposes, pending approval by each school's principal.

Then, last fall, I challenged the district's technology department to make the necessary preparations so that students could access the district network using their own devices beginning in spring 2011. (We later delayed the launch of our BYOT program to fall 2011.)

As my team began the work of strengthening Web access, developing cloud applications, and implementing stronger security measures, we set out to rewrite our AUP.

The instructional technology staff and I began by pulling together our most innovative
teachers who use Twitter, Skype and other Web 2.0 tools in the classroom. Together, we developed a set of guidelines pertaining to
new technologies and how to use them with students, which we shared with teachers throughout the district as part of their professional development. It didn't seem efficient, however, to have an AUP and this other set of guidelines.

As the district's chief technology officer, I decided to take a different approach. I wanted to create a single policy or set of guidelines
that was positive in tone - one that would reflect what we value about learning, teach
our students digital citizenship, and empower our teachers.

With this in mind, I took the following steps, which may be helpful to other districts considering a move toward BYOT.

1. Create the vision

Imagine learning in and out of a classroom environment where students are demonstrating 21st century skills. Then look at the technologies they're using to master their personal learning experience. Look again, and you'll see that the technologies change continuously.

My vision for technology use supports the district's mission and vision. It focuses on the learning, and it's only when I look closely that I see the actual technologies that are needed to support that learning.

2. Form a committee

In an effort to not "do things as we always do" and get the same results, I enlisted select members of the district's Educational Improvement Council to rewrite our AUP. This group included an assistant principal, teachers of various grade levels and subjects, parents, and a campus technology integration specialist. They understand the business of education within the district.

After articulating my technology vision to committee members, they wrote the following opening statement for what would become our new usage policy:At Deer Park ISD, we use technology as one way of enhancing the mission to teach the skills, knowledge and behaviors students will need to succeed in the global community.

3. Step aside

Once you've assembled your committee, trust them to develop a policy that aligns with your vision.

As a general rule, technology administrators tend to control the rules for access, and I am no different. To prevent meddling (my own and that of my staff), I intentionally excluded technology department personnel from the committee. I also contracted with an outside facilitator who understood the business and values of the district, the importance of 21st century skills, and the ways in which classroom instruction is evolving. The facilitator served as our point person, making sure all aspects of instruction and technology misuse were covered.

With the keepers of the boxes and wires out of the way, the committee and facilitator could focus on how current and future technologies could enhance learning. Instead of an acceptable-use policy, they wrote two sets of Responsible Use Principles (RUP) - one for students and one for employees. Each one-and-a-half-page set of principles outlines the district's ...philosophy of technology supporting learning; desire for all members of the district community to be good digital citizens; conditions for using technology in a meaningful, safe and responsible way; conditions for using technology in accordance with state and federal laws.

(To read Deer Park Independent School District's Responsible Use Principles, go todpisd.org/tech_policies.)

When students and staff ask about the consequences they'll face for failing to adhere to these principles, we refer them to the student and employee handbooks and the student code of conduct. In the RUP committee's view, every misuse of network resources should be addressed in the same manner administrators follow when users abuse school property or violate existing laws. Why should there be a separate set of rules just because the tool has changed?

4. Get buy-in

Once the committee convinced the technology department that this new set of principles would still protect the network, we shared the documents with district and campus administrators and sought their feedback. Because our committee chair also is an administrator, he knew the concerns administrators would have and made a special effort to address the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that can cripple true innovation within school districts.

Once our administrators were on board, we took our final step toward making these documents a reality. That came when the district's Educational Improvement Council officially approved the policies in May 2011.

5. Teach responsibility

The RUP committee had one request of the technology department when they completed their work: They wanted us to develop a creative method for educating students, parents, and staff on meaningful, safe, and responsible use of technology. So we've spent the summer creating video clips and instructional materials highlighting good digital citizenship. These materials, which will be available through the district portal this fall, illustrate the new principles that students, parents and staff are required to acknowledge with their signatures and adhere to while they are members of the district community. Their compliance also is a prerequisite for the cybersafety instruction that all students receive each May.

Education World®
Copyright © 2012 Education World

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Acceptable-Use Policies in the 21st Century | Education World

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
EducationWorld is pleased to present this article by Kari Rhame Murphy, chief technology officer for a suburban Texas school district. Murphy shares the experience of developing an acceptable-use policy (AUP) that reflects the changing realities of 21st century learning and incorporates the input of school-community stakeholders.