Administration of Technology Initiatives: Planning, Budgeting, and Evaluation

Tennille WilkensEDTC 630.9020

To: Administration, DeKalb County School District & Board MembersFrom: Tennille WilkensDate: June 14, 2014

Subject: Acceptable Use Policy

About DeKalb County:The DeKalb County School System (DCSS) is a metropolitan Atlanta public school system located in the second largest county in Georgia. DeKalb County, one of the most culturally diverse counties in the nation, has been introduced to new technological advances of the 21st century. With a growing student enrollment of more than 102,000 students in 143 schools and centers, and 13,285 full-time employees, its time to review the necessary changes of the outdated policy. Today we will be taking a closer look at the acceptable use policy (attached for reference) that has been developed by the professionals of the Information Technology Department as well as the Board Members for all schools of this district to adhere to. This is important because this county requires all schools to adhere to one policy. Therefore, the update is necessary as most schools are adapting to the new educational uses of the internet. As stated by DeKalb County, The school district is dedicated to providing access to information and programs anytime, anywhere for anyone in a 21st century learning environment. DeKalb County makes a strong point that they have the utmost interest of the students, teachers, staff, and parents leading to critical time for change.

Evaluation:I write on behalf of the faculty of DeKalb County Public School System about the proposal to revise the current AUP for the entire school district. As you know the school district must decide for itself what it feels is appropriate use of policies. I have reviewed many helpful resources that are available on the Internet that can guide the revision of the acceptable use policy for DeKalb county schools. The revision has come to be an immediate topic of discussion because it is simply impossible for educators to monitor the behavior of the students while on the internet. The new proposal will include more than just Dos and Donts; educators want students to truly understand the consequences of improper netiquette.The original AUP was adopted in September 2000, with only a few modifications made since. It is critical to make the necessary changes to adhere to the latest growth of education as it involves the internet. Though the policy is well written, Id like the school district to include additional factors to educate teachers, students, and parents. Below are the following missing elements that are crucial to the understanding of AUPs: Clear language is necessary to define important terms: network etiquette, vandalism, digital citizenship, mobile learning. These terms need to be mentioned in detail. What it is, importance, dishonorable consequences. This AUP does not cover all of our 21st century needs. Technological Values or Social Media Guidelines. This AUP is focusing on behavior without much consideration of the hardware and software that is used in education today. Families must be invited into discussions so that there is a mutual understanding and commitment to upholding guidelines of the AUP. The current AUP mentions a workshop to educate students about the AUP. However, parents must be included on this workshop to enforce accountability. The AUP mentions ethical responsibilities; however, it needs to clearly state a legal disclaimer. Misuse of the internet is on a rise and everyone needs to have guideline to adhere to. In hopes to get the parents more involved, an outline of what responsibilities are placed on parents must be added. Also, schools should address voice over internet. Internet phone use, guidelines, and restrictions. In conclusion, have the students participate in an activity explaining why they feel this policy is important and what the consequences should be if the rules arent adhered to. Make note of what the students are feeling to include in the consequences. The proposed plan would have an educational agenda to it. Everyone needs awareness, including the school district. Schools simply cannot afford to hand students, teachers, and parents a policy to sign without remembering to explain the details. The following chilling statistics state that 93% of all 5-15 year olds used the internet in 2013. This breaks down by age as: four in five 5-7 year olds (82%), and nearly all 8-11 year olds (96%) and 12-15 year olds (99%) while other children have experienced pressure to look or act a certain way (14%), cyber stalking (12%), aggressive and violent language (18%), encouragement to hurt themselves (3%), receiving unwanted sexual messages (12%), and requests to send or respond to a sexual message (8%). Just think about it as globalization continues to grow, so will these findings.

In summary, the proposed revising listed above will not solve all of our problems but it will help address them. When faculty, students, and parents have a clear understanding as to whytheir attitude towards the rule will change.

I look forward to discussing the revisions in greater detail.

Sincerely,

Tennille Wilkens

References

Fitzer, Kim, and Jim Peterson. "An Educator's Guide to Enforcing Acceptable Use Policies." An Educator's Guide to Enforcing Acceptable Use Policies. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 7 Aug. 2002. Web. 12 Mar. 2013.

Ofcom (2013). Statistics of Online Safety. Retrieved from:http://www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/resourcesforprofessionals/onlinesafety/statistics-online-safety_wda93975.html