Acceptable Use Policy 1

Updating and Creating an Acceptable Use Policy

Nathan Miller

FRIT 7132

Georgia Southern University

Dr. Melissa Allen

April 12th, 2010

 Acceptable Use Policy 2

Creating and Updating an Acceptable Use Policy

An Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) establishes guidelines for the use of technology

by users in a particular organization. Schools and businesses alike must establish a policy

in order for their users to understand the conditions for using the resources provided by

their organizations. The policy is important because it is a legal agreement between the

individual and respective organization that defines both acceptableand unacceptable uses

of resources and the consequences that may result from abuse of those resources. Due to

the constantly changing nature of technology, every organizations AUP should be under

regular review.

An AUP should consist of guidelines and forms for students and parents to read

and fill out. According to Joan Miller (2004), “an AUP is an official agreement requiring

signatures from parents and students, the school district’s legal counsel should be

consulted during its development. Legal counsel should also peruse the end product”

(p.25). Miller also states that an AUP should be changed as necessary to accommodate

the needs of the school and those using the school’s resources. Another important part of

an AUP is the enforcement component of the policy. According to Miller (2004),

“teachers are most responsible for the implementation and enforcement of a school’s

Acceptable Use Policy” (p. 26). An AUP must be enforced by teachers, media

specialists, technology staff, and administrators in order for it to be effective. Lack of

teeth in any policy render it virtually useless.

One of the challenges an organization faces in updating an AUP is knowing what

issues may arise before they happen or when they happen. As a result, it is important to

stay in the know regarding advancements in technology. Mills (2005) states that “your
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technology staff can provide information about needed revisions or new policies to be

developed as they tend to be the first ones to recognize the holes in the technology

puzzle” (p. 8). By using staff from different specialty areas to help review policies, you

can get a “more detailed and useful policy that address(es) the most frequent type of

copyright issues at our schools” (p. 8). As a technology specialist, I am frequently asked

by our media specialist about new ways that students can use to bypass the filter or ways

that she and her paraprofessional can remotely monitor the activity on the computers in

the media center. Another great place to look for ideas and specifics when developing or

revising an AUP is to look at existing policies that have been developed by other schools

that may have faced challenges not yet seen in your schools.

Creating or revising an AUP is not a onetime project. Mills (2005) comments that

“because of their all-encompassing nature, frequent review of the scope and parameters

of the acceptable use policy is needed as technology and its application changes in your

district” (p. 8). The specifics of the policy should be continuously reviewed as new

technology becomes available and student use of that technology changes and adapts to

circumvent detection and conformance to the policy. The policy should address the

technology and whether or not its use is allowed by the school.

As schools become more technologically advanced, other “cyber” issues may

arise. Mills (2005) states that issues such as privacy should also be included in an AUP

“especially the publication of student photographs” (p.8) or names. This will ensure that

your organization “is protected against possible pitfalls and liability issues” (p.8). School

websites or other publications may use team photos or student award photos. The policy

on photos should be included in the AUP so parents and students are made aware of the
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potential use of photos on websites or other publications. One of the things that our

media specialist specifically mentioned to me was the trouble she had experienced in

being allowed to put any student pictures at all on our updated website. She said that it

was a struggle to get the superintendent to even entertain the idea, but a compromise was

reached by allowing a form to be sent home with students who would be seen on the

website asking for parental permission for the pictures to be published.

Another liability issue that may arise is the false sense of protection that filters

give to parents who think that filter software will prevent their children from accessing

inappropriate content on the Internet. According to Schrader (1999), ambiguities involved

in using filters “prevent blocking and rating software from ever being successful . . . in a

way that would satisfy critics, reassure parents, and relieve librarians and teachers of

unpleasant encounters with complainants” (p. 11). He continues to state the “human

language is just too unstable, words and meanings just too indeterminate, too elastic, too

mutable, too imperfect” (p. 11). An AUP should detail this type of issue and the

limitations of the filtering products on the market. Ultimately, the issue of Internet

responsibility will have to be continuously taught to students.

Using the Internet responsibly is new to many people, particularly adults who

grew up prior to the cyber age. Doug Johnson (1998) states that “using technology to

communicate and operate in a ‘virtual world’ . . . is a new phenomenon that is not always

well understood by many adults who received their primary education prior to its

existence” (p. 43). The Internet has brought about new challenges in ethics. Actions that

take place in a virtual world seem less serious than actions in the real world (pp. 43-44).

AUPs need to address ethical dilemmas such as privacy and property. Students and
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parents should be aware that schools have access to anything that is made using

technology that is school property.

Issues concerning technology seem endless. With careful thought and

consideration about issues that may occur, an AUP will encompass any form of

technology that is used by students and other users in an organization. Due to its dynamic

nature, technology will demand regular review of how it is used in order to protect its

users and to allow for it to be used in an appropriate and effective way. Students must

learn early about their own responsibility when it comes to using technology. One of the

most effective ways to ensure that responsible choices are made by all technology users is

to have established guidelines in place and then to enforce those guidelines.

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REFERENCES

Johnson, D. (1998). Developing an ethical compass for worlds of learning. MultiMedia

Schools, 5(5), 42-47. Retrieved Saturday, April 10, 2010 from the ERIC database.

Miller, J. (2004). Intellectual freedom and the Internet: Developing acceptable use

policies. School Libraries in Canada, 23(3), 24-33. Retrieved Saturday, April 10,

2010 from the EBSCO Host Database.

Mills, L. (2005). Read any good technology policies lately? School Administrator,

62(1),8-8. Retrieved Saturday, April 10, 2010 from the ERIC database.

Schrader, A. (1999). Internet censorship issues for teacher-librarians. Teacher Librarian,

26(5), 8-12. Retrieved Saturday, April 10, 2010 from the ERIC database.