Here are my BYOD/Social Media policies. I used many of the policies from my current school district and added many more. I decided to mesh the BYOD and Social Media policies since they go hand-in-hand.
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and Social Media Policies
The District defines a device as a personally owned laptop, tablet, netbook, e-Reader, iPod or iPad, or cell/smart phone. Students may now bring their own devices to their school to be used for educational purposes only. It is the student’s responsibility to comply with Osceola County School District policies in accordance with the Student Internet and Network Use Procedures, Network Acceptable Use Policy, and Code of Student Conduct while utilizing a personal device on school grounds or in any building owned or operated by the School Board.
The student is fully responsible, at all times, for the personally owned device(s) brought to school. The School District is not liable for any loss/damage/theft of a personally owned device.
A student bringing a device to school must use the BYOD wireless network. Students are not authorized to connect personally owned devices to the WIRED network. The student is responsible for the condition of the device brought to school, including updates, antivirus software, and repair. The student may only use personally owned devices for educational purposes during school hours in classrooms/designated areas in which teachers have agreed to participate in the BYOD Program. Outside these classrooms/designated areas, all electronic devices should be turned off and not be visible. No device, personal or otherwise, may be used to record, store, or transmit any type of image, sound, or video from any classroom/designated area, except for approved projects with the express permission of the classroom teacher. If reasonable belief exists that the student has violated these procedures, or other school or district policies, the student’s device may be inspected and/or confiscated. Subsequent or additional disciplinary action involving misuse of technology may extend to loss of technology privileges or further action as defined in the Code of Student Conduct. Students are not to share passwords or devices with other students (The School District of Osceola County, Florida, 2016).
Personal Safety
1. Students should promptly disclose to any teacher or administrator any messages received that are inappropriate or make them feel uncomfortable (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
2. Students will not post personal contact information about themselves or other people. Personal contact information includes: Student’s full name (First and Last), address, telephone numbers, school address, work address, etc. This information may not be provided to an individual, organization, or company, including web sites that solicit personal information (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
3. Students will not give out their passwords to anyone (even their best friends) other than their parents (Safekids.com, 2016).
Illegal Activities
4. Students shall not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the School District of Osceola County network or to any other computer system through the Internet or go beyond authorized access. This includes attempting to log in through another person’s account or access another person’s files (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
5. Students are not to make deliberate attempts to disrupt the computer system or destroy data by spreading computer viruses or by any other means (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
6. Students shall not use the School District network to engage in any illegal act, which includes, but is not limited to, arranging for a drug sale or the purchase of alcohol, engaging in criminal gang activity, threatening the safety of persons, or violating any provision of the Code of Student Conduct (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
Inappropriate Language/Cyberbullying
7. Students will not use obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, threatening, or disrespectful language (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
8. Students will not harass another person. Harassment, as defined in the Code of Student Conduct, is the act of using unwelcome gestures, words, or written statements to annoy, demean, denigrate, defame, malign, or ridicule another person. Harassment can include, but is not limited to, sexual and racial harassment. If a student is told by a person to stop sending messages, he or she must stop (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
9. Students shall not post false or defamatory information about a person or organization. Students will not post private information about another person (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
10. Students shall respect other people’s views. Even if you don’t agree with someone else’s views doesn’t mean you need to be rude (Safety Net Kids).
Think Before You Post
11. Students shall think carefully before posting pictures or videos of oneself. Once you’ve put a picture of yourself online most people can see it and may be able to download it. It’s not just yours anymore (Safety Net Kids).
12. Students are responsible for posting comments that they would say to a person’s face. Just because it is online, doesn’t make it any less personal.
13. Students shall be aware of what they post online. Social media venues are very public. What you contribute leaves a digital footprint for all to see. Do not post anything you wouldn't want friends, parents, teachers, or a future employer to see (Cornwall-Lebanon School District, 2016).
14. Student are responsible for making sure blog and wiki posts are well written. Follow writing conventions including proper grammar, capitalization, and punctuation. If you edit someone else's work be sure it is in the spirit of improving the writing (Cornwall-Lebanon School District, 2016).
System Security
15. Students are responsible for individual network access and must take all reasonable precautions to prevent access by others (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
16. Students will immediately notify a teacher or administrator if a possible security problem has been identified (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
17. Any attempt by a student to look or scan for security problems will be construed as an illegal attempt to gain access to network resources. Under no circumstances are students permitted to use any device to gain unauthorized access to student grades or other private student records (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
18. Students will not install unauthorized software on computers or on file servers. Students will not use any equipment or software to bypass, destruct, modify, “hack”, or abuse the School District of Osceola County network system or disrupt the network activities of others. Any student identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with computer and/or network access may be denied network access (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
Respecting Resource Limits
19. Students may use the system only for educational and career development activities. Students will not post chain letters or engage in “spamming”. Spamming is sending an annoying or unnecessary message to a large number of people (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
Plagiarism and Copyright
20. Students should not plagiarize works found on the Internet. Plagiarism is taking the ideas or writings of others and presenting them as your own. Students shall respect the rights of copyright owners. Copyright infringement occurs when anyone inappropriately reproduces a work that is protected by a copyright. Students should contact the school’s media specialist with any copyright or plagiarism questions (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
Inappropriate Access
21. Linking to other websites to support your thoughts and ideas is recommended. However, be sure to read the entire article prior to linking to ensure that all information is appropriate for a school setting (Cornwall-Lebanon School District, 2016).
22. Students shall not use the School District network to access material that is profane or obscene (pornography), advocates illegal acts, or advocates violence or discrimination towards other people (hate literature). Students shall immediately notify a teacher or administrator if inappropriate information is mistakenly accessed. This will protect students against a claim of intentional violation of this policy (The School District of Osceola County, 2016).
Here are some ways that I am going to make sure that I share and receive feedback from students, parents, and stakeholders:
- Hand out a copy of the policy at open house to each parent. Require that both the parent and student have to sign a copy and bring it back. If a family does not attend open house, the policy will be sent home for homework.
- Have a page for the policies on my class website and a comment section for feedback.
- Work with the technology facilitator to demonstrate learning activities using relevant social media sites for students to apply the policies (NYC Department of Education).
- Provide copies of the policy to colleagues at my school to encourage school-wide implementation (NYC Department of Education).
References:
Cornwall-Lebanon School District. (2016). Social media guidelines for students. Retrieved from http://www.clsd.k12.pa.us/staff.cfm?subpage=624705
NYC Department of Education. (n.d.) Teacher guide to student social media guidelines: 12 and younger. Retrieved from http://schools.nyc.gov/NR/rdonlyres/8376D544-0F85-4B7D-8049-DD00394F0D31/0/TeacherGuide12andYounger.pdf
Safekids.com. (2016). Kid’s rules for online safety. Retrieved from http://www.safekids.com/kids-rules-for-online-safety/
Safety Net Kids. (n.d.) Staying safe online. Retrieved from http://www.safetynetkids.org.uk/personal-safety/staying-safe-online/
The School District of Osceola County, Florida. (2016, February 24). Student internet and network use procedures. In Information and technology division. Retrieved from http://www.osceolaschools.net/UserFiles/Servers/Server_567106/File/Department%20Directory/Information%20Technology%20Division/Student%20Internet%20Pro%206-29-16.pdf
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