Creating a better acceptable, appropriate, or responsible use policy for schools

We recently updated our student technology use policy... again. It use to be a biennial event, but lately it has become a bi-annual task, which actually is a good thing. At our school we are moving into a 1:1 program and as a consequence, more people are involved with technology and so the policy must adapt.

Why do schools have an "acceptable, appropriate, or responsible use policy" for technology? Years ago, they were the guides along the information highway to steer you away from inappropriate sites or uses. They were narrow and proscriptive. Now a good policy has to be broad and adaptive.

First the title
Over the years the title of the policy has evolved. "Acceptable Use" became "Appropriate Use", which merged in to "Responsible Use". The scope of the document has changed from rules to expectations so the later title is better.

Having done this many times, I would like to share this simple framework and topic sentences. Remember that broad is good. Do not give examples of bad behavior as that is just an invitation to do it. For example, in place of "Do not install a vpn on your laptop to circumvent the school's firewall", have "not try to bypass the network".

• Define the scope of the policy and how it relates to the school's technology vision
• "The responsible user is...." 
• The responsible user is prepared to learn.
• The responsible user keeps a healthy balance in mind.
• The responsible user is ethical and respectful
• The responsible user protects identity and personal information.
• The responsible user is collaborative.
• The responsible user contributes to the community.
• The responsible user cares for the hardware and other technology resources.

To paraphrase Google, the responsible user will do no harm.

Using the Policy

The policy will not fit all users. From the policy create user agreements for each of type of user, for example a K-12 school might have a single policy, but different user agreements for students in elementary school, middle school and high school. Add these user agreements to your student handbooks and you are ready to go.