Acceptable Use Policies

An acceptable use policy or AUP for short is a policy that outlines rules that have to be followed while using forms of technology. As Mitchell states, it also includes unacceptable uses and the consequences that will take place if the technology is used inappropriately (2016). According to Getting Started on the Internet, some AUPs also have students and parents sign the document stating that they understand and are aware of the policy (n.d). The overall idea of an AUP is the safety of those using technology.

Within an AUP, multiple things should be included. Mitchell goes through what should be contained within his article. Some of the information that should be included he states are the policy owner(s), the rules and examples to relate the policy to “real life”, and consequences if rules are broken (2016). The more thorough the policy is, the better all who will be held to it will understand.

Having an AUP is extremely important especially when it comes to students. They have grown up around technology and know many ways to use it that are not appropriate to benefit their learning. Having a policy that makes them aware of what is acceptable for school purposes and what is not is needed. I also like the idea mentioned above of having both students and parents sign in agreement with the policy. This not only might help them all read the policy and be aware of them but also make it easier to hold students accountable if they break the policy rules. With a signature, there is no denying that they knew what was allowed and what wasn’t allowed. Examples relating the rules to a real-life situation can also help in explaining to students what each rule really means when it comes to their use at school.

Below you will find four AUPs that relate to my educational area. I am a high school teacher and tried to find different policies that could easily be incorporated into my classroom. One of these policies is the one for my school district. I think it’s great to have a district and/or school policy, but individual classroom policies are great to consider as well.

Example Policies

School Districts:

Greenville County Schools

Lexington School District One

High Schools:

Upland High School

John Burroughs School

References

Getting Started on the Internet: Developing an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2018, from https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr093.shtml

Mitchell, B. (2016, October 19). What is an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)? Retrieved February 24, 2018, from https://www.lifewire.com/acceptable-use-policy-aup-817563

Benefits of Multimedia in the Classroom

I was able to interview five teachers that I work with who all teach different subjects. You'll hear from a math, Spanish, special education, science, and social studies teacher below on how and why they use video in the classroom. 

The Relative Advantage of The Basic Suite

The Basic Suite is a combination of three different programs: word processing, spreadsheets, and presentations (Roblyer, 2016). One software that has these three programs and has been used for years at home, at work, and in schools is Microsoft Office. Microsoft has Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as their specific software for the programs listed above. These three software tools are what I grew up using in school. It wasn’t until I got to college that I instead started shifting to another version of these tools known as Google Apps.

Before being introduced to Google Apps, I found that the use of the Microsoft software was a great tool to incorporate technology into the classroom. However, I found two concerns when using it. One of those was that I had to make sure I saved my work every few minutes so I wouldn’t lose it. The other concern was making sure I save it on a USB device to take to and from school so I could work on it at either place. Within that second concern, I also I had to make sure I saved it correctly so it could work on any version of the Microsoft software.

Luckily by college though, I didn’t have to worry about this as much as Google Apps was becoming even more popular. Google Apps tools that represented The Basic Suite are Docs, Sheets, and Slides. Even though Microsoft allowed you to use all three programs in schools, Google Apps has taken it to a whole different level. The concerns I mentioned above with Microsoft disappear when it comes to the Google Apps. All of the Google Apps automatically save your work and allow you to access it from any device as long as you’re signed in to your account. These apps also add other capabilities within them that make it even a greater tool to use in the classroom, the biggest of those being collaboration. Within Docs, Sheets, and Slides, you can collaborate on one assignment at the same time from different devices as long as all members are given editing rights.

The capabilities Google Apps offers makes it the perfect tool to use in the classroom. Students can collaborate to write a paper on Docs, they could make a presentation for a project on Slides, or could even represent data within Sheets. Another advantage is that students can share their work with the teacher by simply hitting the “share” button. They can choose to give the teacher editing access or just viewing access as well.

Not only are these tools great tools to use for collaboration reasons, they also give students more room for creativity. The students I teach today have grown up around technology and are very good at using it. Giving them the ability to take advantage of that to benefit their learning allows them to take their learning to a whole new level because they are able to use tools they’re confident with.

Now that I’ve discussed the overall advantages of The Basic Suite of Google Apps, I want to specifically address advantages they have in my math classroom. I’ve personally used Google Docs within my Geometry classes in a variety of ways. One way that my students have used it was to make a quadrilateral scrapbook. Students had to list the properties of each quadrilateral we talked about, give a picture of the quadrilateral with the properties labeled on it, and provide a real-world example. Student creativity was encouraged by encouraging them to find real-world examples not online, but in actual real life and to take a selfie with it to add to their project. Students completed this project on a Doc but could have just as easily used Slides. Another way I’ve had my students use Google Docs is by the use of a hyperdoc where students read and/or watched videos on new topics, filled in some notes, and then tried practice through Quizizz and Google Forms. In both of these ways, I found students really enjoying the ability to use technology to show their understanding. With both of these assignments, students were able to share it with me online and I even allowed them to share it with me before the due date if they wanted some feedback on it. I was able to highlight and provide comments on the side of areas I thought they should go back and look at. Not only was this a way students could get feedback, but it was a way I could give it to them from anywhere. I could access their work at school or at home, but no matter where I was, they got the feedback right when I added it. There was no waiting process for when they came to my class again to get that feedback. I find this to be a huge advantage not only for the student but the teacher as well.

As you can see above, there are great advantages to the use of The Basic Suite in the classroom. I would encourage all teachers to try and incorporate them in one way or another. Give the students the ability to collaborate and be creative using tools they’re already so comfortable with. Not only will they learn, but they may even surprise you along the way with the outcome they give you from it.

References
Roblyer, M. D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (7th ed.). Massachusetts: Pearson.