Professional Documents
Culture Documents
FRIT 7132
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
“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
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
Acceptable Use Policy 3
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
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
Acceptable Use Policy 4
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
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
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
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
Acceptable Use Policy 5
parents should be aware that schools have access to anything that is made using
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
REFERENCES
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,
Mills, L. (2005). Read any good technology policies lately? School Administrator,
62(1),8-8. Retrieved Saturday, April 10, 2010 from the ERIC database.
26(5), 8-12. Retrieved Saturday, April 10, 2010 from the ERIC database.