AUP, CIPA, & me

I remember that during the first days of classes in high school, there was always a lot of paperwork to fill out and return. To my knowledge, one of the important forms was called the “AUP” and my teacher simply said that it was what we needed before we entered the computer lab. That was the extent of information I was given about the AUP.

Now I realize what the AUP is all about. The Acceptable Use Policy outlines the responsibilities of any person using shared technologies such as a network or website, or in high school, to even access entry on the school computers. The AUP is important because it provides the framework for usage in clear and direct language and explains the consequences for failure to abide by the standards. In these times when technology usage is increasing and vital, the AUP’s vitality has also increased as it serves as a legal document, protection for students, as well as a guide for convention.

My district’s AUP (http://www.neisd.net/aup/index.html) mostly addresses students’ access to the internet and requests permission from guardians to allow students’ names and pictures to be published online, usually within the context of the school website or through extracurricular activities. Teachers and administrators explain the benefits to internet access but also possible exposure to material. Though there is a filtration system as per CIPA, there is no way to completely prevent everything a parent could deem inappropriate. The filtration system may have prevented inappropriate websites from entering my view, but it also hindered my ability to gather information on certain subjects such as the situation in Palestine/Israel which I did realize was highly controversial. In some ways, the filtration gives us a sheltered environment which one could argue is both beneficial and detrimental simultaneously. Therefore, I think the only thing we as an educational community can do is to try to balance the blocked content and ensure that what is not accessible to students is truly not of any use to them. This way, students will have no reason to resort to finding unacceptable methods of entering a website. I remember watching students bypass the school filter but the purpose was not malicious. At that point, I realized that it takes some degree of technological knowledge to bypass the system. As a teacher, I think it would be important to strive to provide students with resources and freedoms to avoid these problems.

CIPA also requires that schools and libraries monitor minors’ online actions, spread awareness to students about acceptable online behavior, and that they develop and use a policy such as the AUP. As a result of my school’s willingness to satisfy the regulations and provide us with the technology I was able to access internet to a degree and through that to use research tools connected to the library system as we have here on campus as well. These helped me to gain more information on subjects that we were studying in classes. My school also enabled us to have e-pal email accounts which allowed me to communicate with my classmates for group projects throughout the school day rather than having to wait to contact them outside of class.

One aspect of my school’s technology system that I enjoyed using was the application called ‘parent portal.’ Through this, my parents could register securely to see information about me through the internet. Once they had completed the initial process, they shared their login information with me so that I could also use it as a resource. This way, I was able to use the technology to check my most current grades and absences whenever I needed to in a very convenient and efficient way.