I first reviewed the current CIPA laws as I’ve not had my own classroom for two years now, looking for any updates or changes from my last memory. The FCC (Federal Communication Commissions) regulates the rules set by CIPA for safe usage of technology in schools by all members, students and staff alike; this also provides funding for schools with Internet use. Schools are required to create a policy and enforce it ensuring the safe access of minors to the Internet.
Not only does the school I work for have an Internet Usage and Agreement form for students but all employees of the system must also sign the same agreement. This is a highly monitored policy and certainly enforced. In fact, these policies branch far beyond our school as we are regulated by Department of Defense. As a member of DoDEA (Department of Defense Education Activity) and DDESS (Domestic Dependent Elementary and Secondary Schools), I too have signed this agreement. In fact, at the start of each academic year, all staff & students must sign this agreement, abiding by all stipulations of the policy prior to any access on a government computer, to include its use, email or Internet.
Teachers must not only be aware of the document they are signing but the weight of responsibility that adjoins when agreeing. As a member of the Dept. of Defense network there are specific guidelines such as tagging on class webpages, and student release of information. For example: a teacher may have a class webpage and can post class pictures (only with a release signed by the parents) and even with the release signed, they may not tag any identification to the picture or content on the site.
This includes the use of the teachers’ names. On most school sites, the only identifying name you will find will be that of the building administrator.
As for accessing Internet content, there are many filters and blocks on sites that could even remotely pose a conflict or questionable content for minors. This includes sites such as eBay, Facebook, MySpace, etc. We do have a “popup” function that allows a request be sent to the school Educational Technologist and then the district Instructional Technologist for review and access. I have personally used this procedure before and found it to be successful and a relative quick response. However, as a teacher, you would certainly want to plan ahead in the event this happened or the result could be an unsuccessful web adventure! Additionally, we can have licensing for United Streaming, but unable to live stream. We can however, download/save the content as use as appropriate.
I briefly referenced NIOSH Safety Checklists, hoping to find more information that perhaps other public schools might associate with for setting up their Internet Usage Policies. It seemed to me that this site offered more towards that of a technical institute and cited OSHA guidelines for schools more in essence of electrical usage such as jacks/recepticles but not specific to students’ usage of computers.
In my opinion, the policy we have through Department of Defense can at times seem a bit constricting. While I understand we are affiliated with the government and therefore abide by the same guidelines, we are also educators and in my particular setting of an elementary school there is little risk of malace toward the government network. At times it can lead to more preparatory work by the teacher and with time already highly coveted, it can lead to teachers not accessing all of the availabilty and integration of curriculum that technology has to offer but rather “stick with what they know” and thus limited the educational process. On the positive, having affiliation with the government network also provides us with a security that can afford more comfort to both parents of students and teachers. Children are less apt to accidentally gain access to a potentially harmful site.
References
Childrens Internet Protection Act. Retrieved January 30, 2010. from http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cipa.html.
NIOSH Safety Checklist Program for Schools. Retrieved January 30, 2010. from http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2004-101/.
Department of Defense Web Policies and Guidelines. Retrieved January 30, 2010. from http://www.defense.gov/webmasters/.
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