Software Selection Policy & Aup
- 1. Software Selection Policy & AUP By: Amber Parker EDTC 6140 Assignment 7
- 2. What Baule Says: AUP should include the acceptable and unacceptable uses of and behaviors regarding the school’s network. It should also include the person or persons charged with enforcing the policy. Software should go through the same selection process as other materials.
- 3. What Malitz Says: Once developed, the AUP should periodically, but consistently, be reviewed by the Instructional Technology Committee or other appropriate oversight body. The AUP should address the following areas: Individual rights regarding access to the system and to resources obtained through use of the system. Individual responsibilities with regard to the system, its contents, and connections obtained through the system. Organizational rights relating to system oversight and monitoring. Organizational responsibilities with regard to the system, its contents, and connections obtained through the system. The development of an acceptable use policy is often considered necessary only when students will be using the system. This is shortsighted and incorrect-an AUP is just as important for other system users as well, including administrators, teaching staff, other staff, students, parents, the community and any other persons who will have access to the system and its contents.
- 4. Johnston County’s Software Selection Policy See the below link to access Johnston County’s Policy Code 3310: Selection and Procurement of Instructional Media. http://policy.microscribepub.com/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=417682278&infobase=johnston.nfo&jump=3310&softpage=PL_frame#JUMPDEST_3310
- 5. Revised Software Selection Policy Criteria for Selecting Software Individual teaching and learning styles, the curriculum, and the existing collection are given consideration in determining the needs for software resources in individual schools. After a careful needs assessment, software resources considered for purchase are judged on the basis of the following criteria: Purpose: Direct correlation to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study Reliability: Accurate, authentic, current, authoritative Treatment: Clear, skillful, well-organized, unbiased, comprehensive, well-balanced Technical Quality: Relevant to content, consistent with state-of-the-art technical capabilities Format: Clear, skillful, convincing, well organized, unbiased, durable, manageable and attractive Utilization: Individual, small group, large group, introduction, in-depth study remediation, enrichment Procedures for Selecting and Maintaining Software The Media and Technology Advisory Committee in each school is appointed annually by the principal and co- chaired by the media coordinator and technology leader. In coordinating the selection of resources, the media professional is assisted by the Media and Technology Advisory Committee and is expected to: Use reputable, unbiased selection tools prepared by professional educators and arrange, when possible, for firsthand examination of resources to be purchased Judge gift items by standard selection criteria The criteria for the removal of resources include: a. resources that have inaccurate or outdated information b. resources depicting negative role stereotypes c. resources no longer useful for curricular support or recreational use
- 6. Johnston County’s AUP See the below link to access Johnston County’s Policy Code 3340: Student Acceptable Use of Electronic Resources. http://policy.microscribepub.com/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=313269525&infobase= johnston.nfo&jump =3340&softpage=PL_frame#JUMPDEST_3340
- 7. Revised AUP Internet access is considered a privilege and may be revoked at any time by school administration. Parents or legal guardians may deny access to their child at any time by completing a Parental Request to Deny Access Form. Administrators and staff must supervise student use of electronic information resources in a manner that is appropriate to the students’ age and the circumstances of use. All students are expected to exercise good judgment, use the computer resources in an appropriate manner, and adhere to this policy and all applicable laws and regulations. Johnston County Schools software is licensed by a large number of vendors and may have specific license restrictions regarding copying or using a particular program. Users must obtain permission from Technology Services prior to purchasing any software. The unauthorized use of and/or copying of software is illegal. Individual users of the Internet are expected to abide by the generally accepted rules of network etiquette. The following are specifically not permitted. Johnston County Schools electronic information resources may not be used for the following purposes: a) Commercial Use: Using Johnston County Schools computers for personal or private gain, personal business, or commercial advantage is prohibited. b) Political Use: Using Johnston County Schools computers to advocate, directly or indirectly, for or against any political candidate or legislation, a school bond referendum. c) Illegal or Inappropriate Use: Using Johnston County Schools computers for illegal, harassing, vandalizing, or inappropriate purposes or in support of such activities are prohibited. d) Illegal activities are any violations of federal, state, or local laws and include, but are not limited to, copyright infringement, illegal file sharing; posting or publishing false or defamatory information about a person or organization; committing fraud, threatening another person; or intentionally engaging in communications for the purpose of abusing, annoying, threatening, terrifying, harassing, or embarrassing another person. e) Harassment includes, but is not limited to, slurs, comments, jokes, innuendoes, unwelcome compliments, cartoons, visual depictions, pranks, or verbal conduct relating to an individual that (1) have the purpose or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive environment; (2) have the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s work or school performance, or (3) interfere with school operations. f) Vandalism is any attempt to harm or destroy the operating system, hardware, application software, or data. Inappropriate use is any violation of other provisions of this policy and includes, but is not limited to, using another person’s ID or password; plagiarizing; accessing, producing, storing, posting, sending, displaying, or viewing inappropriate or offensive material, including pornographic, obscene, discriminatory, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, disrespectful, or sexually suggestive language or images, or images of exposed private body parts; and accessing material advocating illegal acts or violence, including hate literature; accessing chat-rooms or social pages unless for a valid educational purpose; accessing or attempting to access the server as system administrator. The Johnston County Schools network may not be used for downloading entertainment software or other files for use on Johnston County Schools network or computers or transfer to a user’s home computer or other personal computer. This prohibition pertains to freeware, shareware, copyrighted commercial and non-commercial software, and all other forms of software and files not directly related to the instructional and administrative purposes of the Johnston County Schools. Johnston County Schools computers many not be used to interfere with or disrupt other users, services, or equipment.
- 8. Questions and Reflection (Software Selection Policy) How do your school/district policies compare to the above resources? Johnston County Schools does not have a separate software selection policy. Software is included in the Instructional Media Policy. A lot of the content included does not apply to software. It covers a lot of information not needed for software selection . How could the policies be improved or enhanced? I think this policy could be improved by having a policy that is specific only to software selection. The Johnston County policy that includes software is called “Selection and Procurement of Instructional Media”. This includes a wide range of media and technology. What key pieces of information/helpful information is not included? Reflection : The Software Selection Policy should be separate from other instructional media. It needs to be specific and clear to the readers about the process of software selection.
- 9. Questions and Reflection (AUP) How do your school/district policies compare to the above resources? I think my school’s AUP covers all of the important items mentioned in Chapter 7 of the Malitz text under “Developing and Maintaining an Acceptable Use Policy Statement”. It addressed all the listed areas that an AUP should address. How could the policies be improved or enhanced? I really do not know how my school’s AUP could be improved or enhanced. It seems to be very thorough. What key pieces of information/helpful information is not included? I do not know of anything that is not included. Reflection : When creating my own technology plan, I would use the same AUP that Johnston County uses. It is very thorough and covers all of the important areas that were mentioned in the Baule and Malitz texts.