CoSN Helps Districts Rethink Internet Policy

When children venture out to play, they face dangers from cars driving down the street, which leaves parents two choices: Ban their kids from playing outside or teach them to play safely.

Just as parents deal with safety issues that cars present, school districts deal with Web tools and smart phones, said Jim Bosco, principal investigator for the Consortium of School Networking's Participatory Learning in Schools: Leadership & Policy Initiative. They also have two choices: Ban the apps and devices or teach students how to use them appropriately.

“The hard-line restrictive policy I think just isn’t going to work," Bosco said, "and so the question is, ‘How do we take a more reasoned approach and take advantage of the opportunities that we have?’”

In a time where collaboration tools and smart phones have become pervasive, CoSN helps districts rethink their Internet policies to include this technology.
 

Real life examples

Rather than focusing on the worst possible situations that could occur when students use collaboration tools and smart phones, districts should recognize that these resources provide tremendous learning opportunities, Bosco said.

In a new acceptable use policy guide, CoSN doesn't provide districts with a boilerplate, one-size-fits-all policy. Instead, the consortium gives district leaders a basis for thinking their policy through, taking a reasoned approach and coming up with a method that works to the best advantage of students.

The guide links to exemplary acceptable use policies from 11 districts. And ultimately, that's what administrators need: examples of districts that welcome these tools, Bosco said.

In Georgia, Forsyth County Schools teaches students to use tech tools responsibly. Over the past few years, the district has allowed students to bring mobile devices to school and has involved the students in the initiative from the beginning.

And in New Hampshire, Portsmouth School Department created a responsible use policy that adresses digital citizenship, expectations and policy violations.

In Texas, students from Birdville Independent School District access tools such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Since the district started expecting students to use these tools responsibly, staff members have fewer problems with inappropriate student behavior, said CoSN CEO Keith Krueger. And when they do violate the behavioral policy, they experience consequences.

“It stems from a philosophy that they want to make kids the owner of their education," Krueger said, "and that that comes with responsibility.”

Birdville's vision statement says, "All students succeed in a future they create," and the district actually operates under that vision. Instead of just listening to a teacher lecture, students actively participate in their learning.

“You really have to believe it," Bosco said. "You can’t just say, 'Aren’t these nice words?' and kind of graph the words onto your old way of thinking.” 

Reimagine learning

In a bold way, a number of school districts are moving toward teaching students to use collaboration and mobile tools responsibly, Bosco said. Despite fiscal cuts and pessimism about the state of education, districts are creating learning environments that were unimaginable a few years ago.

As Web tools and mobile devices become more prevalent, districts have a choice, Krueger said. Will we continue banning these tools that students use outside of class, or will we find ways to leverage these tools in more powerful ways?

“These things certainly are challenging, they’re new, they’re hard for incumbent institutions to deal with," Krueger said. "But this is a very exciting time for reimaging learning.”

Resources:

• Acceptable Use Policies in Web 2.0 and Mobile Era: A Guide for School Districts
• The Participatory Culture: Building Blocks for School Leaders