Unit+2+-+Legal+Overview

// Overview //
 * Unit 2 - Legal Aspects of Internet Use**

In this unit, you will begin by looking at typical uses of the Internet among today’s youth. You will become acquainted with some of the state and federal laws and standards that govern the digital educational environment, looking at how these legal aspects influence school policies and, in turn, impact your work as an educator. A review of the current policies that exist within your own school district will help you lay a foundation for your final project for this course.

// Goals // · Discuss current Internet use among today’s youth · Become familiar with state and federal laws impacting Internet use in education · Review your school’s current Internet policies

//How can schools open up their networks to allow appropriate use of Web 2.0 tools? (SEE UNIT 2) Provide case studies and actual research instead of hear-say and compare with use in business world. (SEE UNIT 2)// // Readings //
 * Typical Internet Use Among Today ** ** ' **** s Youth **

The Pew Charitable Trusts have an ongoing research effort called the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which "produces reports that explore the impact of the internet on families, communities, work and home, daily life, education, health care, and civic and political life.” Visit the Pew website and view the PowerPoint presentation called "A Timeline of Teens and Technology" on this site: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/105/presentation_display.asp This presentation will give you some food for thought as you consider how teens today are growing up with the Internet and many other digital resources as an integral part of their environment. As you view the slides, think about the teens and pre-teens in your school and life and how their experiences might match up to these statistics.


 * State Laws and Regulations **

Once students enter the school walls, there are specific laws and regulations that apply to their technology use. The State of New Hampshire has administrative rules which govern the approval of public schools to operate within the state. These standards, called Minimum Standards for School Approval, include a section (Ed 306.04 Policy Development) about the requirements of school boards to adopt and implement written policies and procedures, such as those regarding electronic records retention, distance learning, and school safety in the use of online resources (see [|http://www.nheon.org/oet/tpguide/policy.htm).] Ed 306.04 describes that "teachers shall be required to know and implement the appropriate safety practices and procedures applicable to their assigned areas of responsibility and to ensure that safety instruction is included in all applicable programs offered by the school." New Hampshire RSA 194:3-d requires the following: // 194:3-d //// School District //// Computer Networks // // I. Every school district which has computer systems or networks shall adopt a policy which outlines the intended appropriate and acceptable use, as well as the inappropriate and illegal use, of the school district computer systems and networks including, but not limited to, the Internet. //  // II. All users of a school district // // ' //// s computer systems or networks who intentionally violate the district //// ' //// s policy and who intentionally damage the computer system or network shall assume legal and financial liability for such damage. For purposes of this section, "user" means any person authorized to access the school district //// ' //// s computer systems or networks including, but not limited to, the Internet. // //** Federal Law and Regulations **// // The [|Children’s Internet Protection Act] was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 2000 to “ // address concerns about access to offensive content over the Internet on school and library computers.” As a result, schools receiving federal technology dollars must have Internet filtering software on the schools’ computers. See http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cipa.html Take a look at the policies that exist in your school district related to Internet use, starting with the Acceptable Use Policy that governs Internet use by students. The policy will be attached to your district’s technology plan and is probably posted to your district’s website.
 * Current ** ** School **** Policies **

**Optional additional readings** [|View this book] and read the online version of Chapter 1: The Foundations of School Internet Law. Conn, K., (2002). // The Internet and the Law: What Educators Need to Know. // Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Alexandria, VA. [|Study Guide for The Internet and the Law] **Activities** You have reviewed some data about how youth use technology today and have looked at several legal resources that govern Internet use in schools. As you work through each unit in this course, you will be gathering information and ideas for your final project. Your first task is to take another look at your school district’s acceptable use policy and begin to consider how the policy impacts instruction and administration in your school or district. Take note of the following: 1. What does the current policy say about teachers and students using blogs? 2. What does the current policy say about teachers and students using wikis? 3. What does the current policy indicate in terms of Internet filtering for specific sites? ***Great* questions. I'm wondering - are you planning to provide them with a template for the final project so that they have an organizer for these different pieces they're being asked to gather along the way?**
 * Does the DoE have a site with links to the various districts? I'm just wondering if there's a way to provide further guidance to participants in finding their technology plan and acceptable use policy.**

Go to the Discussion Forum for this unit and post a message about the readings in this unit. Your message should convey two things: 1. Describe your perceptions of the teens and pre-teens in your school and life and how their experiences might match up to the statistics given in the Pew report. 2. What is your lay-person’s opinion about your school’s current AUP? Does it appear to be up-to-date? **These questions are both well aligned with your session goals and will provide a perfect opportunity for participants to engage with the content and reflect on their local context. My only suggestion here is to choose one or the other - in my experience, asking multiple discussion questions can lead to a less focused dialog than asking just one (and then having the facilitator guide the conversation in other directions). What often happens is people just answer one or the other as opposed to addressing both, and the discussion can be a bit disjointed.**
 * Discussion **

After you have posted, be sure to return often to read what your classmates have to say and to return comments to them. Post at least one thoughtful and substantive comment to a classmate.


 * Amazing job on this unit! Your writing is clear and concise. The readings, activities and discussions are all well aligned with your stated learning goals and flow nicely from one to the next. You also do a great job tying the key concepts and ideas back to participants' local contexts. Great work!**