ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY FOR THE INTERNET

With the current use of computer technology in the classroom, many teachers and parents fear the dangers that the uncensored Internet might hold for children mainly the inappropriate or obscene words and images; violence; and people who pose an online threat. It is with these concerns that all schools must have a plan to defuse such dangers. Schools can decide on an Acceptable Use Policy, or AUP, for the internet. Some sample goals for such a policy can be as follows:

· To protect all students from the adverse effects of the internet

· To protect the school from legal action caused by copyright infringement.

· To facilitate the acquisition of appropriate attitude, knowledge and skills in the field of technology.

Schools must also implement Student Guidelines for the use of copyright work. Students must be told what is copyright and to understand that it is a crime for which they can be punished. Guidelines can be as simple as some of the following points illustrate:

• When writing reports for your projects and you want to use information from your subject text books, read the material first, understand what you have read and then write it in your own words. Do not write the exact words from the text.
• Do not use work created by your friends such as drawings, paintings, poetry, and stories as your own work, this is cheating and not respecting their copyright for their work. Please get their permission to use their work.
• You are not allowed to burn CDs or DVDs with pictures, music and movies and sell them to anyone in or out of school. Please buy original music CDs and movie DVDs.