Issues

Assignment #3
Natalie Johnson Summer 2011 FRIT 7330 Elizabeth Downs July 12, 2011

St. Thomas Episcopal School. (2008). St. Thomas Episcopal School Social Media Policy. Retrieved from http://stthomasschoolsatx.com/socialmedia.pdf The social media policy developed by the St. Thomas Episcopal School discusses some important points. The policy addresses students and school employees. The policy begins with a purpose and continues on with general guidelines. Students and school officials are to remember who they are representing when engaging in social media activities. While the school encourages students and school employees to participate in social computing, information produced by the school is a reflection of the entire school community (STES, 2008). One important key point for all affiliated with the school is to be responsible. Everyone is personally responsible for the content they publish online. It is important for students and teachers to be mindful of what they publish. The general guidelines are as follows: 1) Consult the employee manual and/or student and parent handbook, 2) Use good judgment, 3) Provide value, 4) Accept responsibility, 5) Copyright and Fair Use guidelines, 6) Profiles and Identity guidelines, and 7) Social bookmarking guidelines (STES, 2008). Other important key points include not posting personal information, disclaimers/copyright issues, and proper online behavior. There are more strengths than weaknesses with the school social media policy. The strength of the policy is the understandable content. The policy guidelines are readable and very clear to understand. For example, it is very clear that this policy is intended for anyone that is directly or indirectly affiliated with the St. Thomas Episcopal School and/or school community, which include students, parents, and school employees.The weakness of the policy is not having a page that requires a signature. This page would say, in so many words, that the policy has been read and the person stands in agreement with the policy. I believe having a signature from students and parents is important. If an issue were to arise and a student and/or parent has not

read the schools social media policy, a school administrator or teacher can show proof that what was read was understood.I would like to plainly see the names of people who developed the schools social media policy.This makes it easier for referencing and is just interesting information that should be supplied.

Bishop Lynch High School. (2010). BLHS Social Media Policy. Retrieved from http://www.bishoplynch.org/netcommunity/page.aspx?pid=1771 The policy from Bishop Lynch High School in Dallas, Texas address guidelines students and school employees should follow. Like the previous school, the high school does encourage and promote social media participation, but only when students and teachers will abide by the policy. All users should always remember who they are and who they are representing. It is important to promote respectful discussions and posts (BLHS, 2010). Students and school employees are agree to not post threatening, obscene, or illegal material, post personal and/or confidential information of students or faculty, post material that infringes on the rights of BLHS, post material that solicits, post chain letters or same content multiple times, allow other people to use personal identification for posting or viewing comments, and post comments under multiple names (BLHS, 2010). The strength of the policy is providing understandable and readable information. The policy clearly lists guidelines that are important to abide by. Another great strength is having the policy available and accessible on the Internet. Having the policy available on the Internet gives students, parents and school employees the opportunity to view this information whenever needed if physical copies are out of touch. The weakness of the policy is not providing students, parents and school employees an agreement page with required signature. I believe it is great for

the social media policy to be accessible on the Internet, but requiring a signature stating an agreement is needed.Again, I would like to plainly see the names of people who developed the schools social media policy. This makes it easier for referencing and is just interesting information that should be supplied.

Pingry School. (2011). Social Media & Internet Guidelines. Retrieved from http://www.pingry.org/page.cfm?p=887 The social media policy for Pingry School located in New Jersey address guidelines students and school employees should remember and follow. The policy recognizes the rights of students, faculty, and employees who want to participate in social networking. The schools guidelines are designed to create an atmosphere of good will, honesty, and individual accountability (Pingry School, 2011). The social media policy also stresses the fact that students and school employees should be mindful that information produced, shared, and retrieved by them is a reflection of the school community (Pingry School, 2011). Faculty and staff are advised to not accept friend requests from anyone under the age of 18. Students are expected to not participate in cyberbullying and be respectful at all times, even if you do not agree with someones prior statements. The strength of the policy includes providing understandable and readable information. It is great that the policy is accessible to anyone with Internet access from any computer. This feature gives students, parents and school employees the opportunity to access the social media policy at any time. Another strength recognized includes showing the resource used to create the policy. The policy lists very important guidelines that students and school employees should follow. Again, the weakness is not having a page that requires a signature. This page would

saythat the policy has been read and the person stands in agreement with the policy. I believe having a signature from students and parents is important. If an issue were to arise, a school administrator or teacher can show proof that what was read was understood.

X School Social Media Policy Overview The X School recognizes the rights of students, faculty and staff, and parents who want to participate in online social networking. Our guidelines are designed to create an atmosphere of good will, honesty, and individual accountability. Students, faculty and staff, and parents should always keep in mind that information produced, shared, and retrieved by them is a reflection on the school community and is subject to the Schools policies. When accessing, creating, or contributing to any blogs, wikis, podcasts, or other social media for classroom or, in most cases, personal use, we expect you to keep these guidelines in mind. Faculty Guidelines 1. The X School prohibits staff from socializing with students outside of school on social networking websites, including but not limited to MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, wikis, and/or podcasts. All X School faculty and staff who participate in social networking websites shall not post any X School District data, documents, photographs, or other X School District owned or created information on any website. Further, the posting of any private or confidential X School District data is strictly prohibited. 2. X School employees are prohibited from engaging in any conduct on social networking websites that violates the law, X School District policies, or other standards of conduct. No conduct may negatively impact or disrupt the educational environment in the school. Employees who violate this policy may face discipline and/or termination, in line with other Board policies, acceptable use agreement, and/or collective bargaining unit agreements, as applicable. 3. Nothing in this policy prohibits faculty and staff or students from the use of approved educational websites if such sites are used solely for educational purposes. The use of social networks for educational/instructional reasons may only be initiated with the permission of the Principal or his/her designee. 4. Do not accept students as friends on personal social networking sites. Decline any student-initiated friend requests. 5. Do not initiate friendships with students. 6. Remember that people classified as friends have the ability to download and share your information with others. Post only what you want the world to see. Imagine your students, their parents, your administrator, visiting your site. It is not like posting something to your web site or blog and then realizing that a story or photo should be taken down. On a social networking site, basically once you post something it may be available, even after it is removed from the site. 7. Do not discuss students or co-workers or publicly criticize school policies or personnel.

8. Exercise appropriate discretion when using social networks for personal communications with the knowledge that adult behavior on social networks may be used as a model by students. 9. Remind all members of your network of your position as an educator whose profile may be accessed by current or former students, and to monitor their posts to your network accordingly. Conversely, be judicious in your postings to all friends sites, and act immediately to remove any material that may be inappropriate from your site whether posted by you or someone else. Student Guidelines 1. Be aware of what you post online. Social media venues are very public. What you contribute leaves a digital footprint for all to see. Do not post anything you wouldn't want friends, enemies, parents, teachers, or a future employer to see. 2. Follow the school's code of conduct when writing online. It is acceptable to disagree with someone else's opinions, however, do it in a respectful way. Make sure that criticism is constructive and not hurtful. What is inappropriate in the classroom is inappropriate online. 3. Be safe online. Never give out personal information, including, but not limited to, last names, phone numbers, addresses, exact birthdates, and pictures. Do not share your password with anyone besides your teachers and parents. 4. Linking to other websites to support your thoughts and ideas is recommended. However, be sure to read the entire article prior to linking to ensure that all information is appropriate for a school setting. 5. Do your own work! Do not use other people's intellectual property without their permission. Be aware that it is a violation of copyright law to copy and paste other's thoughts. It is good practice to hyperlink to your sources. 6. Be aware that pictures, videos, songs, and audio clips may also be protected under copyright laws. Verify you have permission to use the images, videos, songs or other clips. 7. How you represent yourself online is an extension of yourself. Do not misrepresent yourself by using someone else's identity. 8. Blog and wiki posts should be well written. Follow writing conventions including proper grammar, capitalization, and punctuation. If you edit someone else's work be sure it is in the spirit of improving the writing. 9. If you run across inappropriate material that makes you feel uncomfortable, or is not

respectful, tell your teacher right away. 10. Students who do not abide by these terms and conditions may lose their opportunity to take part in the project and/or access to future use of online tools. Parent Guidelines Parents are the adults and should not participate in posts regarding students and school employees. Parents should be mindful of the example they are setting for their children. In other words, your child will only do what they see you do. Parents can follow the guidelines listed for school employees and students. Resources: http://www.pingry.org/page.cfm?p=887 http://stthomasschoolsatx.com/socialmedia.pdf http://www.nwr7.com/District/Documents/SERIES%204000%20%20Personnel/Policy% 204118.51(c)%20-%204218.51%20Social%20Networking%20Websites.pdf