Group+1+Memo

**Group 1 Memo Leo Ko, Alessandra Barbosa, and Linda Sok**  MEMO

TO: Bloomington School District Superintendent

FROM: EDS 137 Group 1: Leo Ko, Alessandra Barbosa, and Linda Sok

DATE: November 3, 2009.

SUBJECT: Revision to the Bloomington Schools Acceptable Use Policy

The following information is Group 1's revision to Bloomington Schools' Acceptable Use Policy. Currently, the acceptable use policy includes the following guildelines:

The following uses of school - provided Internet access are not permitted: - to access, upload, download, or distribute pornographic, obscene, or sexually explicit material; - to transmit obscene, abusive, or sexually explicit language; - to violate any local, state, or federal statute; - to vandalize, damage, or disable the property of another individual or organization; - to access another individual's materials, information, or files without permission; and, - to violate copyright or otherwise use the intellectual property of another individual or - organization without permission.

We acknolwedge internet filtering software is imperfect and may sometimes block sites meant for educa ti onal advancement.We propose enforcing the above policy, in which students and staff members will have to sign, in addition to granting extended privileges to the teacher to address this issue.Tea cher s then can choose which sites are accessible at their own discretion; otherwise the default filter setting will be utilized. In this way, trust and responsbility will be given to the teacher to assist in the thoughtful integration of the Internet. In an example classroom setting, a teacher will have access to this power via one main computer and a valid school password [that will automatically track its usage]. The password will allow the teacher to give or not give access to the internet. In non-classroom settings such as a library computer lab, a student would need to obtain access via a staff.

The main pro in supporting internet filtering concerns students' safety. Internet software blocking tools prevent children from seeing potentially offensive material while granting them privileges for school related assignments. A filter extends children's safety against online predators without constant monitoring. With so many students in a classroom, teachers need additional assistance in

Some have argued that internet filtering does not exercise the First Amendment right and gives children a false sense of protection when it comes to the real world. To this we acknowledge that complete access is still available in one's private sphere. The safety of our younger children is our main concern and we believe an internet filter is the best way to keep children safe online.

We hope you take into account our pro filter research, along with the various resources we've included and consider the safety of the children when you make your decision.

Thank You EDS 137 Group # 1

___ Additional Resources [] [] [] [|http://www.io.com/~kinnaman/aupessay.html].

 