SAD 17 tests tech policy with public input

OXFORD — In a technological world in which things seem to change every minute, it may not be surprising that SAD 17 is trying something new.

Two weeks ago, the district put its proposal for a new technology-use policy on the internet for public comment.  That decision followed a period of public comment for teachers.

“I tell you, in the 15 years that I have been here, this policy has received more comment from staff than any other that we have ever put forward,” said Superintendent Dr. Mark Eastman.

At Monday’s school board meeting, Technology Director Mike Dunn walked  members through ways in which technology is used by the teachers and students in SAD 17.

“I used to think, ‘Oh there’s no educational value in that — lock it down,’” he explained, “but then a teacher could come to me and say, ‘But I’m using that this way,’ and another would say, ‘I’m using it that way,’  and I began to see some of the really cool and innovative ways this stuff is being used.”

The issue, Dunn said, is that people over age 30, including himself, are “technology immigrants,” while people under 30, who grew up with electronic products and services widely unavailable 20 years ago, are “technology natives.”

That difference was underscored by Eastman, who prefaced Dunn’s talk by saying, “Wikis and podcasts and blogs, oh my!”

However Dunn explained all three and noted how each can and is being used in the classroom, both in SAD 17 and at other schools across the nation.

Draft versions of two district policies are available though the central office.  They are GCSA-R3: Employee conduct regarding social networking sites and other such internet tools and IJNDB-R3: Electronic social networks and similar tools.

The website where members of the public can make anonymous comments on these policies is oxfordhillspolicyblog.blogspot.com

The policies themselves are not available online.

Online comments on the policy are varied.  Some posters decried the use of social networks like MySpace, saying its use might lead to “inappropriate contact” between teachers and students.  Others said that, in order to interest students, teachers have to use the tools students are interested in.

Dunn says the policy, as written, does not ban teachers from accessing the internet from school computers for personal use.  Any misuse, he said, would become a personnel issue, and is not cause for a “blanket restriction.”

One poster said staff members should be able to visit any website they want during free time at work, while another took that person to task, wondering why any teacher gets to have “free time during the WORK day.”

SAD 17’s policy committee meets next at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, February 24, at the central office.

It is expected to make a recommendation on the social networking policies at that time.  The full school board would then weigh in at its next meeting on Monday, March 2.