This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
Tech policies that make sense


This statewide partnership is developing policies that can


be used by all districts to guide student and staff behavior, both online and off.


“S 12 Leadership


o what’s your Facebook policy?” If you’re in edu- cational leadership today, you’ve likely been asked this


question, and a hundred others like it. And it may have struck you as odd that you keep hearing these same questions being asked again and again. That’s because no one ever seems able to


land upon that elusive magic formula: the one where you feel certain your policies have adequately captured the ever-changing, crazy world that is technology use today. Trying to write “technology policies” in such a volatile environment is akin to the “nailing Jell-O to a wall” phenomenon. Just as you feel you have it “nailed,” it changes, moves, and you’re right back where you started, unsure you’ve landed on policies that protect your organization, or serve and guide your students and staff. You’re surrounded daily with challenges


and questions relating to technology use. Students using their cell phones. Staff mem- bers caught shopping excessively online.


An anonymous, nasty online quote about a principal. Unauthorized video. Questions about teachers communicating with stu- dents on social media (Facebook being only one of several vehicles). The issues just keep coming, each one seeming to bring yet an- other twist you haven’t seen before. You hear stories of potential complex legal pitfalls awaiting you at every turn. You keep think- ing, “Somebody’s surely figured all this out, right?” Right? And yet the questions keep coming. So


what’s the answer? How do we stop the leaks in a dam with a million holes in it (when here we are with only 10 fingers)? The answer is to stop creating technology


policies. Wait a minute. Did she say, “Stop creat-


ing technology policies?” I’m up to my eye- balls in technology issues, and she’s saying to stop creating technology policies? What kind of crazy talk is this?


By Kelly J. Calhoun


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40