Activity+13

Present some of the safety guidelines that you will discuss with your students prior to launching this online program. Discuss the safety and security suggestions of K-12 students using the Internet, especially during an online course. **NOTE: Please copy/paste your 300-400 word response from your word-processed document into the discussion window; do not use attachments in the discussion folders.**
 * Assignment 9 Discussions – Safety Guidelines **

There are many safety and security guidelines for the cyber middle school academy which will be discussed prior to launching the program. The safety guideline will be a signed agreement between the school and all participates who will use the school’s technology infrastructure. This signed document will be deemed the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). The school will provide safety and security suggestions that must be adhered to for all users (Grabe and Grabe, 2007). There will also be a liability disclaimer for those who are participating in this signed agreement. For example, the online school will not be able to guarantee the accuracy of the information. In addition, the online school will not be able to guarantee the appropriateness of materials that a user may encounter.  An important step that I will take for the cyber middle school academy is to make sure that all involved comprehend the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) document. The AUP will provide a clear cut expectation of behaviors with regards to the use of the school’s online internet. The agreement comes into effect when the contract is signed. The document will have a list of activities that are both permitted and not permitted with regards to internet use at the Cyber School. Some of these activities are as follows: (a) displaying offensive messages or pictures; (b) using obscene language; (c) intentionally damaging computer networks (hacking) ;(d) access by minors to inappropriate matter on the internet and the web ;(e) the safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms and other forms of direct electronic communications; and (f) violating copyright laws.

 In addition, the school reserves the right to monitor all access to and use of the internet.Any attempts of students making contact with individuals who are not students of this online academy will be reported immediately to the staff person who can monitor student’s access to the Internet.

 In summary, in addition to a signed agreement in the form of an AUP, some of the safety and security implications of students using the internet, especially during an online course can be accomplished by only allowing the supervising staff to install or download software or other applications instead of the students and staff (Morris, 2002). The principal of the cyber middle school academy will be the main responsible regulator and implementer of the document policy.

 References Grabe, M., & Grabe, C. (2007). //Integrating Technology for Meaningful Learning.// Boston, MA:  Houghton Mifflin Company. Morris, S. (2002). //Teaching and learning online: A step-by-step guide for designing an online k-// // 12 school program. //Lanham, MD: A Scarecrow Education Book.