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Classrooms and Communities Online:
Getting Involved
Schools and Technology
78% of U.S. public
schools have some access to the Internet.12
63% of schools with
a large proportion of students from poor families have access
to the Internet, compared to 88% of schools with higher-income
students.13
27% of all public school
instructional rooms have Internet access.14
Acceptable Use Policies
Many state departments of education and
local school districts have recommended that schools develop
a contract with every student using online services at school
to insure they are using the Information Superhighway appropriately.
Called Acceptable Use Policies, these contracts encourage
responsible behavior by students and give teachers enforceable
rules; for example:
- The network should be used in a way
that is consistent with the school's code of conduct.
- Students should share the system and
be careful not to monopolize it.
- The network should be used for educational
purposes (e.g., students should avoid placing commercial
advertising online without permission).
The policies also ban illegal activity
like:
- Selling drugs or other illegal materials
online
- Using copyrighted material without permission
- Using networks to view indecent or obscene
materials
- Creating or distributing computer viruses
- Using somebody else's name or code number
to send or receive messages
- Sending racist, sexist, inflammatory,
or obscene messages
- "Hacking" of any kind.
Failure to abide by the rules can result
in suspension of computer privileges or even prosecution.
Resources For Further Help
Below is a starter list of printed materials,
organizations, and other places you can turn to for help.
These are some of the resources we found most helpful, though
there are many others.
Books and Manuals
America's Children & The Information
Superhighway, The Children's Partnership, 1994 and 1996
Update. Available online at http://www.childrenspartnership.org.
Child Safety on the Information Superhighway,
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 1994.
A brochure available online at http://www.missingkids.org.
A Parents' Guide to the Internet… and
how to protect your children in cyberspace, Parry Aftab,
Esq., SC Press, New York, NY 1997. Available online at http://www.familyguidebook.com.
The Internet Kids & Family Yellow
Pages, Second Edition, Jean Armour Polly, Osbourne McGraw-Hill,
Berkeley, CA 1997. Excerpts online at http://www.netmom.com.
Leadership & Technology: What School
Board Members Need to Know, National School Boards Association,
1995. Write or call: NSBA Distribution Center, PO Box 161,
Annapolis Junction, MD 20701-0161; (800) 706-6722; Fax (301)
604-0158.
Making the Net Work for You:
How to Get the Most Out of Going Online, Interactive Services
Association and National Consumers League, 1996. Available
online at http://www.penta.ufrgs.br/gereseg/censura/open/brochure.htm.
Parents Guide to the Internet, U.S.
Department of Education, November 1997. Guide free of charge.
Visit http://www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/internet.
Web of Deception, Threats to
Children from Online Marketing, Center for Media Education,
1996. Excerpts available online at http://www.cme.org/children/marketing/index_mktg.html.
Nonprofit Organizations
American Library Association
http://www.ala.org
Benton Foundation
benton@benton.org
http://www.benton.org
Center for Children and Technology
cct@edc.org
http://www.edc.org/CCT/ccthome
The Center for Democracy and Technology
info@cdt.org
http://www.cdt.org
Center for Media Education
cme@cme.org
http://www.cme.org/children/marketing/index_mktg.html
Center for Media Literacy
cml@medialit.org
http://www.medialit.org
The Children's Partnership
frontdoor@childrenspartnership.org,
http://www.childrenspartnership.org
Community Technology Centers' Network
ctcnet@edc.org
http://www.ctcnet.org
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
eff@eff.org
http://www.eff.org
KIDSNET
kidsnet@aol.com
http://www.KIDSNET.org
National Parent Information Network
ericeece@uiuc.edu,
http://www.npin.org
National Council of La Raza
http://www.nclr.org
National PTA
info@pta.org
http://www.pta.org
National School Boards Association
itte@nsba.org
http://www.nsba.org/itte
National Urban League
info@nul.org
http://www.nul.org
Organization for Community Networks
jmk@ofcn.org,
http://ofcn.org
Public Access Network Directory
http://www.clir.org/
Project OPEN
project-open@isa.net
http://www.penta.ufrgs.br/gereseg/censura/open/brochure.htm
Federal Government
U.S. Department of Education, Office
of Educational Technology
http://www.ed.gov
Federal Communications Commission
fccinfo@fcc.gov
http://www.fcc.gov
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