ICT Policy

Contents:

1. Introduction
2. Using the Internet for Education
3. User Access to the Internet
4. Expectations of Users
5. Health & Safety

1. Introduction

   Usually, the resources used by students in colleges are carefully chosen by the instructors and determined by college policies. Use of the Internet, by its nature, will provide access to information, which has not necessarily been selected by the instructor. Whilst users will often be directed to sites, which provide reviewed and evaluated sources, at times, they will be able to move beyond these, to sites unfamiliar to the instructors. There is genuine cause for concern that users might access unsuitable material either accidentally or deliberately.

   The purpose of computer usage policy is to:

   • Establish the ground rules we have in the college for using the Internet
   • Describe how these fit into the wider context of our discipline policy
   • Demonstrate the methods used to protect users from sites containing inappropriate content (e.g. pornography, racist or politically extreme or violent material, graphic content, etc.).

   The college believes that the benefits to users from access to the resources of the Internet, far exceed the disadvantages. Ultimately, the responsibility for setting and conveying the standards that users are expected to follow, when using media and information resources, falls on the user community as a whole; if the is a possibility that you will offend or inconvenience another community member, you should refrain from that activity, and if another user bothers you, you should say something to that user or to the administration.

   We feel that the best recipe for success lies in a combination of site-filtering, of supervision and by fostering a responsible attitude in our users. Users will be given an explanatory/introductory course and current rules, which form our Internet Access Agreement (available on the web site).

2. Using the Internet for Education

   The benefits of Internet access include:

   • Access to a wide variety of educational resources including libraries, art galleries and museums;
   • Rapid and cost effective world-wide communication;
   • Gaining an understanding of people and cultures around the globe;
   • Users' professional development through access to new curriculum materials, experts' knowledge and practice;
   • Exchange of curriculum and administration data with other colleges and MOEVT
   • Social and leisure use;
   • Greatly increased skills in literacy, particularly in being able to read and appraise critically and then communicate what is important to others.

   The college intends to teach users about the vast information resources available on the Internet, using it as a planned part of many lessons. All instructors will review and evaluate resources available on web sites appropriate to users and the ICT co-ordinator/adviser will assist in the dissemination of this information.

   Initially users may be restricted to sites which have been reviewed and selected for content. They may be given tasks to perform using a specific group of web sites accessed from a common 'Favourites' menu on the college server.

   Continuing Instruction

   As internet education progresses, users will be taught both technological and decision-making skills as appropriate, for example:

   • Use of the address book
   • How to attach files to an e-mail
   • Conventions of internet politeness
   • Searching techniques
   • Appropriateness of internet vs. other sources of information, in terms of: time taken, amount of information found, usefulness and reliability

   Please see the educational resources section of the web site for more details.

3. User Access to the Internet

   The college may use "filtered" Internet Service, which will minimise the chances of users encountering undesirable material. The College will normally only allow students to use the Internet when there is an instructor present to supervise. However it is unrealistic to suppose that the instructor's attention will always be directed toward the computer screen. Instructor will be aware of the potential for misuse, and will be responsible for explaining to users, the expectation we have of them. The college may have access to students' emails and other Internet related files and may check these on a regular basis to ensure expectations of behaviour are being met.

4. Expectations of Users

   Please see the Computer Lab Rules.

5. Health & Safety

   Computer usage can affect user health and safety. [find ergonomics and other references from internet.]

See also:

• Computer Lab Rules
• User Contract

Update History: