Module 4 EDU 790: Safety and AUPs

 I have been pwned! Wait, what's that mean anyways? To be pwned means to be defeated in battle usually in a video game. However in cyber security, it refers to your information being breached. My personal email was apparently breached three times (via Evite, MyFitnessPal, and Zynga which runs Words With Friends) and my school email twice (via Edmodo and Verifications io)! Not sure how to feel about this information or what to do with this information as it seems that millions of users of these online platforms were also compromised. I was really interested and enthralled reading the Intel Techniques by Michael Bazzell and have officially opted out of allowing the credit firms to give my information to other companies to send me 'offers' which took less than five minutes and can be done at Opt Out PreScreen and I am going to discuss a credit freeze with my fiancé as a way to protect ourselves from identity theft. This has always been something I have feared ever since a close co-worker of mine had her identity stolen and how out of control and helpless you feel trying to recover your digital presence, your credit, and your money from accounts. Recently, my brother found out that someone had stolen his information to file for unemployment during the pandemic. He's had to produce a number of documents to the Social Security Office to attempt to remediate the issue. I have even added identity theft protection to my insurance policy. 

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As a teacher for Chicago Public Schools (CPS), we began getting more updates and talks from our admin about safety and technology several years ago when a disgruntled employee caused a data breach at CPS that exposed the information of thousands of students -- talk about getting pwned!  I'd like to share the Pwned site with students to see if they have been hacked before-- perhaps this can tie into last week's articles about how to protect yourself. We also got more training on appropriate technology interactions after the intense investigation over sexual misconduct and harassment in CPS that was widely reported several years ago. Both of these incidences has led the district to make sure their policies are very clear and detailed. 

We are now required to go over acceptable use policies (AUPs) as a staff and we have a number of Acceptable Use Policies that cover a variety of people at CPS such as:

• Basic Staff AUP -- CPS Policy Manual (Extended Version) Updated in August of 2019
• Basic Students AUP - CPS Policy Manual (Extended Version) Updated in August of 2019
• Vendors
• Volunteers

Each of these school stakeholders has their own policy. The CPS website has the basic policy that applies to the category and then also an extended policy manual with more details and more information about protecting technology licenses and addressing network issues and safety. For the most part, the policy focuses on what forms of communication are acceptable between staff and staff, staff and students, students and students, and between adults and the CPS network. For the student policy manual there is a list of over 30 unacceptable ways to use technology -- quite a lot for a student to remember! It's important to note that if a student does use technology inappropriately, CPS refers to their district wide Student Code of Conduct to determine what type of infraction occurred and what the disciplinary and restorative practices that will be used to address the concern. 

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I checked my own school's website, but surprisingly there was no tab for the district's AUP nor did we have one listed. It was included in our staff handbook last year. However, I know that when I coached the soccer team, we had our own Facebook group and under the AUP, we have to get administrative permission to interact with students on Facebook and it has to be monitored by an administrator. Another example of staff to student communication that needs permission from the district is the use of the Remind text/call app which allows staff and students to text one another without gaining access to each other's personal phone numbers. I use this extensively especially in remote learning. 

What a fine balance students and teachers must navigate to make sure they are using technology in an appropriate manner, however in my opinion we do not explain enough of these policies to our students. My mother is a school social worker for CPS, and many of the issues she has to deal with often begin online on social media platforms and spill over into the classroom. Speaking with our dean of students, it's the same comments with students engaging in cyber bullying.