Halfway through our first school year with every student having a device we have many things to celebrate. Every student now has equal access to high quality educational resources and the ability to create and produce projects that showcase their 21st Century Learning Skills. The majority of students at AMS are also demonstrating RESPONSIBILITY (one of the five pillars of our PRIDE pledge) by bringing their device fully-charged and ready for learning each school day.
In order to finish the school year on a positive note, I feel it is necessary to review some important reminders related to appropriate use of the student device. Every parent and student signed a copy of the
BCPS Technology Device Student Use Agreement prior to being issued a device. This agreement lists many specific responsibilities that students agree to follow in exchange for use of the device. Recently, students have been violating several of these responsibilities so I want to address them below so every AMS stakeholder is getting the same message.
1. Students are to use the devices for
educational purposes only. Students should only be using the devices to complete assignments that are assigned by teachers at AMS. Students are not authorized to download or install any programs onto the device including games, music, streaming video players, and/or browsers such as Psiphon or Ultrasurf.
2. Students must transport the device to and from school and between classes in the BLUE device case that was issued to them by BCPS. The BLUE device cases are reinforced to protect the device when the bag is dropped or stepped on. Many students have chosen to stop using the BLUE device bag and have been carrying the device in their string backpack. Please understand that carrying the device in a string backpack is not acceptable and will result 100% of the time with the device being broken.
3. Students should not install software that attempts to bypass security settings or the BCPS Internet filter. The security settings and the Internet Filter are in place to protect the BCPS network from viruses and hacking attempts. They are also in place to protect students from accessing inappropriate and/or graphic content. Students who install the Psiphon or Ultrasurf browsers are in direct violation of the Student Use Agreement.
Students are reminded that any violations of the Student Use Agreement may result in the loss of device privileges or disciplinary action by an administrator depending on the severity of the infraction.