Wiki Policy

This year I hope to successfully implement a class wiki to supplement / enrich my middle school reading classes. The first few hurdles are clear: created a WikiSpaces account, introduced the idea to parents at Back To School Night, had my students read an Internet Safety Pledge and take an Internet Safety Quiz.

The parents were pleased. The students are anxious. It would seem that I have my ducks lined up in a row… That would be if the district’s filtering software didn’t block my private WikiSpaces HTTPS address. Go figure.

I’ve placed a work order to request they configure the filter to make an exception to WikiSpaces. Haven’t heard back from the tech. department yet; the first week of school is a madhouse after all.

Though, my cynical side wonders if they will accommodate to my situation. I’ve heard dozens of stories where the administrations pushes and pushes for the use of technology, but then falls through to order / maintain the network, or shoot down teacher initiatives because they want to avoid the murky waters of internet policy.

This is a battle worth fighting. I’ll cross that bridge when and if the time comes. For now, I hope to receive support from those powers-that-be.

I wrote the following wiki guidelines for my middle school students. I took into account COPA, CIPA, policies regarding student use of the Internet, measures to prevent cyber-bullying, and my own common sense. I’m publishing here, on my blog, in hopes that other educators will borrow and adapt as needed.

Wiki Policy

• This wiki is purely intended for educational purposes of Mr. Conroy’s language arts / literacy class. This site will allow you to collaborate on assignments, upload files to a central space, and participate in an academic online discussion. The wiki is not a social networking site.

• I understand that not every student has access to a personal computer at home. Therefore, you should complete wiki assignments during class or flex. A word of wisdom: Use your time and resources wisely.

• Look at the web address: the “s” at the end of https stands for secure. This is a private wiki- only members can login. In order to become a member, I sent you an invite. Even though this site is private and secure, never post personal information. This includes pictures of you or your friends, full name, home address, etc. Safety and security comes before anything else.

• Please note that most wikis track a history of changes. Click on the “history” tab to view previous versions of that page. This isn’t meant to scare or intimidate you from participation. Rather, consider it a rather stern warning against those that might vandalize or bully others on this wiki. I will find out...

• All policies that govern your behavior in the classroom also extend to behavior online. Even though you may access the wiki from home, you are expected to act as if you were in the classroom. This includes the things you say, pages created, file attachments, images uploaded / linked to this site.

• Should any student violate a policy, stated here or otherwise, I will take quick and approparite action:
• First offense is a stern warning. Parents may be contacted depending on severity / intention.
• Second offense will result in a discipline report, parent contact, and possible account suspension.
• Third Offense will result in a discipline report, parent contact, and definite account termination. An alternate assignment will be provided.

Tags: Education, wiki, policy, technology, support, students, Internet, safety