Students and the Honorable Use Policy

When we were beginning our Grade 6 iPad Pilot, we knew we had to compose an Acceptable Use Policy for students so they would know exactly what was expected of them. We viewed giving the students iPads as  such a fun thing and they were so incredibly excited about the Pilot that we didn't feel right giving them the device and then a whole bunch of "Don't you dare do this...." type rules.

We wanted something that was as friendly as the iPad. We didn't want the kids to take the devices and then worry about what they were not allowed to do. Some policies sound very unfriendly and that's the last thing we wanted.

So we created what we called an Honorable Use Policy and took everything that would be in an AUP and worded it in a positive way. Instead of saying, "I won't do X" we said "I will do Y." For example. "I will be a good digital citizen in school and not use my iPad for games until I get home." instead of "You will not play games in school on your iPad." Reading it sounds a lot softer and puts a positive spin on a very important set of rules.

Twitter: @iPadEdTech