The Palisades School District in Kintnersville, Pennsylvania, recently announced updates to its technology use policy, according to the Bucks County Courier Times. The district, which encourages both students and teachers to use technology in and beyond the classroom to supplement traditional educational practices, wants to ensure that the technology is being put to proper use.
Technology in the classroom, like a tablet computer, document camera or
DLP projector, can give students a hands-on, engaging experience that a traditional textbook and blackboard cannot. There are, however, some inherent complexities that officials in the Palisades School District chose to address.
Largely, the new regulations were developed to prevent misuse. This past February, the source noted, an educator in a nearby school district had to be temporarily suspended following the discovery of blog posts she authored that insulted her students' intelligence and expressed disdain for her job. The resulting response from students and parents alike was predictably and justifiably negative.
In an effort to avoid such problems and foster a welcoming technological learning environment, Palisades has clarified the terms of proper use.
"It’s a lengthy policy, and for good reason," School Board Chairman Jim Beerer told the source. "In this day and age of ours, this is pretty important."
