E-Readers at School

Greetings!
Last week a teacher contacted me to ask about the use of e-Readers at school. She wondered what other teachers do about this and if it has been a problem. It got me thinking about our school.

Last year Rogers had less than ten students with e-readers that came to school. Most of them were in our junior high. I know that one of the students had dyslexia and her parents bought her a Kindle with ‘read-to-me’ capabilities so she could follow along and be able to read her assignments more quickly.

At Rogers I am working this year to put e-books (electronic or digital books) in our library for student and teacher use and I am hoping to get some Kindles for student and teacher use. But along with the new technology, I also need some user guidelines or policies.

I researched to see what other schools use for their e-Reader Acceptable Use Policy and found policies from six different schools, public and private Christian. I was quite surprised at the rules these schools have made regarding the use of personal e-Readers. The numbers after the rule indicate how many schools had the same rule.

Some of the rules listed were:
1. Materials on and the use of the e-Reader must be in full compliance of the (Name of school). (2)
2. E-Readers will only be used for reading appropriate books (approved by teachers) and accessing programs to assist students in reading (dictionary assistance, highlighting, note-taking, etc.) (4)
3. E-Readers must only be used at appropriate times in accordance with teacher instructions. (4)
4. The e-Reader must not be a distraction for the student or those around him/her nor be a source of any classroom disruption. (4)
5. The e-Reader must not be used for other purposes such as communication, entertainment, music, gaming, etc.
6. E–Readers may not be used at school for audio books. (Personally, I actually like the idea of using them for audio books.)
7. All e-readers must have cellular and network capabilities disabled (turned off) while the device is at school. This means that books must be downloaded prior to coming to school. (4)
8. Students will follow all school guidelines concerning the appropriate use of an electronic device as explained in the Technology Honor Agreement Code.
9. All e-readers must be labeled with the student’s first and last name.
10. Each student is responsible for his/her own e-reader and is not allowed to lend it to another student while at school.
11. The e-reader must be charged prior to bringing it to school. Students will not be allowed to charge their e-reader at school.
12. The student is responsible for knowing how to properly and effectively use their e-Reader; students may not ask teachers to assist with the use of the device. (l) (another rule said it was not to be a burden to the teacher)
13. (Name of school) is not responsible for any damage or loss associated with a student’s e-reader.
14. The school reserves the right to review the contents of the reader if needed.
15. The school reserves the right to deny use of certain devices that have e-Reading capabilities on a case-to-case basis. (Smart phones, etc.)
16. The privilege to use an e-reader can be revoked at any time. (2)
17. Students may bring their e-Reader on campus once the Parent/Student agreement form has been signed and returned.
18. All e-Readers must be registered with the (Name of school) Media Specialist and accompanied by the Acceptable Use Agreement Form signed both by the parents and the student.

Basically the first eight rules discuss when and how the e-Reader may be used at school and what materials can be on it. I thought it was interesting that two schools specifically stated that only materials that are appropriate for the school could be on the device.

Rules nine through thirteen have to do with the device itself and the last five or six rules cover the school’s responsibility.

For the most part, I thought you might simply be interested in what other schools do regarding the e-Readers and you also might decide that your school could benefit from your own policy.

I am interested in whether you allow e-Readers at your school and if you have a policy or rules for them. Please let me know and I will give a quick update next week.

I hope you have a great week.
Audrey