With schools making their own choices around many things concerning ICT it is possibly a good time to highlight that Privacy isn’t a school rule or a department guideline. It is actually part of the law and it is essential to consider what information is being shared by schools signing their students up to places and spaces. Do you have consent to sign your students up to various online spaces? Even if you have the very best of intentions you have to present your ideas to parents in terms of educational value and just what information you are giving and how it will be shared.
Posting and sharing information online about a person other than yourself online or in any other way requires consent. Consent must be fully informed, freely given, current and specific in how the information will be presented and to whom it will be presented. Schools will require signed authority for any work, images or information posted online. School should understand that while consent can be freely given, it can also be withdrawn at any time. The school would then be required to remove the content/resource immediately.
Consent forms – students
The following template has been designed for schools to use when requesting permission to publish, reproduce and communicate a student’s work or image.
To access the template, see: Student and parent/guardian consent for recording &/or publishing (Word – 57Kb) (doc – 76kb)
The following template has been provided by the Department to assist school communities to develop agreements with students as to what constitutes acceptable use of internet, iPads netbooks and other online and digital technologies in their communities.
To access the template, see: Student Acceptable Use Agreement
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/lolconsent.aspx