Schools catch up on computer policies

Individual school divisions across the Prairies are responsible for ensuring how their students handle computers and the internet.

All three of the provincial education departments say it is an issue to be decided by communities. That is partly because not all schools have the same number of computers per student or type of machine that can access the internet. And none of the provincial departments knows exactly how many computers are in schools, although two of them are doing a survey this fall.

“We don’t have a current list,” said Saskatchewan education department official Bob Schad. “This fall we’re working on a list of (those) on-line to get these numbers.”

Read Also

Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes

federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million

But he estimated most elementary school students are exposed to some computer

experience.

The Saskatchewan department has an internet site (www.sasked.gov.sk.ca) that includes 25 curriculums and supporting documents. And 17 schools have their own websites linked to the department’s.

While the department offers no money to help schools get computers, Schad said it assists in a program by which business donates used computers. It also has built into its funding formula a rural technology factor that provides money to small or isolated schools to get equipment for distance education.

Alberta provides matching grants to help school boards get equipment and has committed $20 million a year to the program for the next three years.

Gene Smith, a communications official, said the Alberta department also has agreements with Microsoft and Claris to allow school boards to buy their software programs at a discount.

Teachers get trained

The department has a partnership agreement with Telus, the provincial phone company, to help train 3,500 teachers in internet usage and to hook up every school in the province to the internet. Almost all of them now have at least one computer with that access, Smith said. While no specific technology grant is given to rural schools, he said they get a bigger grant per capita than urban ones in recognition of their general situation.

The Manitoba education department offers grants to schools and has set up a network called Merlin to negotiate prices and access to computer equipment and software.

“We fund and set broad-based policy,” said communications officer Paul White.

Next month the Saskatchewan School Trustees Association is sponsoring a seminar to teach its board representatives about developing computer and internet policies, but an official said she didn’t know how many schools have such policies already.

One that does is Yorkton Regional High School. Gordon McCullough said the board has a couple of computer policies. The guidelines must be signed by the students before they get on the internet. Basically these warn a student about the information they give out or receive over the internet.

“Just because it’s there doesn’t mean it’s true,” said McCullough.

The school also uses Cyber Patrol to keep certain sites off limits and sets a priority over who gets the computer first – staff can bump students, students doing research can bump those surfing for entertainment. Students are allowed one hour a week on the computer because there is only one station for their use.

Anthony Kost of the Agassiz School Division in Beausejour, Man. said some schools are talking about giving students a computer card much like a driver’s licence “to limit mindless browsing.”

On-line safety