by Kendall Proctor ’11

The MCPS User Responsibilities for Computer Systems, Electronic Information, and Network Security regulation is a nine-page document explaining the elements of computer security for teachers and students. Noncompliance with this regulation will result in disciplinary actions for employees that may include a conference, warning, letter of reprimand, loss of privileges, suspension without pay, demotion, dismissal, restitution and/or criminal prosecution. A glaring omission in the regulation is the lack of any mention of policies on social networking sites, like Facebook.

State and county education officials are just beginning to develop policies in regard to teachers’ limitations on what can be done on social networking sites. The Virginia Board of Education voted in March to encourage school districts statewide to adopt policies regulating social-media use by teachers. According to a Washington Post article, “The original version of the rules proposed by the state board would have made Virginia one of a handful of states to adopt firm restrictions on the use of social networking, but the opposition from teachers and local school officials forced reconsideration.” The first proposal was considered to be too strict by teachers and local school officials, so the Virginia Board of Education is still deciding on what final action to take.

MCPS does not yet have specific policies for social networking sites like Facebook or other social networking sites. “While we can see the value of some social network sites and applications as an educational tool, they are—as the name suggests—more of a source for social interaction,” said MCPS Public Information Officer Dana Tofig. He recommends teachers do not contact students on Facebook, “We will be reviewing our policies and trying to be clearer about what is and is not allowed. Staff can ask that certain sites be unblocked and those requests are reviewed by the Informational Technology security team.”

Using the computers for inappropriate reasons during school hours will have more serious consequences than when done on personal time. Currently, only administrators and security have access to Facebook on their MCPS accounts. “Social networking sites are not blocked as a category on the web filter system because not all of them are prohibited by the school system. For example, Twitter is not blocked on MCPS computers, and in fact, you can follow MCPS on Twitter,” said IT Systems Specialist Andrew Dodge. A wide variety of news topics are posted to keep followers updated.

Various teachers at Sherwood believe social networking with students in an educational way could be beneficial in the classroom. “I think MCPS believes if they open the door to social network sites, they will have no idea how to control it and its possible misuse. I, on the other hand, think it could be a valuable resource that would be appealing to students and believe the use for educational purposes should be examined,” said social studies teacher Christine McKeldin. McKeldin is one of multiple teachers who communicate with students via Facebook, but she only accepts friend requests from students that have already graduated.

Other teachers at Sherwood agree that social networking sites could be helpful for school-related purposes, though they often seem unclear if MCPS policy limits them or not to only using Edline to communicate with students. Science teacher Laura Dinerman used Facebook to post information about the Green Team on a group page until she said MCPS decided teachers were no longer permitted to use Facebook as a communication device at school, which occurred sometime during the summer. “Facebook was a good tool to keep the experienced members in touch and well as to post information for members,” said Dinerman.

Some teachers continue to use Facebook. Prior and current students and their family members can find Rock ‘N’ Roll Revival pictures and video clips from the last 32 years on Facebook, posted by music teacher Bill Evans. Information for the choir’s Italy trip can also be found on an Events page, which is collaborated by Evans and senior Simone Brown. Evans uses Facebook as a convenient way to share files with mostly Sherwood alumni, rather than as a social networking site.