Technology Acceptable Use

Profile

Beijing World Youth Academy (BWYA) is an independent, international, day school located in Beijing. Founded in 2001 with a small cohort of students studying the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, it has now grown into a large K-12 school with over 1100 students. BWYA has developed a reputation for academic excellence coupled with a strong sense of community. We educate students with English and Chinese as the main language of instruction, as well as with a commitment to the Chinese government education policies for national students. BWYA is authorised with International Baccalaureate Organisation (IB), Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), and accredited by Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The school is also a member of Association of China and Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS) and East Asia Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS).

Mission

Beijing World Youth Academy strives to provide members of our community excellent learning opportunities that incorporate critical investigation, exposure to different cultural perspectives and assessment against objective criteria. Our mission is to develop principled, open-minded thinkers who are capable of integrating with diverse international communities and who are empowered to shape their environs for the improvement of quality of life for themselves and others.

Values

As a school community, these are our values:

Compassion
We respect and empathise with the rights, opinions, culture and feelings of others.
Trust
We believe that honesty, integrity and reliability in ourselves and others, forms the cornerstone of our community.
Solidarity
We value harmony and oneness while recognising the individuality of each person in our community.
Collaboration
We recognise that the development of the student is the shared responsibility between the student, the family and the school.

Schoolwide Learner Outcomes

We have adopted the International Baccalaureate ® (IB) Learner Profile, which describes a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities that go beyond academic success, as our Schoolwide Learning Outcomes as part of our commitment to help all members of the school community learn to respect themselves, others and the world around them.

As learners we strive to be:

Inquirers
We nurture our curiosity, developing skills for inquiry and research. We know how to learn independently and with others. We learn with enthusiasm and sustain our love of learning throughout life.
Knowledgeable
We develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge across a range of disciplines. We engage with issues and ideas that have local and global significance.
Thinkers
We use critical and creative thinking skills to analyse and take responsible action on complex problems. We exercise initiative in making reasoned, ethical decisions.
Communicators
We express ourselves confidently and creatively in more than one language and in many ways. We collaborate effectively, listening carefully to the perspectives of other individuals and groups.
Principled
We act with integrity and honesty, with a strong sense of fairness and justice, and with respect for the dignity and rights of people everywhere. We take responsibility for our actions and their consequences.
Open-minded
We critically appreciate our own cultures and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience.
Caring
We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a commitment to service, and we act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and in the world around us.
Risk-takers
We approach uncertainty with forethought and determination; we work independently and cooperatively to explore new ideas and innovative strategies. We are resourceful and resilient in the face of challenges and change.
Balanced
We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives — intellectual, physical, and emotional — to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We recognise our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.
Reflective
We thoughtfully consider the world and our own ideas and experience. We work to understand our strengths and weaknesses in order to support our learning and personal development.

Introduction

Technology is an essential tool for 21st century learners that promotes literacy, critical thinking, and collaboration. BWYA aims to promote the safe, ethical and responsible use of technology to enhance and transform student-learning experiences. BWYA staff, students and parents value technology as a tool for learning, communication and creation as well as a powerful academic resource for research and remaining current on local, regional and global issues.

This document was written in collaboration with staff and student council representatives.

BWYA follows a 'bring your own device' (BYOD) policy, which allows students to bring their laptop, tablet or mobile phone to school for educational purposes. BWYA also has computers available to borrow for learning and printing as well as for testing.

Policy and Implementation

Student Devices

Laptops and Tablets

Laptops and tablets may be used while at school for academic purposes, including class assignments and club activities.

The contents of this acceptable use policy are applicable to student devices as well as devices provided by the school, including laptops and iPads.

Laptop Specifications

Mobile Phones

Mobile phones should only be used for academic purposes in the classroom with permission of the teacher. Phones should otherwise be switched off and kept in school bags. Primary school students are not to use mobile phones in class.

Homeroom, Break and Lunch Use

During homeroom, breaks or lunch, mobile phones should not be used unless with permission by a teacher and only if they are used for academic purposes.

Making Calls

Students should make phone calls at the front desk. Students should not make or accept calls using a personal device during school hours.

Bus

Student phone use is not allowed on school buses to and from PE classes and school excursions. It may be allowed on longer journeys with permission from the teacher supervisors / chaperones.

Digital Citizenship

Staff and students are expected to advocate and model responsible digital citizenship. The three core principles include:

Digital Citizenship Workshops

As part of the school's commitment to fostering positive use of technology for learning and literacy, the school offers digital citizenship workshops to both parents and students. These workshops follow the K-12 scope and sequence of the internationally recognized Common Sense Media Digital Citizenship Curriculum. The workshops aim to support parents and students with meeting the expectations of this policy.

Student workshops include topics related to digital citizenship, media literacy, plagiarism, positive online communications, cyber-bullying and digital presence. Parent workshops cover topics such as managing student screen time, teaching students about sexual imagery on the Internet, managing student and parent digital footprints, and parental controls and device restrictions.

EdTech and pastoral teams are responsible for delivering the workshops.

Technology Use Guidelines

Network Usage

The school network should only be used for educational use or club activities. Downloading copyrighted material, accessing sites for non-academic purposes, downloading media of any kind for entertainment, or attempting to gain network administration access is strictly forbidden.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

While on campus, students are only allowed to access school-endorsed AI tools. These tools are considered safe for school use and age-appropriate. Students caught using other forms of AI at school will be considered in violation of the technology policy.

School-endorsed AI tools:

Students at BWYA:

Processes for ensuring the authenticity of student work:

For additional information refer to the Academic Integrity Policy.

Gaming

Laptop or mobile (phone or tablet) gaming is forbidden on campus unless the games are part of the learning experience and is facilitated by a teacher.

Photos, Videos and Audio Recordings

Any photos, videos or audio recordings should be made only with permission from the teacher and the person who is the subject of the recording. Any photos or videos taken on campus should be for academic purposes only.

Teachers will inform students in advance when they will film performances in the classroom for assessment and analysis purposes to give feedback.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying in any form is not permitted in or out of school. Examples of cyberbullying include:

What should you do if you've experienced cyber bullying?

(Modified from Source: Safekids.com)

Intellectual Property

Respecting intellectual property means providing credit to someone else's ideas or creations. This includes giving proper citation for words, images or videos taken from online sources.

How can you respect others' intellectual property?

Explicit Content

Students should refrain from sending or accessing explicit content while at school, including inappropriate images or content that contains obscene language. Any content that may have been downloaded at home and then brought to school on the device is also categorized as inappropriate use.

What should I do if I have accidentally accessed or downloaded explicit content?

Social Media

Social media use at school should be limited to educational uses only. Students should show respect for others by asking permission before sharing photos or videos of others over social media.

How can you be a positive user of social media?

Social Media Conduct

Staff, students and parents are members of the BWYA school community. As such, when using social media, staff, students and parents should conduct themselves accordingly as representatives of the BWYA school community. Instances that involve defamation of the school may be dealt with in accordance with the school's behaviour policy, grievances policy, and staff and student handbooks. Any social media incidents in violation of this agreement will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis and may involve legal repercussions.

Staff Guidelines for Sharing over Social Media

If staff would like to share photos or videos of students over social media that include identifiable images of students, they should first approach Communications and Publications. After which, Communications and Publications may choose to share the media over official channels or provide consent for the staff member to share the media over their personal accounts.

It is at the discretion of Communications and Publications what is shared over social media, whether through official school channels or over staff personal social media accounts.

Staff Tips for Social Media

Teacher Classroom Technology Tips

Teachers should promote positive and academic use of technology in a lesson. Some effective methods for ensuring classes remain on task when working with technology:

See the Screentime Guidelines for additional information.

Inappropriate Online Behaviours

The following are examples of inappropriate online behaviours. This is not an exhaustive list but serves as examples.

Consequences of Inappropriate Use

It is the responsibility of all staff to share the contents of this policy with parents and students. Parents and students are expected to sign the accompanying digital citizenship contract and meet the expectations of this policy. If a student does not meet these expectations, the consequences below will result. There may also be consequences in accordance with the behaviour policy at the discretion of the pastoral lead, division head, or principal.

Offense Action
1st Response Secondary School: The student's device will be confiscated for one day (but not over the weekend). The parent or guardian must come to the school to retrieve the device.

Primary School: At the teacher's discretion, the teacher may provide a verbal warning or confiscate the device depending on the severity of the incident. The instance should always be documented as an incident report for misuse of technology. The device should be confiscated for no more than one day (not over the weekend). The parent or guardian must come to the school to retrieve the device.
2nd Response The student cannot bring the device to the school for one week.
3rd Response The student will not be allowed to bring the device for one month or until the end of semester or term, whichever comes first.

Note: If a device is confiscated, the student may borrow a school device from the library. However, these privileges might be revoked depending on individual cases. Furthermore, other actions may be taken according to the school's Behaviour Policy and Child Protection Policy.

Device Searches

Device searches may take place under the following circumstances:

Violations include inappropriate online behaviours, such as cyberbullying or harassment, photographing or videoing teachers or students without permission, academic dishonesty, threats to an individual or group in the school community, and promoting and/or using immoral or indecent behaviours, images, videos, web links, or content, including explicit content, ethnic slurs, content sexual in nature, or demanding money.

Device searches adhere to the following protocols:

A search may include but is not limited to files, photos, videos, browser history, and social media. Note that teachers are not allowed to independently search a device. The teacher must first confiscate the device, file an incident or child protection report, and wait for further information.

An example of a valid reason to extend the scope of a search would be a student who shared inappropriate content online. Through the search, it was discovered that the student was uploading content directly from the device. This would require expanding the scope of the search to, for example, the student's files, photos, downloads, or browsing history.

The above device search policy aims to respect student privacy as well as meet the guidelines of the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, and the Law on the Protection of Minors of the People's Republic of China.

Accidental or Incidental Damage

Since we are a BYOD school, parents are encouraged to purchase insurance for their child's device(s).

BWYA Technology AUP Contract

I have read the BWYA Acceptable Use Policy and am aware of my responsibilities as a digital citizen.

I pledge to:

Student Name: _______________________________ Student Signature: _______________________________ Date: _______________

Parent / Guardian Name: _______________________________ Parent / Guardian Signature: _______________________________ Date: _______________