Infrastructure and Technology - strategic considerations
Securing both the network and its data without locking it down.
Poor e-safety poses a real risk to the reputation of an organisation, and while the first response is often to lock down the network, a more effective response would be to enable staff and learners to use the network in a responsibly. Technology has a lot to offer learners, e-learning; its flexibility, availability and portability contributes to the personalisation of their learning and supports their engagement and achievement. It also has a lot to offer providers in terms of meeting their obligations to deliver learning equitably and to exacting standards within ever more challenging financial constraints.
When designing an e-safety policy it is important that the purpose of the policy is not to bar people technologically from accessing content (even though that might be needed to block certain known websites and Janet Internet Filtering is one of the many solutions) but to educate the learners to keep themselves safe online. As evident from UKERNA's submission to the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology (sub-committee) on Investigation into Personal Internet Safety.
While designing e-safety policy with regard to the Technology & Infrastructure side, the institutional legal obligations needs to be covered e.g. it may be necessary to monitor the network for potential cases of cyber bullying or for behaviours where there are legal ramifications.
Related Links