The inappropriate student use of iChat has brought us to the point of having to make a decision about whether the distractions iChat causes during classes outweighs the educational benefits of iChat as a learning tool. iChat allows teachers and students to communicate throughout the school day. But some students are on iChat when they should be listening to the teachers or doing their schoolwork. I happen to believe that we allow students access to what the Mac computers have to offer and expect them to act responsibly. But recently I have begun to question whether or not our student body is capable of handling this responsibility in a mature way. I hope the B-R students can prove me wrong. But if we have to shut down iChat for all students in order to improve the school learning environment, then we will do what we have to.
There have been a few instances of inappropriate comments being sent between students during the school day. Any comments that are harassing, threatening or personal attacks will result in a loss of computer privileges for those students.
