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Sunday, December 7, 2014

From the Official MCPS Twitter Feed

An announcement that MCPS has finally updated their Child Abuse Policy after 26 years?
No.
From 12:57 AM December 7th we learn that the person running the MCPS Official Twitter feed just scored 1,206 on a game.


17 comments:

  1. The good news is that the MCPS policy is now in sync with MD law.
    The bad news is that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than to prove § 5-701 (a) (b) (1).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No it's not. You are wrong. The MCPS Child Abuse Policy is still 26 years out of date. The documents that are used to train teachers and that are posted on the BOE website haven't been updated since 1988.

      Delete
    2. I have no way of verifying the current MCPS policy, but either case the bad news is that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than to prove § 5-701 (a) (b) (1).

      Delete
    3. By the way, Board of Education policies don't change by magic. They change by VOTES - public votes - of the Board of Education. The Board of Education hasn't said a word about the 14 arrests of MCPS teachers/staff/contractors in the last 3 years.

      Delete
    4. Of course you can verify current MCPS policy! Everyone can! This is a public school system.

      It's 2014! BOE Policies are posted on their website.

      http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/policy/pdf/jhcea.pdf

      Scroll to the end of the document for the history. Last date of update is 1988!!!

      Delete
    5. Thanks! Maybe there is an internal MCPS policy to update their policies every thirty years.

      Delete
  2. Current Twitter feed says they were hacked....

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    Replies
    1. So that means a hacker can close school anytime they feel like it and throw the entire public school system into chaos.
      This Tweet went up around midnight and it took MCPS twelve hours to notice.

      Delete
    2. A benevolent can also update their policies for them.

      Delete
    3. Sorry. No they can't. Board of Education policies are enacted by a public vote of the Board of Education. No one else can magically fix these polices. This is the official (legal) task of the elected Board of Education.

      If the Board of Education doesn't want the policies updated, they don't get updated. The lack of interest in these multiple out of date policies speaks volumes about the focus of the current Board of Education.

      Delete
  3. If they were hacked it was by the owner's child . . . not much interest in MCPS twitter feeds. And why is anyone from MCPS playing games on MCPS electronic equipment? Fess up DT.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ...it isn't even that good of a score....

    And for Pete's sake - since when is the line between personal and professional electronics cut and dry anymore? People check into their work stuff on their personal equipment and vice versa all the time. Lighten up about that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lighten up? That will be your response when the account is hacked and school is "closed" via a Twitter message on a day when school is actually open. The chaos will be something that 150,000 families should just laugh off?

      Delete
    2. No, didn't say lighten up about the "hacking" which is extremely disturbing and getting more alarming every day - I actually doubt they were "hacked" - why would a hacker do nothing but post a Three's score? I agree with the poster than guessed it was the kid of whoever controlled this account.

      I thought I was extremely clear that what I said "lighten up" about was the poster's indignation about using gov't equipment to play a game since there is no distinct line for gov't vs private equipment use anymore. The writer didn't even consider that it was highly likely the @MCPS twitter user posts from their personal equipment (phone or computer). But then, I bet, they are likely to use their gov't issued equipment for periodic personal uses.

      Delete
    3. Why isn't there a line between government equipment use for personal games? Oh, I guess that's why so many people in MCPS use their MCPS credit cards for personal use. Oh, haha - no distinct lines anymore! Just charge away on your MCPS card when you need new tires!

      Everyone gets that it is highly likely that this game from the personal use of the MCPS PIO office of this account. We all get that. The MCPS PIO, however, has stated that the account was hacked. Apparently, he thinks that it is better to tell 150,000 families that they can get bogus information from the MCPS Twitter Feed than to tell them that the account was used for personal use at 1 AM in the morning.

      Delete
  5. Shoot from the hip much? The poster to which the comment was directed obviously did NOT "get" that the game was played on the personal equipment of the @MCPS Twitter administrator or else they would not have asked "And why is anyone from MCPS playing games on MCPS electronic equipment?" So, no, we all did not "get that".

    And the line is completely blurred because the use of personal and business equipment cannot be controlled without locking EVERYTHING down to the point that it impedes productivity and flexibility. If they want people to be accessible and post as things happen, they will need to periodically use their personal equipment - it's a fact of modern life. I can speak for some of the Federal government employees - some are expected to be 'reachable' 24/7 and able to work from anywhere. That requires the use of personal equipment. There are times when I have to use my personal computer to work from home if I'm snowed in or the gov't is closed for other reasons - we are expected to work from wherever we are or take a vacation day. Also, we have extremely clear policies on the use of our Govt credit cards and what they can and can't be used for. We can't spend the night on travel within 50 miles of our homes or duty stations. We don't have expense accounts or have to submit meal receipts, but use "per diem". We are NOT allowed to take meals, services, or gifts from contractors and vendors if we don't already have a personal relationship, nor can we buy them food on the gov't Credit Cards. It's all completely transparent.

    Having flexibility with use of gov't vs. personal computer equipment does not equate to a lax Credit Card policy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wrong. It absolutely does equate. In this instance the misuse of this Internet account has the power to throw the entire county into chaos.

      Not only does this account purport to put out "official" information for public schools, this account is also relied upon by all of the other schools and agencies that make decisions based off of the MCPS announcements.

      Your belief that misuse of employment resources is acceptable is a huge problem for agencies and businesses. You also show that if this is the mindset of employees then forget about STUDENTS drawing a line between personal and school use of computer equipment!

      Students should BYOD (Bring their own devices) to school? Then teachers can forget about them focusing on school work while in school. Your model is that the lines are blurred, so forget students coming to school to focus on education. No MCPS student should ever be expelled or suspended for personal use of a computer device, right? Lines are blurred so it's not a problem.

      Oh, and your lack rule works for the MCPS substitute teacher who was using MCPS computer equipment to look at a dating site while in a classroom during the school day. That's fine with you, it's not fine with MCPS. The substitute was removed. So while you may "think" that agencies and businesses have no problem with blurred lines, it actually is a very big problem.

      The misuse of this Twitter account is a prime example of how blurring the lines can have huge consequences leading to chaos and security breaches. That can cause a whole lot more damage than buying a set of tires on a MCPS credit card.

      Delete

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