Google accounts for students
Students in grades 2-8 are embarking on an adventure in using the “read and write” portion of the web. St. Gerard Majella School has arranged for students to have accounts using Google Suite for Education. This account will allow each student to create, upload, or share documents, presentations, and other material for school use. For example, your child can work on his or her research paper at school, access it from the home computer by signing in, then share it with another student for peer editing, and finally share the completed project with the teacher. Teachers can prepare assignments, study guides, etc. and share them with the class.
When using Google docs, there are no conflicts between PC and Mac, no need to own Microsoft Office at home, no need to convert between different versions of software, and no cost. There is no need to carry the material back and forth from school to home on a flash drive, and no forgotten papers! Click here for an overview of Google Docs.
Having a Google account will allow students to maintain steady progress on long-term projects, as well as giving them access to research tools such as Google Books. It will not however give them access to email. Although students will use an email address as their username, email is disabled on these accounts. Student accounts are managed by the faculty. Every word or image includes information about when it was added and by which account.
With the opportunity to create online content comes responsibility. St. Gerard’s “Computer Use Policy” must be followed. Students should not share personal information such as the user name or password with anyone. Computer users can’t alter or copy files or pages that belong to another student or the school. Teachers have discussed this with the students so that they clearly understand that Google accounts represent a classroom space. Just as they would not use inappropriate language in the classroom, they will make only positive contributions in their documents, presentation, and tools.
To summarize the Acceptable Use Policy, students must:
Respect and protect the privacy of others.
Use only assigned accounts.
Not view, use, or copy passwords of others.
Not distribute private information about others or themselves online.
Not send anonymous messages of any kind.
No personal addresses, personal phone numbers, or personal websites may be included in documents, spreadsheets, or presentations.
Respect and practice the principles of community.
Communicate online in ways that are kind and respectful.
Report threatening or discomforting materials to a teacher.
Not intentionally access, transmit, copy, or create material that violates the school’s code of conduct (such as messages that are inappropriate to the classroom, threatening, rude, discriminatory, or meant to harass).
Not intentionally access, transmit, copy, or create material that is illegal (such as obscenity, stolen materials, or illegal copies of copyrighted works).
Students may, if in accord with the above
Create and comment on material, as well as share and collaborate with others on school projects.
Use the resources for any educational purpose.
A complete copy of the policy may be viewed by clicking the Middle School, Intermediate, or Primary user agreement pages on left.
We have every confidence that the students will have a great experience in using in the web in this way.
Questions? amccormack@sgmschool.org