Technology

School District 13 Technology Use Guidelines for Students

District 13 has made a significant commitment to technology and provides these resources to its students and staff for educational and other appropriate professional activities. The goal in providing these resources is to develop thoughtful, efficient and responsible users of technology by promoting educational excellence and fostering high quality personal learning. District 13 firmly believes that technology resources, including the use of the Internet, are of great importance in today’s environment. At the same time, School District 13 recognizes the need to develop guidelines in relation to the use of these resources.

To this end, the following acceptable practice guidelines have been developed to protect District 13’s investment in technology and to inform users of appropriate and responsible usage. Since access to the technology resources of School District 13 is a privilege and not an entitlement or right, these guidelines are provided so that users are aware of the responsibilities they are about to acquire.

Definition of District Technology Resources

The information systems and technology resources covered by these regulations include all of the District’s computer systems, software, access to the Internet, and networks and their various configurations. The systems and networks include all of the computer hardware and peripheral

equipment, operating system software, application software, stored text, and data files. This includes electronic mail, local databases, and externally accessed databases (such as the Internet), CD-ROMs, clip art, digital images, digitized information, communications technologies which include audio and video capability and new technologies as they become available. The District reserves the right to monitor all technology resource activity.

Authorized Use

• Authorized use of the School District's technology and the Internet shall be governed by administrative procedures developed by the Superintendent and the Board of Education.

• Access to the District’s technological resources will be granted only upon receipt of the appropriate consent form agreeing to adhere to the acceptable use guidelines.

• The District’s Technology Resources are a part of the District 13 curriculum and have not been provided as a public access service or a public forum. The District has the right to place restrictions on the material that users access and post through its technological resources. Users of these resources are expected to follow the general use policy, any rules found in District or school handbooks, any Board, teacher or administrative directives and all applicable local, state, federal and international laws.

No Expectation of Privacy

All technological resources, along with associated network wiring and management devices, are owned in their entirety by Bloomingdale School District 13. All information, correspondence and communication contained in the files that reside on District 13’s technological resources, or that was sent or received using District Technology resources, are owned by District 13. Therefore:

• Users waive their right to privacy with respect to their files and communications and consent to access and disclosure to them by authorized District personnel and those external personnel designated by the Superintendent. Authorized district personnel shall be identified by the Board or Superintendent and shall include, but not be limited to, the Superintendent, the Assistant Superintendent, Principals and Assistant Principals. Technical support personnel also have access to files while performing their roles.

Student Responsibilities

• Students utilizing District-provided technology resources must first have the permission of and be supervised by District 13 staff. Individual students are responsible for their use of the network. Students must practice appropriate behavior and judgment when on-line or using other technology resources just as they do in a classroom or other areas of the school. The same general rules for behavior and communication apply. Since network communication is often public, students are responsible for behaving as appropriately on the network as they are in school. Students may be disciplined up to, and including, suspension from school for inappropriate use.

• All resources should be handled with care. Hardware and software must not be modified, abused or misused in any way. Students shall not load anything onto the District's network or Internet without prior approval. Students are responsible for reporting any unauthorized software that they observe on the network. Failure to report to their teacher may result in disciplinary action.

• The District does not provide students with personal e-mail accounts. Thus, all student use of e-mail shall be under the supervision of a staff member and shall be consistent with the

District's curriculum and educational mission. Students shall not be allowed to use the District's electronic mail communication for personal messages, anonymous messages or communications unrelated to the school program. Students may be disciplined up to, and including, suspension from school for the creation of inappropriate e-mails sent via the school network and may also be disciplined up to, and including, suspension from school for receiving and not reporting inappropriate e-mail.

• Students shall respect the privacy rights of others and shall not attempt to access any electronic mail communications not directed to them or intended to be received by them.

• Students shall not use the District's computer network or District means of access to the Internet for personal, financial or commercial gain.

• Network passwords are to be used exclusively by the authorized owner of the password. Passwords must never be shared with others. Students shall not attempt to gain access to others passwords, modify the passwords of other individuals, attempt to gain access to any files or other data belonging to others or misrepresent others on the network. Disclosure of an individual password or utilization of another student’s password or attempting to gain access to files and data of others shall be the basis for disciplinary action. If you are logged into the network, leaving a computer not password protected enables anyone to potentially access your files which makes you responsible. The owner of a password shall be responsible for actions using the password.

• Students shall not attempt to access the District’s network or technological resources in a way that compromises the security of the network by trying to gain unauthorized access or going beyond authorized access to District resources.

• Students are responsible to inform professional staff of any unauthorized use of their password, any unauthorized installation of software, the receipt of inappropriate electronic transmissions, knowledge of any copyright violations, and any other inappropriate issues involving use of hardware or access.

Internet Filtering

• School District 13 subscribes to an Internet filtering system to filter out sites with content considered unacceptable for educational use. While using District 13 technology resources, no user may attempt to bypass this filtering system or attempt to access the Internet in any other way. It is recognized that no filtering software is completely reliable. District 13 does not represent that users will not have access to inappropriate or objectionable material. The responsibility for appropriate use of the Internet lies with the user.

Software & Hardware Use & Installation

• Only authorized persons (Technology Team and administrators) are permitted to install software and/or hardware on District technological resources.

• No software or hardware is to be installed on District resources without the licensing agreement that allows the installation. Users must not connect or install any computer

hardware or software which is their own personal property to or on the District’s resources without prior approval of building or district level administrators. In addition, such hardware or original media software purchased by individual users must be accompanied by a legitimate proof of purchase. Users must not download any material or software from the Internet without the approval of appropriate building or district level administrators.

• The District Technology Team is responsible only for installing District purchased and approved software. Assistance with installing and troubleshooting personally purchased software that has been approved by an administrator will be available by the Technology Team as time permits and as District resources allow. It is the policy of District 13 to abide by all software licensing agreements and the District Technology Team will be responsible for maintaining a licensing agreement file.

• At times, it is necessary for the District Technology Team to reformat hard drives. Reformatting completely erases all contents of a hard drive. District software will be reinstalled but the District Technology Team will not reinstall unapproved copies of software nor will they be able to retrieve any data files, which are required to be saved to a user’s home drive. With this in mind, please keep any installation disks of specific school-purchased software in an identified location at each school. Users are personally responsible for making backups of any data files that may have been stored on a local hard drive.

Privately Owned Electronic Devices

• Students who choose to bring privately owned electronic devices are responsible for the safety and security of those items. Responsibility for the maintenance and repair of the equipment rests solely with the owner. Any damage to the equipment is the responsibility of the individual.

• All use of privately owned electronic devices must be with the approval of the classroom teacher or supervising staff member.

• Any electronic device that can connect in any way to the District 13 wired or wireless network is considered a computing device under this policy. For the purposes of the guidelines in this document, privately owned computing devices that are connected to the District 13 wired and wireless network are treated as District 13 owned computing devices. In particular, note that some uses of a computing device that are considered acceptable at home or on another system may not be acceptable when utilizing the District 13 network.

• District 13 retains the right to determine where and when privately owned computing devices may be connected to the network.

• Inappropriate use on privately owned electronic devices will result in the confiscation of the device. Parents or guardians will be asked to retrieve the device from the office. 

Copyright Issues

• Users must abide by all copyright laws and their accompanying guidelines and respect the rights of copyright owners. Copyright infringement occurs when a user inappropriately reproduces a work that is protected by a copyright.

• Under the "fair use" doctrine, unauthorized reproduction or use of copyrighted materials is permissible for such purposes as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research. All users must follow the "Fair Use" guidelines when using information gained from the Internet. (Refer to: http://www.adec.edu/admin/papers/fair10-17.html for Fair Use Guidelines.)

• Users shall not plagiarize. This also applies to works that are found on the Internet or through other electronic resources. Plagiarism is presenting the ideas or writings of others as one's own. It is important for users of technology to cite sources used in papers and presentations both from an ethical and legal standpoint.

Publishing on the Web

• Users Publishing information on the Internet using the District’s technology resources are, in effect, publishing such information on behalf of the District. Consequently, information may be published on the Internet using the District’s resources only when approved by an administrator or other authorized District personnel.

Website Account Permission

As part of Bloomingdale School District 13’s ongoing technology endeavors, we have been implementing many online tools for supporting instruction and learning. A variety of these online learning tools require that students have private logins in order to access site features and allow for collaboration and communication with other students, whole classes, and teachers. Due to the age of most of our students, many of these online tools require parent/guardian permission.

The online tools used in Bloomingdale School District 13 have been reviewed by our staff to ensure

that the students’ privacy and anonymity are preserved. Please note that students may have to supply personal information, such as first and last name and email address. We do not choose sites that require students to give phone numbers or home addresses, nor will the full names of students ever be on display. The websites will not sell or share any personal information, nor will they contact the email address on behalf of other companies. Lastly, the posting of photographs with any students on these sites is strictly prohibited by Bloomingdale School District 13.

As with all use of technology used in Bloomingdale School District 13, students using any online tools are expected to follow the District 13’s Technology Use Guidelines and to use these tools responsibly and solely for class purposes; i.e. not for sharing personal information or social networking. As previously stated, these sites are intended for educationally enriching purposes only, so if inappropriate content is posted, students will be disciplined according to the policies of the school.

Bloomingdale School District 13 believes that integrating technology in the classroom via online educational tools provides unique, safe, and worthwhile educational opportunities for students, and we hope that all students will be able to participate. By signing the Responsibility Pledge you are providing your child permission to use the various online tools utilized in Bloomingdale School District

• If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our district’s Technology Coordinator, Rick McCall at rmccall@sd13.org

Parent/Guardian Responsibility

It is the responsibility of the parent/guardian to:

• Read the technology use guidelines and school/District policies as they apply to network/Internet access and agree to their son/daughter's access by signing the responsibility pledge.

• Be aware of the contents of the policy set out by the school and the District for unacceptable and inappropriate use.

• Be aware of the risks inherent in that access, while encouraging safe and acceptable practices.

• Be responsible for any damage or loss of District equipment.

District Responsibility

• Although it is the District's goal to develop responsible users of technology, it must be understood that making network and Internet access available, even with the use of an Internet filtering service, carries with it the potential that network users will encounter sources that may be considered controversial or inappropriate. Because of this the District is not liable or responsible for the accuracy or suitability of any information that is retrieved through technology. Additionally, because no technology is guaranteed to be error-free or totally dependable, the District is not responsible for any information that may be lost, damaged or unavailable due to technical difficulties.

• Again, it is important to remember that the use of District technology is a privilege and not a right. Because of this, the District has the right to determine consequences for the abuse and/or misuse of its technological resources or properties.

Students and their parents should carefully review this agreement and the attached policy and procedures regarding permissible use of District 13 computers and access to the Internet using District 13 means of access. Parents and students should sign the responsibility pledge where indicated to evidence their agreement to follow the District rules and regulations set forth in District 13 policy and procedures regarding permissible computer use. Students will be allowed to use District computers and to access the Internet using District means pursuant to this policy and procedures after they have returned the responsibility pledge signed by the student and his/her parent or guardian.

Agreement Regarding Permissible Computer Use: Student

I have read and understand the School District's policy and procedures regarding acceptable use of District 13 computers and its access to the Internet using District 13 means of access. I consent to monitoring and inspection by school staff and administration of my use of District computers and District means of access including any and all electronic mail communications I make or attempt to make or I receive and all materials I download or access. I agree to follow the District rules and regulations regarding permissible computer use. I understand that failure to follow District rules and regulations regarding permissible computer use will result in appropriate disciplinary action that may include loss of computer access privileges.

Parent/Guardian

I have read and understand the School District's policy and procedures regarding permissible use of District 13 computers and access to the Internet using District 13 means of access. I understand that the District's network and access to the Internet is for educational purposes only. I recognize it is impossible for the District to prevent access to all non-educational materials, and that the responsibility for appropriate use of District computers ultimately rests with the computer user. I agree to instruct my child accordingly. I will hold harmless the District, its employees, agents, or Board members, for any harm caused by materials or software obtained by using District 13 computers and/or District 13 means of access to the Internet. I accept full responsibility for supervision if and when my child's use of District 13 means of access to the Internet is not in a school setting.

VIDEO SURVEILLANCE

In an effort to improve safety, security and supervision, D13 has installed video surveillance cameras throughout the school building. The cameras will be used in common areas of the school for the primary purpose of promoting a safe and secure environment for students and staff. Video recordings will only be viewed by students, parents and/or staff with an administrator present. Disciplinary action may be taken with students based on video documentation.

Access to Video Recordings:

1. Live feeds from the District’s surveillance cameras may be displayed publicly for security purposes and deterrence.

2. The District’s video recordings shall at all times be stored in a secure location.

3. The Superintendent, or any other individual specifically designated by the Superintendent, shall have access to the District’s video recordings and related equipment.

4. The Superintendent or his/her designee shall be responsible for managing and auditing the use and security of the District’s video cameras, video recordings and related equipment.

5. The Superintendent or his/her designee, which may include one or more building Principals, shall be responsible for reviewing the District’s video recordings.  From time to time, District personnel approved by the Superintendent, or law enforcement officers, may view camera feeds in real time.

6. The District’s video recordings ordinarily shall only be reviewed subsequent to the Superintendent or his/her designee receiving a report of an incident or a complaint relative to student, staff or visitor misconduct on or about the District’s property.

7. Any request by a member of the public, student, staff member or parent to review the District’s video recordings must be in writing and received by the Superintendent or his/her designee within 14 days of the date of the incident giving rise to such request.

8. The Superintendent or his/her designee shall determine whether the individual requesting to review the District’s video recordings will be granted access to the recordings.  Access to the recordings shall be the exception, and shall not be granted unrelated to an allegation of misconduct.  Requests by law enforcement authorities shall be complied with to the extent permitted or required by law.