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The
ABC's of Web Site Evaluation
Rules of the Lincoln Community School Network and the Online World “Netiquette” is a made up word that means practicing polite, caring and safe behaviors when using computer networks in a school community or on the World Wide Web. What we do affects ourselves and other users. It also has a direct impact on the healthy operation of our Local Area Network. When we use computers, we need to follow an honor system: · Log onto your own folder only.
The computers and the Internet are primarily for school related activities, such as homework, research, etc. · Access for assigned schoolwork has priority.
Safety Guidelines: · No downloading any software from the Internet.
STOP
at any message asking you to download or install and cancel.
Acceptable Use Policy (adopted by full Lincoln Board 9/21/95) Lincoln Elementary School
Policy Area: Curriculum and Pupils
Section 1500
The goal of the Lincoln Community School is to promote innovation and educational excellence in our school. To support this goal we must provide our entire educational community with the best and most economical information and communication resources. Because of the complex connections between so many government agencies and networks in creating and using the Internet, the end user of any of these networks must behave within strict guidelines. These guidelines are provided so students and parents are aware of the responsibilities they assume when using the Internet or any other form of telecommunications. Our school's technology advisory group will review these rules on a regular basis. Terms and Conditions 1. Use of the Internet will take place in closely supervised learning situations in line with the curriculum goals of the school. Students and their parents or guardians are advised that some areas of the Internet contain inappropriate information for elementary school children. We do not condone the use of such materials and do not permit the use of such materials in the school environment. Parents or guardians need to be aware of the existence of such materials and must monitor home usage of telecommunications. 2. When using another organization's telecommunications area, the user is expected to follow the rules set up by that particular group. 3. Classroom accounts shall be used only in supervised learning situations. 4. To maintain the privacy of individual students, names, home addresses and phone numbers will not be revealed on-line. 5. Students and parents should be aware that any communication may be read by anyone, anywhere. Therefore, communication should be appropriate, ethical and polite. "Netiquette" guidelines shall be reviewed by the teacher with students before they have Internet access. 6. Use of telecommunications for commercial purposes, product advertisement or political lobbying is prohibited. 7. Unsupervised game playing and chatting are not acceptable use of telecommunications. 8. Only staff members shall have Internet accounts. 9. Students will not engage in unsupervised file transfer. 10. Copyrighted material will not be placed on the system without the author's permission. Only the owner or persons they specify may upload copyrighted material to the Internet. 11. Only account holders may upload public domain programs to the Internet. Only account holders may download public domain programs for their own use or non commercially redistribute a public domain program. The account holder assumes all risks regarding the determination of whether a program is in the public domain. 12. If a telecommunications user abuses or vandalizes the system by inappropriate use, uploading viruses or violating any laws, that user shall lose telecommunication privileges and will be subject to school disciplinary and/or legal procedures. The system supervisor will deem what is inappropriate. The administration, teachers and/or staff may request the system supervisor to deny, revoke or suspend specific user privileges. Students are encouraged to report abuse or vandalism of the system to the system supervisor. 13. Telecommunications is a shared system, and therefore it is important that users are respectful of the need for others to use the system. It is understood that learning to use this resource will take time, but users should expect to use the system for a reasonable, not excessive, amount of time. 14. Use of telecommunications is a privilege. Although citizens have a right to information, use of the information in this format is not a given and may be denied based on student use, or abuse, of this system. 15. Staff, students and parents will agree to indemnify our schools and the system administrator for any losses, costs or damages relating to, or arising out of, any breach of this acceptable use policy and agree to reimburse the school for any loss or damages incurred on account of such breach. 16. We believe that the valuable information and interaction available on this network far outweigh the possibility of users procuring material that is not consistent with the educational goals of our elementary. Reviewed by the Board: 8/21/95
Acceptable Use Policy (proposed
and posted for review, November 2002)
Lincoln School District
Section 1500
Policy Area: Curriculum and Pupils
The goal of Lincoln Elementary School is to promote critical thinking and educational excellence in our school. To achieve this, we must provide equitable and cost effective information and communication resources to the educational community. Effective performance of computer and telecommunications networks relies upon users adhering to established standards of proper conduct. The administration will be responsible for the development and implementation of regulations that define the responsibilities of Lincoln Community School employees and students in using the network and Internet resources provided by public funds. These regulations are defined in the Acceptable Use Procedures and are in accordance with other district policies. The Lincoln Community School network has been established for a limited educational purpose. The term "educational purpose" includes classroom activities, career development, and individual use limited by educational guidelines and regulations described in the Acceptable Use Procedures. The Lincoln Community School network is not a public access service or a public forum. Lincoln Community School has the right to place reasonable restrictions on the material accessed or posted through the system. It is the policy of the Lincoln Community School Board to comply with the statutory requirements of the Children's Internet Protection Act. Filtering software or services is required on all computers with access to the Internet. In order to prevent access to visual depictions that are obscene, child pornography or other materials harmful to minors, procedures for ensuring Internet safety, described in the Acceptable Use Procedures, address access by minors to inappropriate matter on the Internet and World Wide Web; the safety and security of minors when using electronic mail, chat rooms, and other forms of direct electronic communications; unauthorized access, including so-called "hacking," and other unlawful activities by minors online; unauthorized disclosure, use, and dissemination of personal information regarding minors; and monitoring measures designed to restrict minor's access to materials harmful to minors. Staff members will receive proper training and students will receive adequate supervision while using the system. Users will be required to signify agreement with the terms and conditions set forth in the Acceptable Use Procedures and to signify acknowledgement that abuse or misuse of the network may result in the termination of use and/or additional disciplinary measures. Users are also expected to follow the rules set forth in school handbooks and the law in use of the Lincoln Community School network. Violation of the policy and related procedures may result in disciplinary action and/or referral to local, state or federal law enforcement officials where appropriate. Lincoln Community School's Web Site will directly support school curriculum, program, mission, and vision. The Superintendent or his/her designee shall develop, implement, and from time to time, review and amend as appropriate, procedures to carry out this policy. Attachments:
LINCOLN COMMUNITY SCHOOL
A. Educational Purpose 1. The Lincoln Community School’s network has a limited educational purpose. Users may not use the Lincoln Community School network for commercial purposes. Users may not offer, provide, or purchase products or services for personal use through the Bristol Elementary School network. 2. Users may not use the Lincoln Community School network for political lobbying, but may use the system to communicate with elected representatives. B. Free Speech The right to free speech, as set forth in the Lincoln Community School disciplinary code, applies also to communication on the Internet. The Lincoln Community School network is considered a limited forum, and therefore the school may restrict speech for valid educational reasons. The school will not restrict speech on the basis of a disagreement with the opinions expressed as long as the rules described within these procedures are not violated. C. Student Internet Access 1. All students will have supervised access to the Internet World Wide Web information resources through their classroom, library, or school computer lab except as limited, blocked, or filtered by the use of filtering software or services for visual depictions considered (1) obscene, (2) child pornography, or (3) “harmful to minors.” D. Employee Internet Access 1. All employees will have access to the Internet, World
Wide Web information resources
2. Employees must sign the Acceptable Use Policy Agreement form. 3. Employee violations will be handled in accord with District policy and the collective bargaining agreement. E. Web Publishing Guidelines 1. Copyright law and district policy do not allow text or graphics found on the World Wide Web to be re-published on the Lincoln Community School Web Site without the explicit written permission of the original producer. The permission will be documented and submitted to the Web Master. ( In the case of public domain documents, printed evidence must be provided to document the status of the materials.) 2. Student work may only be published if there is written permission from both parent and student. 3. Each web page developer will ensure spelling, content, and grammatical accuracy. 4. Web page developers will adhere to the guidelines and rules that ensure a safe and effective publishing environment. a. Student documents will be identifiable by initials, aliases, or pen names only. b. Content is current and updated. c. Published documents do not include student or staff personal information (i.e. home telephone number, street address or box number, family member names, or parent/guardian work addresses or phone numbers) d. Proper communications etiquette is utilized. e. Documents will not include any information that indicates the physical location of a student at a given time. f. Documents will not contain nor link to illegal, or defamatory material. 5. All links will have educational/communication purpose. 6. Materials published on the Lincoln Community School Web Site must meet the requirements of the Web Site Publishing Guidelines. The Web Master will monitor for compliance. Individuals may appeal the decision of the Web Master to the Administration. F. Personal Safety 1. Users will not post personal contact information about themselves or other people. Personal contact information includes address, telephone, school address, work address, etc. 2. Students will not agree to meet with someone met online. 3. Students will promptly disclose to their teacher or other school employee any message received that is inappropriate or makes the student feel uncomfortable. G. Illegal Activities 1. Users will not attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Lincoln Community School network or to any other computer system through this network or go beyond authorized access. This includes attempting to log in through another person’s account or accessing another person’s files. These actions are illegal, even if only for the purposes of “browsing”. 2. Users will not make deliberate attempts to disrupt the computer system, engage in “hacking,” or destroy data by spreading computer viruses or by any other means. These actions are illegal. 3. Users will not use the Lincoln Community School network to access materials or engage in any activity which the District deems to be potentially harmful, inappropriate, illegal and/or non-educational. H. System Security 1. Users are responsible for their individual accounts and should take all reasonable precautions to prevent others from being able to use their accounts. Under no conditions should the user provide his/her password to another person. Individual users can be held accountable for use of their accounts by others. 2. Users will immediately notify a teacher or the system administrator if they have identified a possible security problem. I. Inappropriate Language 1. Restrictions against inappropriate language apply to public messages, private messages, and material posted on web pages. 2. Users will not use obscene, profane, lewd, vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, or disrespectful language. 3. Users will not post information that could cause damage or a danger of disruption. 4. Users will not engage in personal attacks, including prejudicial or discriminatory attacks. 5. Users will not harass another person. Harassment is persistently acting in a manner that distresses or annoys another person. If a user is told by a person to stop sending them messages, the user must stop. 6. Users will not knowingly or recklessly post false or defamatory information about a person or organization. J. Respect for Privacy 1. Users will not repost a message that was sent to them privately without permission of the person who sent the message. 2. Users will not post private information about another person. K. Respecting Resource Limits 1. Users will use the system only for educational and career development activities and limited, high-quality, personal research activities. There is no limit on use for education and career development activities. Use for personal research activities shall be limited to times when the computers are not used for educational activities. 2. Users will not download large files unless absolutely necessary and with permission of the system administrator. If necessary, the file should be downloaded at a time when the system is not being heavily used. 3. Users will not post chain letters or engage in ”spamming”. Spamming is sending an annoying or unnecessary message to a large number of people. 4. Users will check e-mail frequently, delete unwanted messages promptly. L. Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement 1. Users will not plagiarize works that are found on the Internet. Plagiarism is taking the ideas or writing of others and presenting them as if they were yours. 2. Users will respect the rights of copyright owners. Copyright infringement occurs when a user inappropriately reproduces a work that is protected by a copyright. If a work contains language that specifies appropriate use of that work, the expressed requirements should be followed. If the user is unsure whether or not a work can be used, the user should request permission from the copyright owner. M. Inappropriate Access to Material 1. Users will not use the Lincoln Community School network to access material that is profane or obscene (pornography), that advocates illegal acts, or that advocates violence or discrimination towards other people (hate literature). A special exception may be made if the purpose of access is to conduct research and the teacher has pre-approved the topic. 2. Students may not connect their personal laptops to the school network. Any presentations from personal laptops must be accomplished by connecting to an LCD panel, not through the network. 3. If a user mistakenly accesses inappropriate information, the user should immediately tell a teacher. This will protect the user against a claim that he has intentionally violated this policy. 4. Parents should instruct students if there are additional materials that they think would be inappropriate to access. The district fully expects that students will follow the parent’s instructions in this matter. N. Search and Seizure 1. Users should expect only limited privacy in the contents of personal files on the school system. 2. Routine maintenance and monitoring of the Lincoln Community School network may lead to discovery that users have violated this policy, the disciplinary code, or the law. 3. An individual search will be conducted if there is reasonable suspicion that users have violated this policy, the disciplinary code, or the law. The investigation will be reasonable and related to the suspected violation. O. Due Process 1. The school will cooperate fully with local, state, or federal officials in any investigation related to any illegal activities conducted through the Lincoln Community School network. 2. In the event there is a claim that a student has violated the Lincoln Community School Acceptable Use Procedures or the disciplinary code in the use of the Lincoln Community School network, the student will be provided with a written notice of the suspected violation and an opportunity to be heard in the manner set forth by the school disciplinary procedures. Disciplinary actions will be tailored to meet specific concerns related to the violation and to assist the student in gaining the self-discipline necessary to behave appropriately on an electronic network. If the alleged violation also involves a violation of other provisions of the Lincoln Community School Handbook of Rules, the violation will be handled in accord with applicable provision of the disciplinary code. 3. Staff member infractions will be dealt with in accordance with contractual agreements. 4. Violation of these Procedures may result in loss of account. The principal will decide the duration of time for exclusion and other appropriate discipline procedures. P. Limitation of Liability Lincoln Community School makes no guarantee that the functions or the services provided by or through the Lincoln Community School network will be error-free or without defect. The school will not be responsible for any damage a user may suffer, including but not limited to, loss of data or interruptions of service. Other than for student records, Lincoln Community School is not responsible for the accuracy or quality of the information obtained through or stored on the system. Lincoln Community School will not be responsible for financial obligations arising through the unauthorized use of the system. Q. Personal Liability Users of the Lincoln Community School network assume responsibility
for costs incurred as a result of their own carelessness, negligence, or
intentional misuse of the network.
Staff Agreement on Use of Technology I have been given the privilege of using technology owned by the Lincoln Community School District in the form of access to telecommunications and computer hardware and software. I understand that this is a privilege and not a right of my employment and that I must employ this technology in a manner that complies with the District's policies. I understand that the District extends no rights of privacy or ownership to work completed by me on District-owned technology. I understand that it is prohibited for me to: 1. Use the District's technology for my personal gain or profit or for any commercial use not sanctioned by the School District; 2. Use any software or technology in a manner inconsistent
with the District's/
3. Distribute any information about any student's records or files to persons outside the school system, unless such distribution is authorized by law or there is written permission from the parent/guardian or student to do so; 4. Use offensive, obscene or racially demeaning language in any communications; 5. Download software protected by copyrights; and 6. Store personal software on any computer owned by the District. 7. I understand that the School Board may revoke these privileges at any time and that any illegal activity will be reported to the appropriate authorities. My signature on this document indicates that I have received and understand the School District's policy and procedures and that I agree to abide by their terms. Name (Printed)_________________________ Signature _____________________________ Date__________________________________
Reviewed by the Board: 9/5/95
Revised: June 2002
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