• INTERNET CONNECTIVITY AND TECHNOLOGY TOOLSDUXBURY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACCEPTABLE USE GUIDELINES

    These guidelines are based on the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) and its fourguiding principles of: respect, privacy, sharing, and safety. These guidelines areappropriate for all technology users and we encourage parents to follow these guidelinesin their own homes. Duxbury Public School (DPS) provides access to electronicresources that promote educational excellence, sharing of information, innovativeinstruction, and online communication to enhance Millennial Learners’ ability to live andwork in the 21st century. Online communication constitutes email, Internet, blogging,any use of network resources, etc. DPS electronic resources include, but are not limited toall hardware, software, data, communication devices, printers, servers, filtered Internetaccess, and local and wide area networks.

    Online communication is critical for Millennial Learners to apply 21st Century Skills andemploy tools such as interactive websites, blogs, video conferencing, podcasts, etc whichoffer authentic opportunities for students to express and share information. To keepstudents safe and comply with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA), theAcceptable Use Guideline is put in place and updated to accommodate for the manyeducation and global changes to date. This Acceptable Use Guideline is written for allthose who use school provided Network connections. These connections may be used forclassroom blogs, student emails, podcast projects, interactive websites, and any otheroccasion students, teachers, or community members use school Network space.

    The following is a statement of rules and guidelines for the acceptable use of electronicinformation resources. These are provided to help understand what is acceptable behaviorwith the use of technology. While these rules and guidelines detail acceptable use ofelectronic information resources anywhere, these are rules and guidelines under which allmembers of the DPS community (students and staff) will be held accountable.

    USAGE GUIDELINE

    DPS provides students and staff access to various electronic resources including a widerange of educational materials through Internet and computer online services. DPS usescontent filtering technology in compliance with CIPA on all school computers withInternet access to protect against unacceptable web content. However, no web filteringtechnology is 100% safe. DPS realizes this fact and takes every effort to monitor onlineactivity.

    Student Safety. Do not send any message that includes personal information such as:home address, personal phone numbers and/or last name for yourself or any other person.Likewise, the staff is not permitted to post this information to public domains (i.e. classweb page or Internet). Student pictures and/or work may be included on district/ school/classroom websites without identifying captions unless the site is password protected.

    May 12, 2010

    INTERNET CONNECTIVITY AND TECHNOLOGY TOOLSDUXBURY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACCEPTABLE USE GUIDELINES

    Extended Safety K- 5. Teachers of students in grades K-2 will access appropriatewebsites for their students. Students in grades 3-5 may not attempt to access any Internetresource without the prior consent of the teacher.

    Password Protection. Internet passwords are provided for each user’s personal use onlyand are, therefore, confidential. Never share your password, steal or use another person’spassword. If you suspect that someone has discovered your password, you should changeit immediately and notify your teacher or administrator who in turn will notify thenetwork administrator or the technology director. As words are easily hacked, whenestablishing a password one should keep in mind that strong passwords consist of acombination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.

    Privacy. E-mail is no more private than a postcard. Students and staff need to know thatfiles stored on school computers are not private. Network and Internet access is providedas a tool for educational purposes only. The District has the right to monitor, inspect,copy, review and store at any time and without prior notice any and all usage of thecomputer network and Internet access including transmitted and received information.All information files are the property of the District and no user shall have anyexpectation of privacy regarding such files. Federal Law requires that all email sent andreceived be stored for a period of ‘seven years’.

    Online Etiquette. Follow the guidelines of accepted behaviors within the schoolhandbook. Use appropriate language and graphics. Swearing, vulgarities, suggestive,obscene, belligerent, harassing, threatening or abusive language of any kind is notacceptable. Do not use school online access to make, distribute, or redistribute jokes,stories, cyber bullying, obscene material or material which is based on slurs orstereotypes relating to race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or sexual orientation.

    Messaging. Teachers may incorporate: email, blogs, podcasts, video conferencing,online collaborations, PDAs, IMing, texting, Virtual Learning Environments and otherforms of direct electronic communications (i.e. cell phones, PDAs, cameras) or Web 2.0applications for educational purposes. Although teachers monitor student online activity,it is the direct responsibility of the user to comply with this acceptable use policy.

    Blogging/Podcasting. Uses of blogs, podcasts or other Web 2.0 tools are considered anextension of the classroom. Whether at home or in school, any speech that is consideredinappropriate in the classroom is also inappropriate in all uses of blogs, podcasts, or otherWeb 2.0 tools. Students using blogs, podcasts or other Web 2.0 tools are expected to actsafely by keeping ALL personal information out of their posts. Comments made onschool related blogs should follow the rules of online etiquette detailed above and will bemonitored by school personnel. If inappropriate, they will be deleted. Never link to websites from a blog without reading the entire article to make sure it is appropriate for aschool setting.

    May 12, 2010

    INTERNET CONNECTIVITY AND TECHNOLOGY TOOLSDUXBURY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACCEPTABLE USE GUIDELINES

    Plagiarism/Copyright/Licensing. Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's words orideas as your own. Students are required to give proper credit to all Internet sources usedin academic assignments, whether quoted or summarized. This includes all forms ofmedia on the Internet, such as graphics, movies, music, and text. Plagiarism of Internetresources will be treated in the same manner as any other incidences of plagiarism, asstated in the school handbook. In addition, all students and faculty must adhere to thecopyright laws of the Unites States (P.L. 94-553) and the Congressional Guidelines thatdelineate it regarding software, authorship, and copying information. All students andfaculty should also adhere to the Creative Commons licenses where the author/artistdenotes what media may be shared, remixed, or reused.

    Proxies. The use of anonymous proxies to get around content filtering is strictlyprohibited and is a direct violation of this agreement.

    Illegal Activities. Use of the network for any illegal activities is prohibited. Illegalactivities include, but are not limited to: (a) tampering with computer hardware orsoftware, (b) software piracy (c) unauthorized entry into computers and files (hacking),(d) knowledgeable vandalism or destruction of equipment, (e) deletion of computer filesbelonging to someone other than oneself, (f) uploading or creating of computer viruses,(g) distribution of obscene or pornographic materials, and (h) sexting. Such activity isconsidered a crime under state and federal law. Users must be aware that any illegalaction carried out over the Internet will be reported to law enforcement officials forpossible prosecution. Please be advised, it is a federal offense (felony) to break into anysecurity system. Financial and legal consequences of such actions are the responsibilityof the user (staff, volunteer, and student) and student’s parent or guardian.

    TERMS OF AGREEMENT

    The Duxbury Public Schools reserve the right to deny, revoke or suspend specific userprivileges and/or to take other disciplinary action, up to and including suspension,expulsion (students), or dismissal (staff) for violations of these Guidelines. The Districtwill advise appropriate law enforcement agencies of illegal activities conducted throughthe Duxbury Internet Connection. The District also will cooperate fully with local, state,and/or federal officials in any investigation related to any illegal activities conductedthrough the service. The school district and its representatives are not responsible for theactions of the users or the information they access.

    May 12, 2010

    INTERNET CONNECTIVITY AND TECHNOLOGY TOOLSDUXBURY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ACCEPTABLE USE GUIDELINES

    INTERNET RELEASE FORM

    In order for a student to access the Internet, a parent/guardian and the student must signand return this consent form by (date).

    ____ I GIVE my permission to DPS (or specific school) to allow my child computeraccess to the Internet or online services and my child agrees to the usage guideline listedherein.

    ____ I DO NOT GIVE permission to DPS to allow my child computer access to theInternet or online services. Since the school cannot always prevent student access to suchservices, I have directed my child not to access the Internet or online services.

    ELECTRONIC RELEASE FORM

    ___ I give permission to display my child’s image___ I give permission to display my child's voice.___ I give permission to display my child's work

    ___ I do not want my child’s image to be displayed___ I do not want my child’s work to be displayed.___ I do not want my child's voice to be displayed

    Parent Signature _______________________________________________________

    Student Signature ______________________________________________________