Section I. Introduction
This
document represents the official policy governing use of computers and
computer networks in the Portola Valley School District (PVSD). Members
of the Network Community (i.e. users) may include but are not limited to
students, teachers, administrators, support staff, local community
members, consultants and experts in a variety of fields. All members of
the Network Community wishing to use these networks are required to read
and sign a compliance agreement form. Students wishing to participate
as active members of PVSD’s Network Community must sign, and have a
parent or guardian sign, and return the Student Responsible Use of
Technology Agreement at the beginning of each school year. Certificated
employees wishing to participate as active members of PVSD’s Network
Community must sign the Employee Technology Acceptable Use Agreement.
The
following sections of the Network Use Agreement (NUA) provide
guidelines and rules for safety and courtesy that the PVSD School Board
and school administration feel are consistent with the mission of the
school district. These guidelines govern network use in all classrooms
and computer lab facilities. This agreement will be reviewed annually
and amended as needed.
Section II: What is the PVSD Network
The
Portola Valley School District (PVSD) schools are wired into a Local
Area Network (LAN) that electronically links our two campuses (Ormondale
and Corte Madera). This LAN provides access to a worldwide network
called the Internet. The Internet enables computers and mobile devices
around the world to share information with one another. Because of this
infrastructure, Portola Valley students are able to access millions of
local, national, and international digital resources. Currently,
network users (i.e. the Network Community) can access resources and
software through: 1. the file and web servers, 2. individual computers
and mobile devices, and 3. the Internet. Students and teachers are able
to store work in folders on the servers and in the cloud for their
exclusive use. The PVSD technology staff stands ready to assist any and
all users.
Section III: Who May Use the PVSD Network
The
school district’s goal in providing Internet service to its family of
users (students, teachers, administrators, staff, and authorized
community members) is to promote resource sharing, innovation, and
communication. The Portola Valley School District believes in the
educational value of the Internet and recognizes its potential in
supporting and enriching student learning, enhancing curriculum
delivery, and promoting internal and external communications.
Guidelines for access to information have been established in the Library Bill of Rights (www.ala.org)
which states “A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or
abridged because of origin, background, or views.” The PVSD network is
considered an extension of our academic program and, as such, use of
the network facilities is deemed a privilege enjoyed by all.
Access
to the Internet is now widely available to all tiers of users. All
users (i.e. students and staff) will be asked to sign and have on file
the Responsible Use of Technology Agreements at the beginning of every
school year.
Section IV. Child Protection and Safety Act (CIPA)
By
employing filtering software, PVSD has made every effort to protect its
students from any misuses or abuses as a result of their experiences
with the Internet. PVSD employs a technology protection measure that
blocks inappropriate content. However, it must be understood that PVSD
does not control Internet content and cannot guarantee that students
will not, on occasion, accidentally access inappropriate material. Nor
can PVSD protect students whose intentions are to intentionally seek out
inappropriate material. Ultimately, it is the parent(s) or guardian(s)
of minor children who must set and convey the standards that children
maintain while away from home. PVSD shall provide age-appropriate
instruction regarding appropriate online behavior, including but not
limited to interacting with other individuals on social network
websites, chat rooms, cyberbullying awareness and response.
Section V: Monitoring of the PVSD Network
It
is the intent of the Portola Valley School District that students will
employ the network for purposes consistent with the district curriculum
and state content standards; much the same as libraries and other
audio-visual resources are currently used. Qualified staff members
monitor students as they use the network facilities. Students are not
permitted in lab/library facilities or classrooms unless an adult is
present.
The
Internet, because it is a very “public” place, is home to public files
of all types. Every client using the Internet shares “cyberspace” with
all other users. For the Portola Valley School District, this means any
site any user visits can be monitored and recorded by the network
administrators. Any information, including email, that is sent or
received by any user can be monitored by PVSD network administrators.
Therefore, whether the PVSD network user is browsing the Internet for
research purposes, playing an online game, visiting a website for
district business or educational purposes, or corresponding through
electronic mail, privacy is never assured.
Section VI: Portola Valley School District Reserved Rights
PVSD reserves
all rights to any material stored in files that are generally
accessible to users. Furthermore, PVSD will take action to remove any
material that the staff, at their sole discretion, believes to be
unlawful, obscene, pornographic, abusive, racist, sexist, or otherwise
objectionable. School administrative and technology staff will determine
what is inappropriate and their decision is final. The school
administration, any teacher, or other school staff member may request
the denial, revocation, or suspension of network privileges of the
offending users, including students.
Section VII: Specific Responsibilities of Network Community Members
Below
are listed examples of behavioral expectations while connected to the
Network. Users found to be willfully breaching these expectations will
be subject to consequences as stated in this policy.
▪ Passwords
Passwords
are not to be shared with anyone at any time. Users are fully
accountable for use of their password-protected account(s) and will be
held responsible for all activity traced to it. Consequences for policy
violations fall on the owner of the account.
▪ Network Performance
• Respect bandwidth and network performance. Downloading large files is prohibited for other than academic purposes.
•
Staff will be notified immediately of any suspected infiltration by a
virus. Users will not knowingly introduce viruses into the network
environment.
•
The Computer Crime Bill 1979 makes certain activities a felony
punishable by law. Some examples of illegal activities involving
computers and computer networks may be, but are not limited to, the
following: accessing, altering, deleting, damaging, or destroying any
computer system, computer network, or computer program, with malicious
intent. The PVSD Network will not be used for purposes that might be
perceived as illegal. This includes any form of online gambling as well
as tampering with computer hardware or installed software, unauthorized
entry into computer hard drives (hacking), and/or vandalism or
destruction of existing network files. Such activity is considered
punishable under State and Federal statutes as well as under the
conditions of this policy.
▪ Copyright
•
All users will honor the rules of copyright and ownership of
intellectual property. Copyrighted information may not be used,
borrowed, or sold unless specific written permission has been granted by
the copyright holder. Text, music, images, and other files from the
Internet or from external media sources are protected under Federal law
and may not be appropriated into student work without proper citation.
Taking information and calling it one’s own is plagiarism. Plagiarism is
copyright infringement and can become a legal issue as well as a
discipline issue.
• Students will be instructed in appropriate citation of digital material as part of their library and/or classroom curriculum.
▪ Student e-Mail Accounts
•
Students will access their PVSD email accounts for educational
purposes only. This may include transferring curriculum related files.
During the school day, students will be permitted to do so only under
the supervision of the classroom teacher and using district authorized
computers or mobile devices.
•
Email to classroom collaborators and teachers will ONLY be permitted as
part of curriculum driven projects. With teacher supervision, students
may collaborate to construct a message and send it using their assigned
PVSD email account.
▪ Language and e-Conduct
•
Appropriate language will be required of all users on the computers or
in lab and classroom facilities. Slang, vulgarity, and innuendo are
examples of inappropriate language. Written profanity and obscenity are
never permitted as part of email, word processing, live chat, or other
text based computer programs. Oral profanity and obscenity are not
permitted at any time.
•
Courtesy and politeness in all digital communications is expected.
Users will avoid offensive, provocative, or inflammatory text in email
communications, word processing documents, and all other text based
communications. Personal attacks and cyberbullying are expressly
prohibited. Victims of such “flame” attacks will bring the incident to
the attention of the supervising teacher or a school administrator
immediately.
•
Impersonation of any user, seeking refuge in anonymity, or the use of
pseudonyms are strictly forbidden. Individuals seeking the privilege of
using the PVSD network will be responsible for their own actions at all
times.
▪ Pornography
Users
of the PVSD network will not access the Internet (or provide access to
others) to obtain, view, download, or otherwise gain materials that are
generally seen as unlawful, obscene, pornographic, abusive, racist,
sexist, or otherwise objectionable and that may be harmful to minors.
▪ Harassment
If
a user on the PVSD network requests that contact from another user
cease, the initiator of that contact is to stop immediately. Ignoring a
request to cease email or other electronic contact can be construed as
harassment and can become a legal issue.
▪ Consideration
Priority
is given to those members needing Internet access for school
assignments and related projects. Members will be considerate of others
and relinquish computer workstations when asked.
▪ Safety
Any
private or personal information about oneself or others must never be
conveyed over the Internet. This includes full name, nickname, age,
address, phone number, login name, home email, bank or credit card
numbers, or other items of personal identification. If a member of the
PVSD Network approaches any user with a request for personal
information, the request must be brought to the immediate attention of
the teacher, lab supervisor, or technology team member.
▪ Personal Computers
•
The PVSD Network provides all hardware (i.e. computers, peripherals and
mobile devices) and software applications necessary for the
satisfactory completion of required work. Accommodations may be made to
attach teacher, student, or district visitor personal computers and
mobile devices to the PVSD network and will be at the discretion of the
district Technology Director. Personal devices must be approved in
advance and must meet the district minimum specifications indicated on
the Responsible Use of Technology agreement. (NOTE: Specific
adaptive technology for special education students will be reviewed on a
case-by-case basis.)
• File Sharing
•
Every effort to allow students and teachers to share files between home
and school will be made. Some common file types that can be
accommodated through Internet email and/or external media include: .doc,
.txt, .xls, .ppt, .jpeg/jpg, .pict, .tiff, and .wav. The district
provides each student with a PVSD Google account and this is the first
choice to file storage and sharing.
▪ Parent Volunteers
•
All adult users of the PVSD Network (e.g. aides, volunteers, etc.)
will be required to return a signed and dated Network Use Agreement.
Principals, with support from teachers and office personnel, will
communicate and facilitate this policy.
•
Parent volunteers, charged with supervising students in computer use
situations (e.g. in the labs or classroom mini-labs), will do so under
the supervision of the cooperating teacher and will have monitoring
status only.
▪ Classroom teachers and lab supervisors will be responsible for instructing students in specific software applications.
▪ Parent volunteers will not enter student grades into teacher grade book programs.
▪ Parent volunteers will not be permitted to assist teachers with the completion of any portion of K-8 student progress reports.
▪
Parent volunteers will not be permitted to access the Student
Information System database unless approved by the superintendent.
▪ Parent volunteers will not be permitted to access any databases housing student data.
Section VIII. Guidelines for Internet Browsing
▪ Lab and classroom procedures will be used to curtail excessive use of printing resources while engaged in Internet research.•
Internet searches will be limited to reasonable amounts of time. Users
will download and print only what is absolutely necessary for school
projects and district business. Teachers will instruct students in a
variety of ways to “take notes” from Internet sites.
▪
PVSD Network users will refrain from entering Internet chat rooms and
social networking sites (including but not limited to FormSpring,
Facebook, Club Penguin, Tumblr, WebKinz, etc.)
Section IX: Posting Student Work or Photos to the World Wide Web
▪
The Internet is very much a part of the curriculum at both the
Ormondale and Corte Madera campuses of the Portola Valley School
District (PVSD). And with the Internet comes exciting possibilities for
expanding learning and the desire to publish classroom activities and
student work. There are responsibilities that must accompany the use of
the unrestricted resources of the World Wide Web.
▪
As with all activities that occur within the school program, PVSD
faculty and administrators accept the burden of responsibility for
Internet activity for researching or publishing. Our Network Use and
Internet Policy and the general ethical and moral conduct of all users
govern the environment of cyberspace accessed through the PVSD network.
▪ The following represents some basic guidelines for using the Internet to publish web pages.
Purposes of Publishing Web Pages (Teachers)
▪
The educational objectives of a teacher-designed web site must be
approved by the district Site Administrator prior to posting.
▪ Teacher web pages may:
• Provide a publicly available location for display of student work,
• Provide a publicly available location for the celebration of student accomplishment,
• Offer curriculum-specific resources created in the classroom,
• Provide links to external sources of information on curriculum related topics,
• Allow for feedback from students and community members regarding topics under study,
• Provide classroom news (e.g. homework, field trip information, etc.) to parents, students, and/or the wider community,
• Introduce visitors to the campus, the classroom, or the community, and/or
• Offer an activity or a competition.
Purposes of Publishing Web Pages (Students)
•
The educational aims of a student designed web site must be limited in
nature and approved by the classroom teacher prior to posting.
• Opportunities for student designed web sites will be supervised by the classroom teacher.
•Student web pages may
▪ Display curriculum driven projects or presentations,
▪ Introduce visitors to the campus, the classroom, or the community, or
▪ Convey content for the purposes of educational competition (e.g.Think Quest).