Arp's AUP

Technology Acceptable Use Policy Guidelines

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Mission Statement: Arp schools are dedicated to helping all students become better prepared to meet the challenges of a more technological, diverse, and global society. Each learner is our paramount concern as we seek to create a learning environment where all children have the right and resources to progress and where all students are motivated to develop in both character and skills for a successful future.

OVERVIEW OF DISTRICT TECHNOLOGY INFUSION GOALS:

    1. To meet the challenge of preparing all students in Arp Independent School District (ISD) for a technologically challenging future by complying with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills guidelines as set forth by the Texas Legislature.

    2. To better inform and utilize parents, community, and business leaders in the area of technology implementation. This goal includes a biannual school board presentation on Strategic Technology Planning.

    3. Allow technology to be implemented K-12 in a sequentially valid plan that apportions equipment from simple to complex through the grade levels (i.e. Kindergarten should not utilize equipment more advanced than the high school campus.) This policy will require reapportionment and/or migration of equipment at reasonable and predictable intervals.

    4. To allow students K-12 to become more and more responsible for the use, care, and maintenance of equipment as they mature through the grades. Elementary students will be taught basic care of input and output devices. Junior high students will learn the computer system components and proper care of each. High school students will be taught to manage, maintain, and upgrade software and hardware.

    5. To more profusely Integrate technology tools in the curriculum as students move through the grade levels. New technologies, new techniques, and new skills will accompany each grade level in a logical, sequential, technology-infused curriculum, beginning in Kindergarten with keyboarding skills.

    6. To commit Arp ISD in providing all students the most effective, current and real-world technologies so that all students may gain valuable, relevant, and marketable skills.

    7. To utilize technology in the district to meet student instructional needs and District administrative needs. Planning for technology will be driven by instructional objectives, student needs in achievement, curricular and instructional strategies, and administrative assessments for effectiveness. Hardware will never drive the Technology Plan.

    8. Inter connectivity will be the priority of the Technology Plan. The ability to share resources, information, and ideas is one of the most important assets a school district can offer, second only to character development through a nurturing, caring spirit.

STANDARDS:

Arp ISD maintains high standards of ethical and acceptable use of all technology for educational purposes. To accomplish these standards the following policies will be followed:

    FACULTY & STUDENT TRAINING

Teachers requesting additional computers/technologies will complete an initial criteria interview with their campus technology coordinator to evaluate proficiency in maintenance and proper use of technology. All new equipment to the classroom will require that the teacher be professionally trained on that equipment. Teachers will document their instructional objectives involving technology in their lesson plans in order for the district to evaluate appropriate use.

All faculty/staff members are required by SB 1 (Sec. 21.451) to receive campus-based technology inservice each year. Arp ISD will provide instruction and training in current technologies and infusion techniques applicable to the classroom. All teachers are required to attend these workshops.

    A. Students and staff are required to study and understand the Arp ISD Acceptable Use Policy

    B. A completed User Agreement Contract must be on file before any training session can be attempted.

    C. Students and staff must complete the designated Browser/Internet orientation.

    D. After completion of the orientation, students and staff must successfully complete a Browser/Internet criteria assessment. A copy of this assessment is located from the Arp ISD’s home page at http://www.arp.sprnet.org

    E. Students and staff must score a 90 percentile or higher on the assessment to earn an Internet Driver’s License.

    F. If anyone fails to score the 90% or higher, they must review the orientation lesson before attempting the practicum a second time. After the second failure, the trainee will be required to attend special training sessions to develop skills and understanding. The assessment must be successfully completed before a Internet Driver’s License is issued.

    G. Anyone not completing the above stated requirements will be denied access to the Arp ISD Internet Access and Network.

    IMPLEMENTATION OF TECHNOLOGY

Documentation will be maintained by the faculty/staff member who is given technology and access to the electronic communications network during the school year. Documentation will include educational use and all hardware & software updates & maintenance. Any modifications to a system must be approved by a campus technology coordinator. Students are not allowed to perform administrative tasks on any computer, unless accompanied by a certificate of maintenance from the campus technology coordinator. Students who perform maintenance on classroom computers will be certified for that specific task and should not be allowed to perform any other type of task.

Faculty/staff members will be required to maintain ethical and copyright standards in accordance with federal and state laws. No software will be loaded on a machine that has not been approved by a campus technology coordinator. Computer maintenance policies will be followed.

    A. Access of Network & Internet will be given through student and staff password accounts. Accounts will be maintained by the individual and passwords will not be given or shared with anyone else.

    B. All use of Arp ISD’s Network and technologies must be consistent with policies and goals of the Arp Independent School District, Texas Education Agency, and Federal Education Initiatives.

    C. Any Use of the Arp ISD Network for commercial and/or for-profit purposes is expressly prohibited.

    D. Extensive use of Arp ISD Network for personal or private business is expressly prohibited.

    E. Internet Driver’s License and passwords accounts will be used only by the authorized owner of the account for an authorized purpose.

    F. Users shall not seek information on, obtain copies of, modify files, other data, or passwords belonging to other users on the network.

    G. All communications and information accessible via the Arp ISD Network shall be assumed to be private property or the property of Arp ISD.

    H. No use of the Arp ISD Network shall serve to disrupt the use of the network by others; hardware and/or software shall not be destroyed, modified, or abused in any way. Vandalism is defined as any malicious attempt to harm or destroy data of another user.

    I. Malicious use of the Arp ISD Network to develop programs that harass other users or infiltrate a computer or computing system and/or damage the software components of a computer or computing system is prohibited.

    J. Hate mail, harassment, discriminatory remarks, pornographic references or graphics, and other antisocial behaviors are prohibited on the Arp ISD Network.

    K. The illegal installation of copyrighted software for use on District computers is prohibited

    L. Any violations of the use of Arp ISD Network should be reported to the teacher, technology coordinator, or supervisor assigned to the user. You will be considered an accessory to the policy breach if you do not report seen violations.

    M. User will accept the responsibility of maintaining the integrity of the private electronic mail (e-mail) system. Users must report all violations of privacy or unacceptable contacts.

    N. User will accept the responsibility of maintaining an activated and updated version of a virus scanner on any computer that is connected to the Arp ISD Network. User will notify Network Administrator if any virus is detected and from what apparent source.

All technology will be utilized for educational purposes (i.e. games without educational objectives are not permitted at anytime and may result in the loss of privileges to technology.) If there will not be an independent assessment over the software content, it is probably not appropriate for the educational environment. If games are used for educational objectives, those objectives and the selected game must be documented in the lesson plans.

Faculty will be responsible for making sure that classroom substitute teachers are advised that computers will not be utilized by students unless specific written instructions have been left by the classroom teacher on proper/educational use of technology for a specific class period.

Failure to document use or failure to use technology for ethical and educational purposes will result in the reassignment or relocation of technology (microscopes, calculators, computers, TVs, video equipment, etc.)

Movies are not to be shown in the classroom unless there are accompanying instructional materials and objectives are documented in the lesson plans. Frequent abuse of this policy has been documented on all campuses and will no longer be tolerated. Movies that are shown in the entire length without pausing to discuss or draw conclusions will not be considered acceptable use by this district.

 STUDENT SAFETY ISSUES

Maintaining student safety must be a priority for all. Safety issues involve the following: (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!)

    R Students last names, phone numbers, addresses, or other personal information will not be utilized over any network without express permission from the student and the parent. Please help all your students understand how important it is for them to remain anonymous over the Internet. This is exactly the same precaution we use when a stranger call our home.

    R Students should not join any group of activities on the Internet that have not been recommended to them through the Texas Education Network or another legitimate educational resource.

    R Students need to be informed that networks run "log" programs. Administrators of networks can track anyone’s activity on their network. Threats, such as to the President, can and will be tracked. Arp ISD’s network has such a "log" program. Tracking of student and faculty activity is possible, if it becomes necessary. Please inform students that it is illegal to threaten, stalk, send lewd content or abuse through e-mail. Recently a judge in California sent a young student to jail for sending racially motivated "scare" mail to another student.

    R Students should be encouraged to report any unethical behavior that they encounter while using any network, whether in e-mail or at any Internet site. The FBI is actively seeking to help schools by the arrest and prosecution of those who participate in illegal activity on the Internet.

    ETHICAL USE POLICY:

In compliance with the state of Texas, Arp schools adhere to the ethical use of all technological tools, networks, and the Internet. Ethical Use is defined as the following:

Ethical Use of technologies refers to the utilization of resources, either hardware or software, in such a way as to maintain trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship -- the six pillars of ethical character. The application of which relies on each individual to:

    8DO NO HARM,

    8DO GOOD,

    8PREVENT HARM, and

    8UNDO HARM.

COMPUTER MAINTENANCE:

The following practices have been found to reduce maintenance costs. All district equipment will be used following these guidelines.

WHAT IS THE INTERNET?

The Internet is a vast global network linking millions of large and small computers all over the world. The Internet empowers individuals to communicate and collaborate with all types of agencies, research facilities, and academic resources around the world. Regardless of geographic location, the Internet provides users with a window to a world of information on almost any topic in the form of text, graphics, animation, sound, and video. The interactivity of the Internet assures students an active exchange through e-mail, list serves, broadcasts, and video conferencing that has never been possible before.

Education has played an enormous role in development and use of the Internet. Scientists, researchers, writers, technicians, and investigators all contribute to the vast resources available to those who have access. Collaboration with students from around the world assist students in solving problems or identifying global warming trends, carcinogens, water contaminates, character development, technology infusion techniques, real-world solutions to energy crisis, and much, much, more.

Services provided by education agencies such as AskERIC (Education Resource Information Clearinghouse) at http://ericir.syr.edu, U.S. Department of Education’s database at http://www.ed.gov, NASA at http://www.nasa.gov are just a few examples of the myriad's of resources available to students and faculty alike.

Arp ISD’s access to the Internet is through a Tier 1 access provider on a T1 line to tier 1 node. As members of the SUPERNet (Schools United to Provide Enhanced Resources) Consortium, we have what we believe is the fastest access in East Texas to the Internet in each of our classrooms, labs, and libraries.

    USE OF INTERNET IN CLASSROOMS AND DISTRICT NETWORK:

In order for students to be able to use the Internet in your classroom, you as a teacher must sponsor that student by having them sign and return an Acceptable Use Policy Contract. This contract will include the parent, student, and teacher’s signatures. The teacher will be the sponsor for any student who will need access to resources while under the supervision of the teacher. A student’s behavior and acceptable use of the Internet resources and school network will be directly monitored by the sponsor.

Arp ISD’s network has some filtering for content in place. However, this filtering cannot be relied on to filter all content under all circumstances, this would be an impossible task. Our network also has some protection against virus contamination and outside hacking, however, any unethical use of the network by students within the district will be a direct responsibility of the teacher who sponsors that student. Any malicious behavior or unethical use of the networks will fall under the District Discipline Management Plan as follows:

Level One Offenses:

    R First Offense of violation of Copyright Laws.

    R First Offense of misuse of equipment or defacing equipment.

    R First Offense of unethical use of network, files, or Acceptable Use Policies.

    R Accessing technologies for which one does not have permission to use (i.e. a signed Acceptable Use Contract, sharing a password, performing administrative tasks on a computer).

    R Intentionally wasting limited resources, including the use of "chain letters", MUDs, Chat Rooms, or broadcasting "SPAM" messages through mailing lists.

Level Two Offenses (Loss of Access to Network & Internet from Two to Six Weeks)

    R Continuation of any Level One Offense.

    R Disruption of learning environment due to misuse of technologies.

    R Referencing unauthorized technologies, files, or materials.

    R Minor defacing or vandalism of technology.

    R Minor damage to technology tools or resources.

    R Insubordination or failure to comply with Acceptable Use Policies.

    R Using technologies to do harm to an individual or to files or materials owned by others.

    R Endangering another student or faculty member through revealing personal information (phone number, address, full name, etc.) over any network.

Level Three Offenses (Loss of access to Network & Internet for remainder of the year, must reapply the following year)

      R Continuation of any Level Two Offense.

      R Using technology to engage in threats or unethical activities (i.e. e-mail, or shared files).

      R Using technologies without regard to human rights (such as forgery, vandalism, or password violations).

      R Deliberately accessing files or resources that are not intended for student use.

Level Four Offenses (Charges Filed & Possible Restitution)

      R Continuation of any Level Three Offense.

      R Using technology to engage in illegal acts or to solicit illegal activity.

      R Using technology to engage in or imply lewdness.

      R Violation of Copyright Laws which result in criminal offense.

      R Deliberate destruction of district files, software, network equipment, or network resources.

ARP ISD’S TECHNOLOGY PLAN:

Arp ISD’s Technology Plan was accepted by the State of Texas and certified for three years. Our goals are to:

    <Complete access to all rooms through the purchase of more computers,

    <Add remote access to our network so that students & teachers may reach our district network from home

    <Complete the School Wide Area Network so that Elementary & Secondary campuses are connected using fiber

    <Upgrade the Libraries’ resources

    <Install Video to the Desktop for distance learning initiatives.

    <Expand faculty and staff skills on network and Internet resources

    EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY PURCHASES

All purchases for technology will be coordinated with the district technology committee, campus principals, and the Technology Director to reduce redundancy and inefficiencies, and increase validity of purchases. The district technology SBM committee will hold regularly scheduled meetings -- at least twice a year. All members of the district and community are invited to attend. These meetings will be posted in newsletters and announcements.

    EVALUATION OF TECHNOLOGY INFUSION:

Regular evaluation of technology infusion will be a part of Arp ISD's Acceptable Use Policies and the PDAS. Teachers will maintain data (in lesson plans or gradebook) to help faculty and administrators assess the success of technology infusion as related to achieving campus performance objectives. Arp schools will utilize the criteria in the Emergent Practices Components Evaluation tool to determine if infusion strategies are meeting student needs, and the TCET evaluation tools for assessing student progress. These tools will be distributed once early in the year and once late in the year to parents, students, and faculty members. As part of a statewide research project, Arp schools will actively gather important qualitative and quantitative data for the purpose of building better improvement plans.

    FACULTY EXIT POLICY:

All teachers afforded technology by the district will be required to have an exit interview with a campus technology coordinator for discussion of equipment status. In the case of improper use, damage or loss, the employee may be held fiscally responsible.

  STUDENT TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY GUIDELINES:

Students of Arp ISD will properly utilize technologies. Proper use includes real-world problem-solving, independent and group productivity, research, design, and synthesis of ideas, and/or simulation exploration, experimentation, assessment and evaluation processes.

All students will understand basic and complex system design, maintenance, and acceptable use policies. Students wishing to utilize the district network and Internet resources will be required have a teacher sponsor their access and each student must sign and have their parent’s sign the Acceptable Use Contract.

All students will be required to follow ethical use, and copyright laws. Infringement of these policies will result in restriction or limited use of technology in Arp ISD. Public domain software may not be uploaded or downloaded by a student without written permission from the campus technology coordinator. The coordinator will assist the student in properly checking the software for viruses before it is utilized by a user in the district.

Technology tools are provided by the district for appropriate educational objectives (i.e. games such as Solitaire, will not be played during school hours). Students utilizing technology for unauthorized purposes may be restricted from or lose privileges to district technologies.

Students will maintain equipment and report any equipment failure, damage or loss to their teacher. A student's failure to report important damage or loss may result in restricted use or loss of privileges to technologies. Since technology equipment is school property, student violation or abuse of this equipment will be subject to disciplinary action as defined in the District Discipline Management Plan.

All e-mail will be retain for no longer than six weeks on the Arp Independent School District’s Network, unless authorized by the District Technology Coordinator. Students and staff are responsible for deleting old messages and keeping their e-mail below 500 Kbytes of server disk space. Attempts at forgery of electronic mail, password accounts, and files are expressly prohibited.

 
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