Technology Appropriate Use Guidelines

Purpose of Technology in 4J

The two overarching purposes for using technology in Eugene School District 4J are to enhance the teaching and learning environment and to improve the district operations.

The use of 4JNet by students and staff shall be in accordance with the core beliefs of the Eugene School District 4J:

• Do what's best for students
• Continue to learn and grow
• Respect and care about each other

Providing access to 4JNet is an investment in the future of all students and staff. As a district we believe that electronic communication is a tool for life-long learning, and that access to 4JNet is one resource that promotes educational and organizational excellence. Responsible use of 4JNet will propel our schools through the Information and Digital Age. This propulsion will allow students and staff to significantly expand their knowledge by accessing and using online information resources as they analyze, collaborate, and publish information.

We believe students and staff should use 4JNet in a responsible, efficient, ethical, and legal manner in accordance with the mission of the Eugene School District 4J. The use of 4JNet is a privilege, not a right, which may be revoked at any time for inappropriate behavior. Users assume responsibility for understanding relevant board policy as well as these guidelines as a condition for using 4JNet. Staff members are accountable to teach and use 4JNet responsibly. Use of 4JNet that is inconsistent with policy and guidelines may result in loss of access as well as other disciplinary or legal action.

Purpose of Appropriate Use Guidelines

The purpose of these guidelines is to provide guidance to students and staff in the use of technology in order to maximize the derived benefits, provide safety when using technology, and insure the security of confidential information.

Related Laws and Board Policies

The Technology Appropriate Use Guidelines incorporate several federal and state laws as well as board policies. More detailed information on the following specific laws and policies are available online.

Federal Laws:

CIPA - The Children's Internet Protection Act

FERPA - Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

HIPAA - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996

State Laws:

ORS260 - Campaign Finance Regulation; Election Offenses

School Board Policies:

KGF - Use of District Property

JFCFA/GBNAA - Cyberbullying

JB - Discrimination, Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying, and Retaliation

Definitions

4JNet – 4J’s electronic communications network connecting all school sites together with access out to the Internet.

District provided 4J email – Student and staff email accounts provided by the district.

Filtering – A process to deny access to certain websites or resources as defined in the filter.

Internet – A world wide network that connects smaller networks together.
Social Networking – Websites that provide means of personal communications between participants. Examples are MySpace and Facebook.

The Guidelines for Students and Staff

Student Safety and Privacy

The school district has an obligation to protect student safety and to balance this with the need for open communications when using the Internet. There are documented instances of students being inappropriately identified via the Internet and thereby becoming subjected to unhealthy situations or unwelcome communications.

The purposes of these guidelines are:

• To inform school staff of the possible dangers of allowing students to publish identifying information on the Internet;
• To recognize that there are potential advantages of allowing students to publish identifying information on the Internet; and
• To provide to schools a recommended set of Guidelines governing how student-identifying information should be allowed in publishing on the Internet.

Specific Student Safety and Privacy Guidelines have been developed for students.

Staff and student users of 4JNet must be aware that information accessed, created, sent, received, or stored on the network is not private. It is subject to review by network system administrators who may investigate complaints regarding inappropriate or illegal material.

Use of District-Owned Technology Devices

General

The purpose of district-owned technology resources is to enhance the educational experience of students and to increase the operational efficiency of staff. Practices that attempt to achieve this purpose in a safe, legal manner are acceptable while practices that do not attempt to achieve this purpose, are unsafe or detrimental are considered not acceptable.

Staff members are expected to teach responsible use to students when they access 4JNet and the Internet, as well as provide guidance and supervision of students. Specifically:

• Teachers and other supervising adults will discuss the appropriate use of 4JNet and the Internet with their students, monitor their use, and intervene if the resource is not being used appropriately.
• Technology that allows access to the Internet by students should only be placed in areas where adults are available to monitor.

Internet users are encouraged to find resources that meet their individual needs and take advantage of the networks many useful functions. There are many applications that can be used in an educationally beneficial manner as well as applications that can be used in an inappropriate, illegal, or unacceptable manner. New applications and websites are being developed everyday including instant messaging, blogging, social networking (i.e. MySpace), and online collaboration tools. Individual schools and classroom teachers will determine the acceptable use of each application and/or website.

It is possible that students may find material on the Internet that parents consider objectionable. Although the District has deployed an Internet filtering system and students may be supervised when they use the Internet, this does not guarantee that students will not access inappropriate materials. District 4J's guidelines for accessing the Internet prohibit access to material that is inappropriate in the school environment. Students should report inappropriate access of material to a teacher, other staff person, or their parents. Parents are encouraged to discuss responsible use of the Internet with their children at home and how this responsibility extends to using the Internet at school.

Installation of unapproved equipment (e.g. wireless access points, routers, switches, network cabling); unapproved or unlicensed software; or changing of district required parameter settings can have detrimental effects on both the educational experience and the operation of technology. It is therefore important that only approved equipment and software be installed, and district required settings not be changed or bypassed.

Acceptable

• Use of network resources, such as email, chat, blogs, and websites, in a respectful manner.
• Installation of appropriately licensed software on district technology

Unacceptable

The Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook governs student discipline.
School Board Policy and District Administrative Rules govern staff use.

The following uses of 4JNet are unacceptable and may result in suspension or revocation of network privileges. Unacceptable use is defined to include, but not be limited to, the following:

• Violation of School Board Policy (KGF - Use of District Property; JB - Discrimination, Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying , and Retaliation; and JFCFA/GBNAA - Cyberbullying), District Administrative Rules, or any provision in the district Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.
• Transmission of any material in violation of any local, state, or federal law. This includes, but is not limited to: copyrighted materials, threatening or obscene material, or material protected by trade secret.
• The use of profanity, obscenity, or other language that may be offensive to another user.
• Any form of vandalism, including but not limited to, damaging computers, computer systems, or networks, and/or disrupting the operation of the network.
• Copying and/or downloading commercial software or other material e.g. music, in violation of federal copyright laws.
• Use of the network for financial gain, commercial activity, or illegal activity, e.g. hacking.
• Use of the network for political activity.
• Use of the network to access pornographic or obscene material.
• Creating and/or placing a computer virus on the network.
• Accessing another person's individual account without prior consent or accessing a restricted account without the prior consent of the responsible administrator or teacher. The person in whose name an account is issued is responsible at all times for its proper use. Passwords should never be shared with another person and should be changed frequently. Passwords should not be common words or names that can be found in a dictionary.
• Posting information or images that could be a form of harassment or could promote a negative culture in the school environment by causing a student to feel uncomfortable or unsafe at school (See Cyberbullying Board Policy)
• Activity with a malicious intent to disrupt the network
• Installation of unlicensed or unapproved software.
• Installation of unapproved technology on the network (i.e. wireless access points, routers or switches not provided or approved by the Computing and Information Services Department)
• By-Passing of Internet filter system on computers used by students    

Use of Personal Technology Devices at School

General

The district will not be responsible for loss or damage of personal technology brought to school by students.  Students assume responsibility for all lost, damaged, or stolen personal technology devices. Staff and students are encouraged to use district equipment whenever possible. Student cell phones shall be turned off during class time unless specifically allowed by the teacher. Unacceptable use of personal technology devices may result in suspension or revocation of personal device privileges.

Acceptable

• Personal devices, such as cell phones, handhelds, digital cameras, MP3 players, and laptops may be used for instructional purposes in the classroom at the discretion of the teacher. The same personal devices may be used outside of the classroom at the discretion of the school.
• Use of network resources, such as email, chat, blogs, and Internet websites in a respectful manner. (note student rights and responsibilities handbook)
• Some software publishers allow home use by staff according to the "80/20 Rule." This rule states that if a school purchases a software license for a specific computer where the teacher/staff is the primary user (80%+ of the time), the teacher/staff may install the software on a home computer at no extra charge. The use of the software at home is governed by the same license agreement as at school, (i.e., it may not be used for commercial/for-profit use.) The 80/20 Rule only applies to staff and faculty, for as long as they are employed by the school district. Lab computers do not qualify for the 80/20 rule.

Unacceptable

• Use of a personal device that violates any of the unacceptable uses for district-owned technology listed above.
• Use of a personal device to gain or give an advantage in a testing situation.
• Use of personal devices during class that are not approved by the school or the individual teacher (e.g. cell phones, MP3 players).
• Downloading and installing district licensed software on personal devices unless specifically allowed by the licensing agreement.

Email Guidelines

Student 4J email Accounts

General

• All 4J students are issued a 4J email account
• High school students at Churchill, South Eugene, North Eugene, and middle school students at Kelly, da Vinci, Yujin Gakuen, Madison, Roosevelt, and Spencer Butte have their 4J email accounts activated automatically unless a parent or guardian has returned a form denying it.
• All other high school and middle school students may have their district email accounts activated with written consent from their parents/guardian.
• Elementary students can have their district email account activated with the written consent from their parents/guardian, the consent of their teacher, and a school administrator.

Acceptable

• Using email to research and perform class assignment
• Incidental personal use

Unacceptable

• Violation of Oregon Law ORS 260 on political activity.
• Violation of Oregon Law, School Board Policy, District Administrative Rules, or any provision in the district Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.
• The use of vulgar and plainly offensive, obscene, or sexually explicit
  language in any form.
• Copying commercial software or other material in violation of federal copyright laws.
• Use of the network for financial gain, commercial activity, or illegal activity.
• Accessing another person's individual account without prior consent or
  accessing a restricted account without the prior consent of the responsible administrator or teacher.
• Sharing of inappropriate materials or their sources with other students or other adults or knowingly accessing inappropriate materials

Staff 4J email Accounts

General

• All 4J staff are issued a 4J email account.
• Others may be issued Guest Accounts based on their need for doing 4J business after completing an application.
• 4J mail users are expected to use commonly accepted practices.
• Messages should not contain large attachments, large embedded graphics, or such a long recipient list as to cause difficulty for the district email server.

Acceptable

• Using email to fulfill the responsibilities of the position in which employed.
• Incidental personal use

Unacceptable

• Violation of Oregon Law ORS 260 on political activity.
• Violation of Oregon Law, School Board Policy, District Administrative Rules, or any provision in the district Student Rights and Responsibilities Handbook.
• The use of vulgar and plainly offensive, obscene, or sexually explicit
  language in any form.
• Copying commercial software or other material in violation of federal copyright laws.
• Use of the network for financial gain, commercial activity, or illegal activity.
• Accessing another person's individual account without prior consent or
  accessing arestricted account without the prior consent of the responsible administrator or teacher.
• Sharing of inappropriate materials or their sources with other students or other adults or knowingly accessing inappropriate materials

Copyright & Plagiarism

General 

 Adherence to federal copyright law is required in both the print and the electronic environments. 4J Administrative guidelines states District intent to adhere to the provisions of Public Law 94-553 and subsequent federal legislation and guidelines related to the duplication and/or use of copyrighted materials. 4J guidelines only permit copying materials specifically allowed by copyright law, fair use guidelines, license agreements, or proprietor's permission. Additional copyright and fair use information can be found at:

U.S. Copyright Office - Fair Use

Stanford Copyright & Fair Use - Fair Use

Copyright and Fair Use - Information & Library Services - UMUC

Acceptable

• Use of copyrighted material with author permission
• Use of copyrighted material that meets the fair use criteria

Unacceptable

• Using network resources to commit plagiarism.
• Unauthorized use, copying, or forwarding of copyrighted material.
• Unauthorized installation, use, storage, or distribution of copyrighted software.

Related Forms

Student Email Request Form

Student Email Denial Form

Student 4JNet and Internet Use Agreement

Checkout of school equipment to take home