DISTRICT ACCEPTABLE USE OF COMPUTERS POLICY
For Students
Students have
access to the Internet through the District’s networked computers. We are very pleased to bring this
access to Bonham ISD and believe the Internet offers vast, diverse, and unique
resources to our students. Our goal in
providing this service to students is to promote educational excellence in our
district schools by facilitating resource sharing, innovation, and
communication.
The Internet
is an electronic highway connecting thousands of computers worldwide and
millions of individual users. Students
will have access to:
1. Limited electronic mail communication with
people all over the world.
2. Information and news from government sources,
research institutions, and other sources.
3. Public domain software and shareware of all
types.
4. Many public and private Libraries, the
Library on Congress, and the Educational Resources Information
Clearinghouses
(ERIC), which store, update, and share thousands upon thousands of articles on
endless topics.
With access to
computers and people all over the world also comes the availability of material
they may not be considered to be of educational value in the context of a
school setting. On a global network it
is impossible to control all materials, and an industrious user may discover
controversial information. We (Bonham
ISD) firmly believe that the valuable information and interaction available on
this worldwide network far outweigh the possibility that users may procure
material that is not consistent with the Learning Outcomes of the District.
Life is a
series of choices and consequences.
Bonham ISD has chosen to make the Internet resources available to
students, and the consequence is that they will have access to far more
information than if they had to rely on their school’s Library. If a student chooses to use these resources
for finding information that will be of assistance in learning, the consequence
will be continued access to the Internet.
If a Bonham ISD student chooses to access resources that are
objectionable, i.e. adult-oriented, or restricted, the consequence will be
suspension or termination of access privileges in addition to other
consequences set forth in the student code of conduct. The signatures at the end of this document
indicate each party who signed has read the terms and conditions and
understands their significance.
The District
will notify the parents about the District network and the policies governing
its use. Parents may specifically request that their child(ren) not be provided
such access by notifying the District in writing.
Rules
of Netiquette and General Internet Use
1. Never give out personal information -
including your full name (first names are
best), home phone
number, home address, or other data - anywhere on the Internet, including your
email.
2. Be concerned about getting email
messages from anyone, particularly adults, asking you for personal information,
attempting to arrange secret meetings, or
engaging in other activities which might suggest a problem or an unsafe
condition. Talk with your teacher immediately if this kind of situation arises.
3. Always ask for
permission to use pictures or text from someone's online site in your
schoolwork, and then give the person credit in your bibliography.
4. Treat other online users, as you would
like to be treated.
5. Treat school computers like you would
treat your own - with respect.
6.
Protect your password if you have been given one. Keep it to yourself.
7. While online, stay focused on the topic you are
researching. The Internet is an excellent educational resource - use it
responsibly.
8. Ask for help from
your teacher or library media specialist if you are having problems. Write down
any error messages that appear when you try to do something.
9. Keep the area
around a computer clean and free of food and drink.
10.
Never use a computer to harm other people.
The following
uses of the District network are considered unacceptable:
1. Personal Safety/Privacy
a. Users will not post personal contact
information about themselves or other people. Personal contact information
includes address, telephone, school address, work address, etc.
b. Users will not repost a message that was
sent to them privately without permission of the person who sent them the
message.
c. Users will not agree to meet with someone
they have met online without their parent’s approval and participation.
d. Users will promptly disclose to their
teacher or other school employees any message they receive that is
inappropriate or makes them feel uncomfortable.
e. To
avoid unnecessary and unsolicited intrusion into the privacy of everyone in our
system and the very system itself, users will not directly access any “chat
room” through any computer in the Bonham ISD.
Making a connection to such sites does not happen by accident, but
should anyone unintentionally find him/herself in a “chat room” site through
some other connection, that person must immediately disconnect from that site.
2. Illegal
Activities
a. Users will not attempt to gain unauthorized
access to the District system or to any other computer system through the
District Network, or go beyond their authorized access. This includes
attempting to login through another person’s account, or access another
person’s files. These actions are illegal, even if only for the purposes of
“browsing”.
b. Users will not make deliberate attempts to
disrupt the computer system performance or destroy data by spreading computer
viruses or by any other means.
c.
Users will
not use the District equipment to engage in any other illegal act, such as
arranging for a drug sale or the purchase of alcohol, engaging in criminal gang
activity, threatening the safety of persons, etc.
3.
System Security
a. Users are responsible for the use of their
individual accounts and should take all reasonable precautions to prevent others from being able to use their
accounts. Under no conditions should a user provide his/her password to another
person.
b. Users will immediately notify the system
administrator or supervising teacher if they have identified a possible
security problem. Users will not look for security problems because this may be
construed as an illegal attempt to gain access.
c.
Users will
avoid the inadvertent spread of computer viruses by following the district
virus protection procedures if they download information/software.
4. Inappropriate Language
a. Restrictions against
inappropriate language apply to public messages, private messages, and material
posted on web pages.
b. Users will not use obscene, profane, lewd,
vulgar, rude, inflammatory, threatening, or disrespectful language.
c. Users will not engage in personal attacks,
including prejudicial or discriminatory attacks.
d. 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, they must
stop.
e. Users will not knowingly or recklessly post
false or defamatory information about a person or organization.
5. Respecting Resource Limits
a.
Users will
use the system only for educational and professional or career development
activities and limited, high-
quality, self-discovery activities.
b. Users will not download large files unless
absolutely necessary. If necessary, users will download the file at a time when
the system is not being heavily used and immediately remove the file from the
system computer to their personal computer.
c. Users
will not post chain letters or engage in “spamming”. Spamming is sending an
annoying or unnecessary message to a large number of people.
6. Plagiarism and Copyright Infringement
a. Users will not plagiarize works that they
find on electronic media, including the Internet.
Plagiarism
is taking the ideas or writings of others and presenting them as if they were
original to the user.
7. Inappropriate Access to Material
a. Users will not use the District computers
to access material that is profane or obscene (pornography), that advocates
illegal acts, or that advocates violence or discrimination towards other people
(hate literature). For students, a special exception may be made for hate
literature if the purpose of such access is to conduct research and both the
teacher and the parent approve access.
b. If a user inadvertently accesses such
information, they should immediately disclose the inadvertent access in a
manner specified by their school. This will protect users against an allegation
that they have intentionally violated the Acceptable Use Policy.
8. Software Usage
a.
Students
will only use district-approved and owned software such as Accelerated Math,
Accelerated Reader, Adobe Acrobat Reader, Adobe PageMaker, AEIS IT, CPS,
Dreamweaver, E-Class Gradebook and Attendance, Fireworks, Flash, G-3 Library,
Internet Explorer, Josten’s Year Tech, Mavis Beacon, Microsoft Office, Norton
Anti-Virus, Outlook Express, Paint Shop Pro, Pegasus Mail, Print Shop, RSCC,
SLEEK, STAR, Winschool, WinZip, etc.
Director of Technology must approve all software. The use or installation of unapproved
software is prohibited.
Any student
who violates any part of the Bonham Independent School District Acceptable Use
Policy may be subject to restricted use, any discipline measures outlined in
the Bonham ISD District Management Plan, and/or to a report to the appropriate
authorities.
Bonham ISD
makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service
it is providing. We assume no
responsibility or liability for any phone charges, line costs, or usage fees,
nor for any damages a user may suffer.
This includes loss of data resulting from delays, nondeliveries, or
service interruptions caused by accident or your errors or omissions. Use of any information obtained via the
Internet is at your own risk. We
specifically deny any responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information
obtained through its services.
Student
Signature
Date
Parent/Guardian
Signature
Date