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 I. Student Acceptable Use Policies
II. Faculty & Staff Rules of Acceptable Use
III. Software Guidelines
IV. Web Publishing Guidelines
V. Purchase of Technology Supplies
VI. Inventory & Purchase of Information Technology Hardware
VII. Donations
VII. Technology Work Requests
I. Student Acceptable Use Policies
Faculty and staff should be familiar with the student acceptable use policies in order that they may supervise students using the computers on the Hanover Schools networks. Appendices A and B are the rules and guidelines for each level. If you have any questions or concerns about the Acceptable Use Policies or about enforcing the policies, please contact the Technology Specialist in your building or the Director of Technology.
II. Faculty & Staff Rules for Acceptable Use
A. Introduction
Hanover Schools (also the "District" elsewhere in this document) is committed to providing a robust information technology environment to support its students and faculty in the pursuit of their academic and instructional objectives. Hanover Schools makes available a range of information technology resources, which are intended to be used for educational and professional purposes and in accordance with the mission of the Hanover Schools. Professional purposes, refers to those tasks and requirements for fulfilling professional duties as related to working at Hanover Schools. All those who use the information technology resources at Hanover Schools must comply with the written policies covering their use as well as the "spirit and intent" of those policies.
B. Network and Computing Facilities Provided by Hanover Schools
Hanover MEC E-mail
MEC E-mail allows employees to communicate with people from within our district and throughout the world. Hanover Schools only supports MEC Mail.
World Wide Web
The Web provides access to a wide range of information in the form of text, graphics, photographs, video, and sound, from throughout the world. The Web is a valuable research and publishing tool.
Local Area Network
Desktop computers are connected to local file servers to enable users to easily store and share files and share resources.
Software
A full suite of personal productivity software (word processor, spreadsheet, database, e-mail, web browser, desktop security) is available on every networked computer in the district. Other software, including curriculum specific software is widely available on various computers throughout the district. Grade book software is available for every computer at the High School and Middle School, as well as for the home computers of teachers.
Peripherals
Printers, digital cameras, scanners, and projection devices are provided as widely as possible throughout the district for student and staff use.
C. Appropriate Use
Appropriate use of the network and computing facilities include those uses that support: Instruction, Independent Study, Research, Career or Professional Development Activities, Official Work of the Offices and Departments of the Hanover Schools, and Limited High Quality Self Discovery / Exploration
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D. Inappropriate Use
There are unacceptable uses of the District computing facilities and network. Inappropriate uses can be classified into two categories: illegal and prohibited. Examples of illegal and prohibited activities follow. This list is not to be viewed as comprehensive but as explanatory. Hanover Schools is responsible to refer any and all illegal activities to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Illegal uses include: obscenity, libel, threats, hate postings, sexual harassment, and copyright violations. Prohibited activities are based on the intended use of the instructional network and computing facilities. Therefore, examples of prohibited activities are: pornography, profanity, plagiarism, commercial use, political lobbying and anonymous messages. Employee violations of the Staff Acceptable Use Policy will be referred to the appropriate supervisory personnel. Examples of inappropriate activities include (but are not limited to):
Commercial Use:
HANOVER SCHOOLS computing facilities should not be used for commercial services, defined as "offering or providing products or services."
Political Lobbying:
The use of a district system by district employees for political lobbying activities is generally unacceptable. Most states allow public employees to express opinions on legislative measures and, therefore, using the district system for this purpose may also be appropriate. But engaging in fundraising or other political activity will be considered unacceptable.
Obstructing or Disrupting Computing Facilities:
Any activity that intentionally obstructs or hinders network traffic, network resources, or desktop security is prohibited. Such actions are illegal. Activities included in this category are any that harm other people, damage the computer, network, or information that belongs to someone else.
Accessing Improper Material:
Use of the district computing facilities to access material that is profane, vulgar, or obscene (pornography), that advocates or condones the commission of unlawful acts (illegal), or that advocates or condones violence or discrimination towards other people (hate literature) is prohibited.
Accessing the Files of Others:
Any attempt to access the files of another individual is strictly not allowed. This includes attempting to log in through another person's account or accessing another person's "private" files. These actions are illegal, even if only for the purposes of "browsing." It is recognized that colleagues often need to share work. There are shared directories for this purpose and staff is encouraged to use these shared locations when they want to share a "non private" file with others.
Etiquette:
Activities covered under general computing and network etiquette include viewing, sending, or displaying offensive messages or pictures, or wasting limited resources such as disk space or printing capacity.
Sharing Accounts or Passwords:
Your network login and password are for your own individual use. Do not share your account or password with anyone. If you suspect that someone may have obtained your password, change it immediately. Conversely, using someone else's password to access services or data is also a violation of policy, regardless of how the password was obtained. Do not use anyone else's password, account, or e-mail.
Privacy:
The information systems of Hanover Schools and the files that reside on the computers are the property of Hanover Schools. Therefore, there is only a limited expectation of privacy within the network, just as there is for any storage facility in the schools. The District has the right to examine all data stored on computers or disks, which are the property of the District to ensure that users are in compliance with these regulations. Individuals should be aware that our computing systems do generate logs of the activities of users including login and logout times, web sites accessed, software launched, etc. Routine maintenance and monitoring of the system and these logs may lead to discovery that a user has or is violating the Staff Acceptable Use Policy, or the law. Please be aware that any misuse (as outlined in this document) of the computing facilities provided by Hanover Schools will be referred to the appropriate supervisory personnel.
E-mail is simply another system resource. Under normal circumstances, system administrators will not access anyone's e-mail. However, it should be noted that e-mail is insecure and may be read by authorized information system management personnel when deemed necessary by the Superintendent or by local, state, or federal officials in any investigation concerning or relating to any illegal activities conducted using the District system.
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E. E-mail Use
Please do not overload the communications servers and please do not abuse your communications privileges. E-mail is a fast, convenient form of communication. However, the following list represents e-mail activities, which are prohibited and/or discouraged.
Hanover E-mail Guidelines:
Chain E-mail Letters:
Forwarding chain e-mail is a violation of HANOVER SCHOOLS computing policy. Phrases in the subject line can usually identify chain e-mail, such as "Forward - do not delete," "don't break the chain," etc. Some chain e-mails promise good luck, promise easy money, tell stories and ask for help, or warn of false e-mail viruses. If there are a large number of addresses in the message, chances are very good that it is chain e-mail. "Get rich quick" schemes will invariably claim to be "completely legal." Do not be fooled. Delete all chain e-mail from your account and do not forward.
Bombing:
Sending numerous or large e-mail messages to one person is considered "e-mail bombing." Even if no harm was intended or it was simply a "harmless prank," an e-mail "bomb" can disrupt service to all users and is strictly forbidden.
Forgery:
Altering any form of electronic communication and then claiming it to be original is prohibited. Further, creating, altering, or deleting the attribution of origin (for example, the "From" in e-mail, or the IP address in headers) is also prohibited. Attachments and File Size
Users are discouraged from sending large files (greater than 2 MB) as this noticeably slows network traffic for all users. Files such as Internet "greeting cards" that contain animation and sound are discouraged for the same reason.
Harassment:
Any repeated or unwanted communication may constitute harassment. Any communication with the direct intention of harassing, threatening, implying or otherwise causing harm to individuals, or classes of individuals is a violation of HANOVER SCHOOLS policy. If you should receive any harassing messages electronically, you may consider notifying the sender. Often the sender may not realize that their communication is unwanted or offensive unless you tell them. However, if the sender continues after being notified, or you do not wish to contact the sender, or if the situation is serious, you should contact the Director of Technology or your supervisor. Be sure to save copies of all harassing material.
F. District Limitation of Liability
Hanover Schools makes no warranties of any kind, either express or implied, that the functions or the services provided by or through the District system will be error free or without defect. The District will not be responsible for any damage users may suffer, including but not limited to, loss of data or interruptions of service. The District is not responsible for the accuracy or quality of the information obtained through or stored on the system. The District will not be responsible for obligations, financial, legal or other, arising through the unauthorized use of the system.
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III. Software Guidelines
A. Purchasing of Software
Software may be purchased from specific curriculum budgets, school technology budgets, and/or the district wide technology budget. However, before purchasing software, staff should consult with the Technology Specialist in their building or with the Director of Technology. This helps to avoid duplication, allows us to order in the most economical way (lab packs and site licenses when warranted), allows for purchasing of interdisciplinary pieces of software, and ensures that the software purchased will be compatible with the hardware, network and security programs in place in the Hanover Schools.
B. Inventory of Software
All curriculum based software and software purchased at the building level that resides on teacher or student machines or on the school servers must be catalogued with the building Technology Specialist as part of the school software inventory. The office of the Director of Technology catalogs district wide, server, and other software.
C. Installation of Software
As of June 2004, the Hanover Schools has well over 1000-networked computers. One difficulty in maintaining such a large number of machines is software compatibility and conflicts. Some software may not be compatible with other pieces of software, and once installed, other software already on the machine may not work correctly and network service may crash. In order to prevent such conflicts with software as well as to comply with software copyright laws, all software on Hanover Schools computers must be installed ONLY under the following conditions:
The school department licenses the software and the license is on file in the appropriate office. The Technology specialist or technician has given approval for installation and Technology specialist or technician in the building has been given enough advance notice to allow for testing compatibility and installation of the new piece of software The Technology Specialist or the Computer Technician carries out the actual installation.
Note concerning Copyright:
For your use, HANOVER SCHOOLS provides many programs (software applications) that have been obtained under contracts or licenses stating that they may not be copied, cross-assembled, or reverse compiled. Specifically, these programs may not be copied for use on other computers. The Director of Technology will assist with any questions regarding software usage and licensing issues.
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IV. Web Publishing Guidelines
The World Wide Web is an incredibly powerful publishing tool. Pages posted to the web have the potential for having a worldwide audience in a matter of seconds. Publishing on the web is strongly encouraged. If you are considering posting to the web yourself, or having students post to the web, you should familiarize yourself with the following guidelines concerning content and technical requirements.
Any material posted for the global community should reflect the high educational standard of Hanover Schools. All published pages and corresponding links stored on school department servers must be related to the District's educational goals and objectives or related to school sponsored activities. Publishing children's material on the public schools web pages is encouraged and supported.
Web pages are uploaded to our server only by the district webmaster. Please contact Matthew Plummer at mplummer@hanoverschools.org
Content and Review Guidelines for Student Publication:
Individual teachers will review their students' material before publication. The quality and completeness of any published work should be such that both student and teacher are proud that it can reach a global audience. Any review procedures for publishing established by the school for publishing in other formats, such as newsletters, notices sent home, should be respected. Any reviewers should validate content and first level links. Teachers are encouraged to have colleagues review classroom projects or individual student work before publishing on the Web.
Safety Rules for Student Publication:
Elementary and Middle School:
Pictures that include the heads of students should be posted only if parent has signed standard release form for videotaping and newspaper photographs No last names of students, except with parental permission No home/school addresses or e-mail addresses of students are to be posted. Also, no telephone numbers for students are permitted.
High School:
Pictures that include the heads of students may be posted only if identified only by first name and last initial or if parent has signed the standard release form for videotaping and newspaper photographs No last names of students, except with parental permission No home/school addresses or e-mail addresses of students No telephone numbers for students About staying within the bounds of these rules:
If you are posting a class project and wish to link to the work of each student or group of students, first name could be used, or first name with last initial, or an alias that the students have chosen.
Technical and Procedural Guidelines:
The following information must be available on every web page: The name of staff person or volunteer maintaining the page Date published Date to Remove Project or page. Unless necessary, no web page should be bigger than 35 K. It is helpful to include a "mail to" link with the staff or faculty person responsible for maintaining the page.
Guidelines for staff publication:
Teachers are encouraged to have colleagues review projects before submission to the Web-Master. Any review procedures for publishing established by the school for publishing in other formats, such as newsletters, notices sent home, should be respected. Any reviewers should validate content and first level links.
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V. Purchase of Technology Supplies
A. Introduction
Each new computer will be provided with appropriate software and supplies for initial installation. Additional supplies are the responsibility of the school or department
B. Ordering Technology Supplies
The district budget for technology does not cover the following supplies: extension cords power strips, surge protectors blank CD’s, flash drives, Ink or toner cartridge replacements, Paper for printers, mouse pads and replacement batteries
These supplies need to come from the building or department budget and budgets should be developed with this in mind. If there are any questions about prices, preferred vendors, or specifications, please contact the Technology Specialist in your building or the Director of Technology.
VI. Inventory and Purchase of Information Technology Hardware
Most of the Hanover Schools computers and printers are ordered centrally through the Office of the Director of Technology. That office for inventory and installation purposes must receive all new hardware. Every new machine is inspected, and the pertinent information (model, serial number, purchase date, vendor, purchase order number, etc.) is recorded into the central hardware inventory database. This information is indispensable for warranty, repair and reporting information, as well as for software licensing reasons. Then, software is installed and the computer is networked (when appropriate) before being delivered to its destination.
Please note that all new computers, whether purchased with grant or PTA monies, donated, or acquired by some other means must go through the same process of inventory and installation. Please notify the Technology Specialist in your building or the Director of Technology whenever computer equipment is acquired.
Before purchasing hardware with grant or PTA monies or department budgets, staff should consult with the Technology Specialist in their building or with the Director of Technology. This helps to coordinate purchasing, allows us to order in the most economical way, ensures that the hardware purchased will be compatible with the hardware, software, and networks in place, and ensures that the hardware meets the desired needs and specifications of the intended user.
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VII. Donations
Anyone who would like to donate computer equipment or software to the schools should contact the Director of Technology by e-mail or by telephone at 781 871-7087. We request that any equipment that is donated follow our requirements for donations. Citizens or companies that donate equipment or software meeting these criteria will be sent a thank you letter after the donation is officially accepted by the school committee. This letter can be used for tax purposes. Donations are greatly appreciated and assist the schools in providing access to students and staff.
Requirements for Donations:
Any equipment that is donated must be in working order, free of viruses and be of immediate use to the schools. Whenever possible, the original documentation and disks that came with the equipment and software are greatly appreciated.
The following equipment and software is currently being accepted:
Any Windows/Intel computers with a Pentium 700 Mhz or higher processor and with 4 gigabyte hard drive and Windows 2000 or better and with a minimum of 128 MB RAM Any Color Macintosh with the PowerMac chip and system 9.2 or better and with a minimum of 128 MB RAM and with a minimum 4 gigabyte hard drive. Any laptop or Power book meeting the above criteria Any laser printer or ink jet printer that is compatible with any of the above specified equipment.
VIII. Technology Work Requests
A. Instructional Computers
When a network or hardware/software problem arises, or when you wish to reserve a computer or lab space, the reporting process (contact process) is as follows:
Elementary Schools: Contact the school office and the building technology teacher will troubleshoot the situation.
Middle School: Contact Mr. Schumacher and he will troubleshoot the situation.
High School: Contact Mr. Walsh and he will contact the technology office.
In an emergency (e.g., the whole network is down) call John Simmons or Michael Purdy (781 871-7087) or Fax (781 871-0406).
Please note that all requests for reserving computers and computer labs for special projects, class work and staff development should also go through the contacts listed above. Any reserving of computers or lab spaces outside of the school hours or school calendar should also be scheduled with the Director of Technology, as much of the maintenance and repair work is scheduled for those times.
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