Virtual Technology Use Policy
As you know, during this period of extended school closure our teachers are providing students with remote learning opportunities, which may include analog materials, telephone calls, video conferencing, pre-recorded lessons, digital activities and other online services. Students are expected to participate in these services if possible. Please reach out to your child’s principal if you anticipate or become aware of any issues with your child accessing the remote opportunities provided by the District.
In particular, many teachers are using Google Classroom to provide course materials. This message is intended to provide additional clarity around Google Classroom as well as important information about Acceptable Use during the school closure.
Google Classroom ‒ Receiving Email Summaries
On Sunday, parents and guardians will receive an email from “Hanover Public Schools Google App Manager (Classroom),” with the subject “Get Google Classroom email summaries for Student Name.” You should receive one email for each child enrolled in a Hanover Schools Google Classroom. If you do not receive one or more of these emails, it is simply because your child’s teacher is not using Google Classroom, e.g., Kindergarten students are not using it.
By accepting the invitation, you will begin to receive “guardian email summaries” from each of the Hanover Schools’ Google Classrooms in which your child is currently enrolled ‒ or will be enrolled in the future. Many parents are already connected to their child’s Google Classroom and are already receiving email summaries ‒ if that is the case for you, clicking accept will allow you to confirm that you are connected.
Once connected you will receive the “guardian email summaries,” which include: upcoming work, class activities, announcements, assignments, and questions recently posted by the teacher. Please see the attached PDF for an example of the email you will receive.
Google Classroom - Class Codes
Please know that receiving “guardian email summaries” is different from “joining” a Google Classroom with a class code.
Joining a Google Classroom with a class code, actually puts the person in the class, as a student - to participate in the class - receive emails, announcements, and assignments, as well as post to discussion boards and submit work.
For parents and guardians, “joining” the class is not necessary, however we encourage you to log in with your child and look through the Google Classroom. And please remember if your child does not have their username and password, we can provide those credentials - just email helpdesk@hanoverschools.org and we will provide assistance as quickly as possible. Hanover Public Schools
Acceptable Use
In accordance with state and federal laws, parents and students must refrain from recording any and all remote lessons. Exceptions may be made on an individual basis due to special circumstances, and only with the consent of everyone involved in the lesson. In addition, while parents and guardians are permitted to observe online instruction in a non-disruptive manner, to the extent that remote learning opportunities provide access to confidential student information, all participants agree, by participating in this remote learning opportunity, to refrain from disseminating any confidential student information about other student participants with any and all third parties. By participating in the remote learning opportunities, consent to this request is hereby provided.
Similarly, we ask everyone in our school community to recognize that video conferences and other online services will be taking place in the homes of the educators and students who participate in the calls, and to be mindful of everyone’s right to privacy.
Parents, guardians, and teachers should take all precautions to safeguard personal or private information that they do not wish to be disclosed. Students will be expected to behave in accordance with school rules of conduct while participating in any two way communication. Cyberbullying, harassment, discrimination, and abuse of the learning process will not be tolerated. School rules apply. Teachers will establish meeting norms at every level.
The District also encourages its staff and students to limit disruptions to remote lessons to the extent feasible ‒ while also recognizing that sometimes pets, small children, and technical difficulties cannot be prevented from disrupting a lesson that happens at home. By accessing these services, the District recognizes that you and your child consent to access online instruction and agree to fully comply with the requirements in this letter.
When using Google Classroom, video conferencing, e.g., Zoom, Google Hangouts, or any other digital environment, teachers and students will make every effort to adhere to these guidelines:
- Do not make meetings or Google Classrooms public.
- Do not share a Classroom or meeting link on an unrestricted publicly available site ‒ instead, provide the link directly to specific students, parents, and guardians.
- Require a password and use the waiting room to control admittance into the meeting.
- Teachers are asked to manage screen sharing options to host only.
- Teachers are asked to manage microphones and disable private chat.
- Students should mute microphones, until called upon by the teacher.
While this notice represents clear guidelines around remote learning opportunities, we all look forward to being able to connect with our students in the most positive of ways. It has been our overwhelming experience that our students have been incredibly polite and considerate. We anticipate that our students will continue to meet expectations required during the extended school closure while learning from home.
Districts Expectations of Students and Families for Appropriate Virtual Technology Use
The Hanover Public School District is dedicated to providing engaging and effective remote learning opportunities for our students. As part of our remote learning opportunities, the District is offering these opportunities via a virtual platform. Prior to engaging in these virtual opportunities, the District seeks to clarify expectations around appropriate use of virtual technologies for educational opportunities.
- The District strictly prohibits screenshots, pictures, audio/video recording and distribution of any virtual educational experience in order to protect student and teacher privacy, proactively prevent potential cyberbullying, prevent the distribution of copyrighted materials and comply with Massachusetts law. Please note that in Massachusetts, it is illegal to record another person through any medium without his or her knowledge.
- Students, and where appropriate parents/guardians, agree to engage in virtual educational experiences in a quiet, private area to the extent practicable given the circumstances, in order to minimize background noise and distractions and to protect the integrity of student engagement as well as student confidentiality.
- Parents/guardians and other household members who normally are not privy to day-to-day classroom and group service discussions agree to respect and keep confidential any personal or private information (e.g. disability status) inadvertently discovered about other students due to proximity of virtual education.
As a reminder, the District’s Acceptable Use Policy applies to virtual learning, including school issued devices and networks. See: Digital Technology Acceptable Use Policy
For questions regarding school policies and procedures, the District directs parties to: Technology Services
For all additional questions, concerns, or inquiries, parties may contact the principal of your child’s school building.