Staff User Agreement
The use of the Bethel School District’s technology is provided to aid staff in the course of their work, it is not a benefit or right. Acknowledging the Bethel Staff Appropriate Use Agreement is protection for employees. Employees are held accountable for following this agreement so it is important for you read and understand what it contains.
1. Access to Bethel technology entails responsibility. Users must follow the Bethel Appropriate Use Agreement. Read and understand these guidelines before electronically signing the Bethel User Agreement.
2. The user acknowledges that the primary intended purpose of Bethel technology is to support and enhance learning, teaching, and efficiently completing the business of the school district.
3. Users have the intellectual freedom to express opinions as long as that expression does not violate Bethel Appropriate Use Agreement, Bethel School District Policies, or state or federal.
4. The user is responsible for the proper use of his or her Bethel technology account.
5. Network and email accounts are assigned to individuals and may not be shared except to others authorized by the user. This means that you are not to let students or unauthorized staff use your account to access Bethel email, Bethel network resources or the Internet.
6. The user will never share his or her password with anyone, except to others authorized by the user.
7. The user will not use inappropriate language in network communications. The user will not forward or gain access to inappropriate material from Bethel technology or associated resources such as the Internet or email that might be considered offensive or inflammatory or inappropriate in an educational setting.
8. Network administrators may review files and communications. The user should not expect that files, including email, will be private. Additionally, email or other files may become a part of public record.
9. The user will honor copyright laws.
10. The user will be efficient in the use of shared network resources and not jeopardize network performance.
11. The user will not use Bethel technology for private or personal commercial purposes, non-school related advertising, personal financial gain, political campaigning or illegal activities.
12. The user understands that the Bethel School District makes no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service it is providing. The district will not be responsible for any damages a user suffers including loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, mis-deliveries, or service interruptions caused by the district’s own errors or omissions. Use of any information obtained via the Internet is at the user’s own risk. The Bethel School District specifically denies any responsibility for the accuracy or quality of information obtained through its services.
13. Bethel staff members are required to understand and follow these safeguards when using technology with students:
Because of the district’s commitment to providing a safe technological learning environment for students, the Bethel School District has instituted four safeguards that, used together, significantly diminish the possibility that students will access Internet sites containing nudity, violence, racism and other objectionable content. The safeguards are:
Supervision
Supervision of students using the Internet is the key to safe use. Supervision means knowing who is using the computer, what his or her task is, and being aware of what the user is doing.
It is the policy of the Bethel School District that no students will have access to the Internet through a Bethel computer without adult supervision. That means that computers that are unsupervised will not have software that allows users to access the Internet.
Filtering Software
The Bethel School District uses a network-level Internet filtering software package. This software will refuse a connection to any Internet site the filtering software database lists as inappropriate or any site whose title contains words deemed offensive or inappropriate in an educational setting. Most filtering software is 60-80% effective at blocking inappropriate sites. This filtering software is in compliance with the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA).
Curriculum Connection
Student use of the Internet should be directly connected to curriculum objectives. Tying student use to the curriculum will allow more students to use computers and make supervision easier. Using the Internet in the context of the curriculum will prevent most inappropriate uses.
Training
Training for both staff and students will help ensure appropriate use of the Internet. The more teachers know about the technology, the better they will be at using the Internet and supervising its use by students. A “training the trainers” model can be very useful in developing good skills and habits related to Internet use. Giving three or four students in-depth training will allow them to train other students in the classroom.