Student Technology Use in the St. Joseph School District
Our students use technology to learn. Technology is essential to facilitate the creative problem solving, information fluency, and collaboration that we see in today’s democratic societies. While we want our students to be active contributors in our connected world, we also want them to act safely, legally, and responsibly.
How We Use Technology
We use technology to develop in our students the literacy skills they need to contribute in a connected world. We use technology to facilitate creativity and innovation. We use technology to support communication and collaboration. We use technology to extend research and information fluency. We develop in our students a sound understanding of technology operations and concepts. We believe technology can be transformative, and we encourage students to use technology to do what they otherwise could not otherwise. We create a safe online environment for everyone. Filtering software keeps most unwanted sites from our computers. In addition, adults supervise our students’ computer activities at school.
Our Hardware and Software
All of the St. Joseph schools have wireless access to the Internet. Digital projectors, which facilitate group viewing and discussions, are found in many of our elementary and secondary schools. Elementary and secondary students each have access to a standard suite of software to support their learning needs. The use of devices, and mobile devices, continues to emerge, and we are working towards effectively managing, supporting and utilizing a variety of technologies in our schools. Each student from K-12 has a student email account that supports curriculum activities.
Basic Student Expectations
Basic Care & Maintenance of Laptop: I will . . .
• be responsible for my district laptop and take good care of it as outlined in this handbook.
• handle my district laptop with care at all times and not throw, toss, or slide it.
• know where my district laptop is at all times, and I will not let others borrow my laptop or charger. I will not leave my district laptop unattended for any reason, even for short periods of time.
• not share or switch my laptop, its power charger, and/or other accessories with other students.
• take my district laptop home every evening and not keep it in my locker overnight or store it anyplace that may get extremely hot or cold.
• will secure my district laptop out of view from anyone outside of a vehicle if being temporarily stored in a parked vehicle. I will never store my district laptop in an unlocked and/or unattended parked vehicle, even when the parked vehicle is at my house.
• keep my district laptop in a secure location during after school sports, performances, or other activities.
• bring my fully-charged district laptop to school every day that I am in attendance.
• bring my district laptop to every class, unless directed otherwise by my teacher.
• keep my district laptop in the condition I received it; I will keep it clean and will not alter any surface of my district laptop including not writing or drawing on it, etching it, or attaching stickers or labels to it, and I will not remove nor attempt to remove the district asset tag from the laptop.
• only carry my district laptop with the lid securely closed, unless directed otherwise by my teacher.
• power off my district laptop when not in use and store it in a protective case or backpack when not in use.
• report any damage or need for service to school district personnel immediately and will not attempt to repair my district laptop myself or allow anyone other than school district personnel to attempt to repair my district laptop.
• keep my district laptop away from food/liquids and off the floor, where it could be stepped on or tripped over.
• not store items such as books or other heavy items on top of my district laptop.
• keep my district laptop away from siblings, pets and other animals, and anyone else who may be capable of careless handling of my district laptop.
• be responsible for all media, Internet usage, downloads, file creation, file deletion, file sharing, file storage, and other actions that involve all software or applications accessed via my assigned laptop. I will not let others use the laptop assigned to me.
• only use my district laptop for the creation of, storage of, access to, and consumption of school appropriate content. I will not access, store, create, consume, or share unauthorized or inappropriate content with my district laptop.
• log my district laptop on to the school district’s network regularly to receive necessary updates that are critical to keeping my laptop safe and operational.
• not connect anything into any of the ports and/or connectors of my laptop that are not intended for that particular port or connector.
Responsible Use:
I will be a good digital citizen by following the guidelines below:
• Respect Yourself. I will show respect for myself through my online actions and carefully consider the digital footprint I am leaving behind. I will select online names that are appropriate. I will use caution with the information, images, and other media that I post online. I will carefully consider what personal information about my life, experiences, or relationships I post. I will not be obscene. I will act with integrity. I will not search for inappropriate content nor try to avoid or bypass the content filter installed by the district. I will use appropriate language in all my digital communications.
• Protect Yourself. I will be sure that the information, images, and materials I post online will not put me at risk. I will not publish personal details including name, address, birthdate, pictures, telephone number, school name, or schedules of my activities. I will check with my teacher before registering at any website or filling out any form at any website. I will keep my login and password information private. I will report any attacks or inappropriate behavior directed at me while online.
• Respect Others. I will show respect to others. I will not use technologies to bully, harass, stalk, or tease other people. I will not pretend to be someone else when communicating with others. I will use appropriate language in all of my digital communications. If I disagree with someone’s opinion online, I will do so in a respectful way. I will be sure any criticism I give is constructive rather than hurtful.
• Protect Others. I will protect others by reporting abuse and not forwarding inappropriate materials or communications.
• Respect Intellectual Property. I will do my own work. I will ask permission to use copyrighted or otherwise protected materials such as another’s thoughts or pictures instead of just copying and pasting, which is plagiarism and potentially a violation of copyright law. I will suitably cite the use of websites, books, pictures, videos, etc.
• Protect Intellectual Property. I will request to use the software and media others produce.
• Respect Property. I will not deface, damage, nor destroy the property of the St. Joseph School District.
• Protect Property. I will ensure the proper handling and safety of property belonging to the St. Joseph School District.