ICT and Social Media Expected Use Policy

Introduction
Screen National School recognises that access to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) gives our students enhanced opportunities to learn, engage, communicate and develop skills that will prepare them for many aspects of life.
To that end, we provide access to ICT for student use. We maintain www.screenns.ie as our school website and blog through the same site. We tweet at @screenturtles.
We maintain ‘Screen National School’ as our Facebook page. This is used solely as a communication tool between school and parents as the children in our school are too young to use Facebook. Images of children are never shared through this channel. It is merely used to share school news and events with the wider adult community.
This Expected Use Policy outlines the guidelines and behaviours that our students are expected to follow when using school technologies for school activities of any nature.

Technologies Covered
Screen N.S. may provide students with Internet access, desktop computers, digital imaging equipment, laptop or tablet devices, videoconferencing capabilities, virtual learning environments, online collaboration capabilities, online discussion forums, blogs and more.
The policies outlined in this document are intended to cover all online technologies used in the school, not just those specifically mentioned.

Screen N.S. ICT Network
The Screen N.S. computer network is intended for educational purposes.
• All activity over the network may be monitored and retained
• Access to online content via the network is restricted in accordance with our policies and the Department of Education and Skills through its agency, the National Centre for Technology in Education
•Students are expected to respect that the web filter is a safety precaution, and should not try to circumvent it when browsing the Web. If a site is blocked and a student believes it shouldn’t be, the student can ask his/her teacher submit the site for review. This is done via the Professional Development Service for Teachers Technology filtering service BrightCloud.
•Teachers have full editorial rights over the school website, blog and twitter. Students will not have access to relevant passwords.
• Students are expected to follow the same rules for good behaviour and respectful conduct online as offline. These rules are found in the Screen N.S. Code of Behaviour.
• Misuse of school resources may result in disciplinary action in line with the school’s Code of Behaviour.
• After using school laptops, students must ensure that they are returned to the laptop trolley and assigned their correct space in the trolley.
• We make a reasonable effort to ensure students’ safety and security online, but will not be held accountable for any harm or damages that result from misuse of school technologies.
• When blogging, recording audio or sending any sort of online communication from a school device, students must not slander, defame or misrepresent the school or the views or activities of another individual.
• The school teachers choose and modify all Twitter followers/followees and all are for an intended educational purpose. Retweets are not necessarily the views of Screen N.S., but are discussed and distributed for educational and conversational purposes.
• There are no full name references on Twitter.
• There is an interaction reply policy for parents and the community on Twitter. We will follow parents back, once they have followed the school, but we do not seek them out on the site. We will reply to tweets directed at the school once it is deemed appropriate by teachers to do so. The tone of all interactions is conversational and could be described as ‘classroom style’ language.
• We do not follow or reply to students on Twitter, however we may ‘star’ a comment to reference the comment in the future.
• The staff and teachers of Screen N.S. commit to not using the online platforms or school accounts for the expression of personal views and we request that the children and parents adopt a similar policy when commenting online through comments on the blog and in directed tweets to the school account.
• Students are expected to alert his/her teacher immediately of any concerns for safety or security.

Online CollaborationThrough Blogging and Other Platforms
Screen N.S. recognises that online collaboration is essential to education and may provide students with access to a variety of online tools that allow communication, sharing, and messaging among students.
Students are expected to communicate with the same appropriate, safe, mindful and courteous conduct online as offline. This is of particular relevance to our school blog.

Mobile Devices
Screen N.S. may provide students with mobile computers, digital recorders or other devices to promote learning both inside and outside of the school. Students should abide by the same expected use policies, when using school devices off the school network, as on the school network.
Students are expected to treat these devices with respect. They should report any loss, damage, or malfunction to their teacher staff immediately. Use of school issuedmobile devices will be monitored.
Personal Mobile Devices
Students may not use personally-owned devices in school (e.g. laptops, tablets/computers, digital-cameras, and smart-phones) for educational purposes, unless explicitly stated in notes read and signed by parents/guardians and written by their classroom teacher.
Appropriate online behaviour and adherence to the expected use policy should always be used.

Security
We ask that our students use common sense if they think a website does not look ‘right’. They must inform their teacher of any concerns. They must think before they click on anything they feel is not right. If they believe a computer or mobile device they are using might be infected with a virus, they must alert their teacher.

Netiquette
Netiquette may be defined as appropriate social behaviour over computer networks and in particular in the online environment. To this end:
• Students should always use the Internet, network resources, and online sites in a courteous and respectful manner.
• Students should also recognise that among the valuable content online is unverified, incorrect, or inappropriate content.
• Students should not to post anything online that they wouldn’t want parents, teachers, or future colleges or employers to see. More detailed examples of expected use and unacceptable use are given in Appendices I and II.
Plagiarism
• Students should not plagiarise content (copy or use as your own without citing the original creator), including words or images from the Internet, for inclusion on our school blog or Twitter.
• Students should not take credit for things they didn’t create themselves, or misrepresent themselves as an author or creator of something found online.
• The school will encourage students who create original content to claim ownership of it.

Personal Safety
If students see a message, comment, image, or anything else online that makes them concerned for their personal safety, they must bring it to the immediate attention of
• a teacher if they are at school
• a parent / guardian if they are at home
Students should never share personal information about themselves or others, including phone numbers, addresses, PPS numbers and birth-dates over the Internet.
Students should never agree to meet someone they meet online in real life.
Students’ images will not be shared online (on the Screen N.S/.website, blog or Twitter) without explicit expressed permission from their parents. Parents will sign their consent, and also the AUP, during the enrolment process.
Consequently, other students must not take, use or share images of or from other students in school on school online platforms.
School videos on Vimeo or YouTube are not available for search or comment on the host sites.

Cyber-Bullying
Harassing, flaming, denigrating, impersonating, outing, tricking, excluding and cyber-stalking are all examples of cyber-bullying. Such bullying will not be tolerated in Screen N.S.
We advise the following:
• Our students must not send messages or post comments or photos with the intent of scaring, hurting, or intimidating someone else. Engaging in any online activities intended to harm (physically or emotionally) another person, will result in severe disciplinary action and loss of privileges
• In some cases, cyber-bullying is a crime
• Remember that your activities are monitored and retained
• The school will support students, teachers and parents in dealing with cyberbullying.
Screen N.S. is committed to the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools (Circular 0065/2011) and will act as required by the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the Department of Justice and Equality and the Health Service Executive.

Violations of this Expected Use Policy
Violations of this policy in Screen N.S. may have disciplinary repercussions, including:
• Suspension of computer privileges
• Notification to parents in most cases
• Detention
• Suspension from school and/or school-related activities
• Expulsion
Board of Management Review
This policy is due for review by the Board of Management in April 2016.