Technology resources located in the classrooms, library, labs, and the school’s computer network are available for educational purposes only.
Students are responsible for the ethical use of their Colegio Bolivar network accounts, computers, and electronic devices. The following guidelines are intended to help students understand the appropriate use of technology resources. The school may restrict or terminate any user’s access, without prior notice, if such action is deemed necessary to maintain computing availability and security for other users of the system. Other disciplinary action may also be imposed as stated in the Colegio Bolivar Student Handbook, the “Manual de Convivencia,” or as otherwise detailed in this document.
Students should be respectful in their use of the technology resources at school and abide by the instructions of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) staff, teachers, and student TA’s (Technology Assistants). These include the following:
- Do not eat food, candy, or drink in the computer areas.
- Log off from the workstation after you have finished and leave the work area tidy.
- Take care of hardware and software resources as well as of furniture and other materials that are available for your use.
- Use only your own account and password: protect your password and change it periodically.
- Report lost or stolen passwords, or any other problems with network accounts, immediately to the ICT Staff or to your teacher.
- Report hardware and software problems to your teacher or the student TA immediately.
- Use only software programs authorized by the school. If you need to install a program, patch, or update, speak to ICT staff.
- Store all of your files in your home directory only unless instructed otherwise by your course instructor.
- Delete files or transfer them to removable digital media (cd, USB memory devices, etc.) when no longer needed at school. At the end of the school year, all content will be deleted from personal folders.
- You are responsible for Internet sites visited, files in your home directory, and all material received through your account.
- Comply with legal and school restrictions regarding plagiarism and the citation of information resources.
- Use technology devices in ways that do not violate the privacy of, or interfere with, the productivity of other students and staff.
- Email and personal use of computers should not deprive other students of resources required for schoolwork.
- Conserve consumable resources such as paper and ink.
- Do not give out personal information over the network: passwords, name, address, phone number, credit card numbers, etc.
- Report AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) infractions, suspicious behavior, or privacy violations to a teacher or ICT Staff.
- Cell phones should be turned off during class time.
- Use of laptop computers, audio players, USB memory drives, and any other digital devices during class time and exams is not allowed unless explicitly allowed by the teacher.
Students are not to use the school’s technology or their own technology resources in inappropriate ways. These include ways that
- are disruptive or intended to cause problems for other users;
- are illegal or libelous;
- interfere with the normal operations of the school’s systems;
- incite hatred or violence;
- jeopardize the safety or well-being of others;
- encourage the use of drugs;
- are pornographic or obscene;
- promote dangerous or antisocial behavior;
- are threatening or insulting;
- would tarnish the reputation of Colegio Bolivar.
Students are advised that there will be severe consequences if they participate in inappropriate activities, as explained below:
Category 1 – Inappropriate activities that will result in administrative disciplinary action
Students who participate in any of the following inappropriate activities can expect to be disciplined, which may involve parent conferences, loss of computer privileges, failed objectives, suspension from classes, or expulsion from the school. The activities in this category are considered serious because they interfere with the normal operations of our systems or are harmful to members of our school community. Even first-time offenders may face serious consequences.
- Hacking Under no circumstances should students attempt to modify network resources without authorization. A student who is engaged in suspicious activities such as tampering with the school’s security software, trawling, trolling, falsifying their identity or hiding files will be considered a threat to the safety of the School’s network.
- Files Students shall not keep inappropriate files in their directories or in any of the school computers.
- Privacy Students shall not attempt to use or interfere with the private resources of others such as their account, password, email, or files. Students shall not take pictures of other members of the community without their explicit consent. Students shall not distribute images in any way from community members without their consent.
- Gaming Students shall not install games. Students shall not play unless they are authorized by a teacher as part of an academic activity. Students shall not save game files in the school’s network.
- Electronic Mail Students shall not send inappropriate messages via email.
- Internet Students shall not enter inappropriate Internet sites or create/support/participate in a web presence (webpage, blog, social media, etc) that threatens the integrity of the Bolivar Community or that promotes antisocial attitudes.
- Dishonesty Students shall not engage in activities that promote dishonesty, which includes plagiarism, sharing files, or any form of identity theft using the electronic work of others.
- Copyright Students shall not copy and paste texts, graphics, or photos of Internet pages protected by copyright without proper recognition or permission from the author.
- Software Licenses Students shall not use programs for which the School does not have a valid license.
- Safety Students shall not post, send, or share information of other people that may put their safety at risk.
Category 2 – Inappropriate activities that will be reported in an AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) infraction report
Students who participate in the following activities can cause serious problems and interfere with the use of computers by other individuals. These actions frequently distract the resources and time of technology staff when restoring network resources.
These students can expect the director of their section to confront them for their activities and be notified that a report prepared by the systems staff be placed in their file. In addition, they may even lose their computer privileges. The reoccurrence of such behavior can lead to Category 1 Disciplinary Activities.
- Students shall not install or download programs without teacher or System staff authorization.
- Students shall not modify the computers’ configuration: cursor, color, screen saver, background.
- Students shall not send emails that cause inconvenience to others: “spam”, email chains, trash mails.
- Students shall not use the School’s computers for sales purposes (for example, to create a website or sale banners).
- Students shall not use their network file folders to save personal documents not School-related, for example: MP3 files, music videos, and personal photographs.
- Students shall not use the computers as consoles to listen to music.
- Students shall not use “chat” websites, unless authorized by their teacher for academic purposes.
- Students shall not use cellphones during class sessions.