Technology Policies

Technology Policies

6162.7(a)

4118.53(a)

4218.53(a)

Policy

INSTRUCTION

Use of Proprietary Software Products

The Board wishes to ensure that all employees and students of the District who use technology adhere to all applicable statutes concerning software copyrights, use of technology and technology services as well as their ethical use.

Unauthorized duplication of software may subject employees, students and/or the District to both civil and criminal penalties under the United States Copyright Act. Employees may not give stand-alone software to any other employee or any software to non-employees including parents, contractors, students and others. District employees and students may use software on local area networks or on multiple machines only in accordance with applicable license agreements.

All software in use in the District must be one of four types:

(1) Purchased, using acceptable District purchasing techniques,

(2) Appropriate purchased shareware,

(3) Freeware/Public Domain, or

(4) Donated to the District using a formal donation procedure.

The Director of Information Technology of the District is charged with the responsibility of enforcing this policy and accompanying regulation. All software will be internally registered with the Director of Information Technology who will maintain a record of all software in active use and who will conduct periodic audits to determine compliance with this policy. Licensing agreements or other forms of documentation covering software shall be kept in a location determined by the Director of Information Technology.

Individuals violating this policy will be referred to the Building Principal and/or the Superintendent of Schools for disciplinary action. Violation of this policy may mean loss of the use of the computer, network system, or Internet and/or be subject to other disciplinary measures.

The Clinton Public Schools maintains full copyright on all software and related materials developed by its employees in whole or in part either during the time(s) for which they are being compensated or during a time for which they are not compensated but have utilized equipment owned by the Clinton Public Schools.

6162.7(b)

4118.53(b)

4218.53(b)

Policy

INSTRUCTION

Use of Proprietary Software Products (continued)

Software Usage Guidelines

Duplicating copyrighted software is not permitted unless it is specifically authorized under a policy or license agreement with the software developer.

Copying of public domain or shareware programs is permitted provided that there is adequate documentation available to prove that it is public domain. Furthermore, the software should be labeled “Public Domain Software” or “Shareware.”

Illegal copies of software, according to current copyright laws, may not be used on school system computers.

Software usage for both network and stand-alone versions must adhere to the following:

Lab-packs may only be loaded and utilized on the number of computers designated by the lab-pack agreement.

Site licenses may only be loaded and utilized on the number of computers designated by the lab-pack agreement. Extensions of such licenses beyond the originally designated number must be fully documented and attached to the original purchase agreement.

District licenses may only be loaded and utilized on the number of computers designated by the district-license agreement. Any changes needed at the site level under such an agreement must be approved by the Director of Information Technology.

Software Acquisition

1. All software purchases must have the appropriate object code regardless of the funding source.

2. All software acquisitions, regardless of funding source, must be approved by the Director of Information Technology.

6162.7(c)

4118.53(c)

4218.53(c)

Policy

INSTRUCTION

Use of Proprietary Software Products (continued)

(cf. 6161.1 – Guidelines for Evaluation/Selection of Instructional Materials)

(cf. 6161.7 – Use of Proprietary Software Products)

(cf. 6162.6 – Use of Copy Devices, Copyrights)

(cf. 6162.61 – Copyright Compliance)

(cf. 6163 – Instructional Resources for Students)

Legal Reference: Connecticut General Statutes

1-19(b)(11) Access to public records. Exempt records.

10-15b Access of parent or guardians to student’s records.

10-209 Records not to be public.

11-8a Retention, destruction and transfer of documents

11-8b Transfer or disposal of public records. State Library Board to

adopt regulations.

46b-56 (e) Access to Records of Minors

Connecticut Public Records Administration Schedule V – Disposition of Education Records (Revised 1983).

Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (section 438 of the General Education Provisions Act, as amended, added by section 513 of P.L. 93-568, codified at 20 U.S.C.1232g.).

Dept. of Educ. 34 C.F.R. Part 99 (May 9, 1980 45 FR 30802) regs. Implementing FERPA enacted as part of 438 of General Educ. Provisions act (20 U.S.C. 1232g)-parent and student privacy and other rights with respect to educational records, as amended 11/21/96.

Public Law 94-553, the Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. 101 et.seq.

Policy adopted:	May 3, 2004	CLINTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
		Clinton, Connecticut

6162.7(a)

4118.53(a)

4218.53(a)

Regulation

INSTRUCTION

Educational Software: License

It is the policy of the district to ensure that all employees and students of the district who use technology adhere to all applicable statutes concerning software copyrights, use of technology and technology services as well as their ethical use.

Educational Software: License

Staff members shall adhere to the following:

Obtaining Software – Four Acceptable Methods

Purchased Software – To purchase copyrighted software or shareware, employees must obtain the approval of the Director of Information Technology. All software acquired using this method must be purchased through the Building Principal and the Business Office using normal district procedures which require a purchase order.

Purchased Shareware – Same as above.

Freeware/Public Domain – Before downloading or accepting freeware as a gift, employees must obtain the approval of their supervisor and the Director of Information Technology.

Donated Software – Software may not be purchased by an employee using private funds and then installed on a District’s computer. However, individuals may donate software to be installed on district computers only with the written approval of the appropriate administrator and the Director of Information Technology. All original materials, licenses, and diskettes or CD’s must accompany the software donation and written documentation must exist for the donation prior to installation. Software acquisition channels are restricted as above to ensure that District schools have a complete record of all software that has been installed on District computers and can register, support, track, and upgrade such software accordingly. These restrictions also help to avoid viruses on the computer systems.

Internal Registration of Software – School-Level and System-Level Software Record

The District will internally register every software package with the Director of Information Technology so that there is a complete record of all installed software. The Director of Information Technology is responsible for maintaining these records in an appropriate storage

6162.7(b)

4118.53(b)

4218.53(b)

Regulation

INSTRUCTION

Educational Software: License

Internal Registration of Software – School-Level and System-Level Software Record (continued)

device. This internal registration procedure will contain: a photocopy or original of the license for the archive purposes; the title and publisher of the software, including freeware and public domain; the date and source of software acquisition, including a copy of the purchase order; the location of each installation as well as the inventory number of the hardware on which each copy of the software is installed; the name of the authorized user; the existence and location of backup copies; and the software product’s serial number. In cases where software is installed system-wide, the Director of Information Technology will maintain the originals and will provide copies of records for each school or building where the software is installed. The Director of Information Technology also will maintain the system-level record of all installed software.

Installation of Software

After the registration requirements above have been met, the software may be installed either by the technology staff or qualified individuals with the permission of the Director of Information Technology. No software shall be installed on District computers without the approval of the Director of Information Technology who will need to support this hardware/software tandem. Students are not allowed to install software on District computers unless specifically directed to do so by the Director of Information Technology.

Software User’s Manual

Original manuals, tutorials, and other user-oriented documentation will be made available, whenever possible, to assist the software users. The district technology staff will also continue to train both teachers and students in the use of appropriate computer software. When manuals are not available, staff members are encouraged to locate and request purchase of support materials for the software. It is recommended that the original of all supporting manuals for installed software be filed with the office of the Director of Information Technology.

6162.7(c)

4118.53(c)

4218.53(c)

Regulation

INSTRUCTION

Educational Software: License (continued)

Use of Software at Home

District computers are assets and must be kept both software legal and virus free. Only software obtained through the procedures outlined above may be used on District machines. Employees and students are not permitted to bring software from home and load it on District computers. Generally, District-owned software cannot be taken home and loaded on an employee’s computer if it also resides in the District’s computer. [However, some software companies provide in their license agreements that home use is permitted under certain circumstances.

Virus Protection-Data Disks

Virus protection on school computers shall be maintained at all times. Data disks are diskettes that contain information, data, or documents that were created or manipulated by a software program. These are not considered to be software and may be copied to and from school computers. Teachers or students who bring in data disks from home are responsible to ensure that their disks are free from viruses. Virus protection software must be used to examine these disks before they are used in a District computer. It is the responsibility of teachers and other faculty members to constantly monitor student use of computers and review all policies and procedures with the students regarding the acceptable use of technology.

School-Wide Area Network and Internet

All provisions of this policy extend beyond the single computer in use to the entire school network and the Internet. Generally, all software installed for use over the school network under a multiple license will be installed and maintained by the system technology staff.

Software Audits

The Director of Information Technology will conduct random audits of all District PC’s to ensure that the District is in compliance with all software licenses. The Director of Information Technology will submit a written report of any incidents of software violations found to the building administrator and to the superintendent of Schools. Any installed software for which no documentation or record exists will be reported as a violation. All such software will be eventually removed from District computers. Staff members or students who violate this software policy may lose their use of the computer, the school network, the Internet, and/or be subject to other disciplinary measures.

6162.7(d)

4118.53(d)

4218.53(d)

Regulations

INSTRUCTION

Educational Software: License (continued)

Educational Software Review and Acquisition Process

All software will correlate with the curriculum, academic area outcomes, the CMT and/or CAPT.

Software will be evaluated by individuals within our school district to ensure that the software is appropriate for our children. In addition, software evaluations from outside sources will be examined.

All individuals evaluating software must complete the district’s evaluation form.

A database of approved software eventually will be available to assist schools in making purchases. This database includes the academic outcomes that correlate with the curriculum. A copy of the software evaluations will be kept in a central location.

District-wide or large discount purchases may be recommended saving the school system a considerable amount of money and ensuring that only high-quality software is purchased.

School staff will review software on the district’s evaluation form (Appendix B). Steps one and two of the “Software Selection/Use Guidelines” (Appendix A) must be followed with a minimum of two site-based individuals reviewing the software based on the district’s criteria.

The evaluation forms must be sent to the school principal (or Director of Special Services) who will forward to the Director of Information Technology with a recommendation. The Director of Information Technology will determine whether or not the software is compatible with our hardware and is sustainable within the District’s Technology Plan.

Regulation approved:	May 3, 2004	CLINTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Regulation revised:		Clinton, Connecticut

6162.7 Appendix A

4118.53

4218.53

Page 1 of 1

Steps for Software Selection/Implementation

I. Determine the purpose of the Software

· to teach a new skill

· to provide remediation

· to determine a student’s skill level

· to provide practice to develop a skill

· to apply the skill using true-to-life scenarios

· to provide experiences otherwise not available in the classroom

II. Evaluate the Software Based on the Learner's Needs

· Is the software correlated with the curriculum and academic outcomes?

· Is the software age-appropriate?

· Is the software easy to use? (easily understood documentation)

· What student learning preferences are necessary for the learner to be successful? (sound, read‑aloud/along text, screen information, type of activity)

· How much and what type of interaction is utilized?

· How much and what type of feedback is provided?

· What constraints does the software employ which may effect the success of the learner? (timer, spelling, etc.)

· Is the learner's attention span cohesive with this type of software product (based on amount of information presented, screen design, completion time, amount of motivation and interactivity, ease of use)?

· How much time will be required to complete the lesson?

· How many variations in information and experiences will challenge the learner within this software product?

· How many skills are challenged within each lesson?

· How complex is each required task?

· Is it compatible with current hardware?

· Will its implementation require additional hardware?

III. Implement Using Supplemental Techniques and Materials

· Does it provide a demonstration highlighting available options?

· Does it promote team activities?

· Does it provide instructor “help” aids (dictionary dollars, map money, etc.)?

· Does it design worksheets to help organize information?

6162.7 Appendix B

4118.53

4218.53

Page 1 of 3

SOFTWARE EVALUATION FORM

Title ________________________________________Publisher__________________________

Hardware Requirements ☐ PC Peripheral devices needed: ____________

☐ Mac ____________

☐ Server-based ____________

☐ Non server-based

☐ Cross platform

Academic Area(s) ___________________________ Range of Grade levels ____________

___________________________ ____________

Specific Curricular Outcomes _______________________________________________________________________

Give a one or two sentence description of the program.

________________________________________________________________________

Software Type(s)

____ Drill and Practice ____ Material Generation

____ Tutorial ____ Educational Game

____ Simulation ____ Computer‑Managed Instruction

____ Problem Solving ____ Database

____ Word Processing ____ Other, please specify:

6162.7 Appendix B

4118.53

4218.53

Page 2 of 3

Enter to the left of the items below one of the following:

SA - Strongly Agree A -Agree D - Disagree SD - Strongly Disagree NA - Not Applicable

_____ Content has clearly defined objectives.

_____ Content is accurate.

_____ Content has high educational value.

_____ Content is presented clearly and logically.

_____ Content is free of race, ethnic, gender, sex, age and other stereotypes.

_____ The student responses are handled effectively.

_____ Software branches to appropriate level of difficulty.

_____ Software randomly generates questions.

_____ User can easily and independently utilize the software.

_____ User can control the rate and sequence of instruction.

_____ The displays are effective.

_____ The graphics/music/sound/color have instructional value.

_____ Software has effective management system (keeps records of student response, provides appropriate reports).

_____ Software includes diagnostic testing.

_____ Documentation is comprehensive and effective.

Is the program available in another language? _____

If yes, please specify: ________________________

RECOMMENDATIONS

Do you recommend the use of this software?

______ Highly recommend

______ Recommend

______ Recommend subject to the following changes:

______ Do not recommend

Please state reasons.