Computer systems and Peripherals
Mice, Keyboards, network
cables
Maintenance of Computer Systems and Peripherals
Software
Data
Laptops
Network Appliances and Tools
OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
1 Mission Statement
The proposed technology vision of Coventry Public Schools is to integrate technology throughout the district; to enhance student learning and productivity; to enhance instruction and increase teacher efficiency; refine and improve the productivity of education systems and improve communication to provide greater access to information.
1.1 Values
Technology is not value free. As an educational community all choices must be based on ethical and legal regulations. All users must abide by copyright and software license agreements.
Technology helps to create better citizens who are able to be productive and capable of operating in a world increasingly reliant on technology. Technology can improve a student’s ability to access, organize, create and communicate information and ideas. Each student will have equal opportunity to develop knowledge and skills through the use of technology.
Teachers need to be proficient in the use and integration of technology as a tool in the instruction of students. Teachers should take advantage of professional development opportunities both offered by the district and those offered elsewhere. Proper and appropriate use of technology can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of teaching.
Successful implementation of technology in education requires planning and long-term budgeting. To have teachers and students use technology successfully, the following is needed: (1) adequate hardware, (2) access to appropriate types and amounts of software; (3) long-term, sustained staff development; and (4) appropriate support staff based on computer to technical support ratio standards.
Schools that plan an expansion of their network or require the introduction of new technology must consult and seek approval from the Office of Technology. All such plans must be consistent with the District Technology Plan.
Any network wiring of buildings in the district must be authorized by the Office of Technology and coordinated through the Physical Plant office. Written communication in the form of wiring diagrams specifying cable lengths and access areas must be provided to both offices prior to any work being performed.
No employee or outside entity is allowed to alter the network structure including wiring.
Computer Systems and Peripheral Devices
2.1 Definitions
A computer system is a combination of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), display (such as a monitor), and input device (such as a mouse or keyboard)
A peripheral device is any device that depends on a computer for any its functionality. These devices would include printers, scanners, and other imaging device.
A network printer is a printer that is either connected directly to an Ethernet port on the network or though a printer server device that is connected directly to the network.
A local printer is a printer that is connected directly to a computer through a parallel cable or USB cable.
2.2 Purchases
District and School administrators are responsible for providing the money necessary to provide computer systems and peripherals that support the instructional needs and management needs of their building or department.
District technology personnel are responsible to approving the use of particular hardware for its ability to perform to industry standards, operate on a network, or be supportable by district personnel or through a vendor. Hardware must also not cause undue stress or traffic on the network.
2.3 Use
The use of computer hardware is governed by the acceptable use policy. The use of this equipment is for district initiatives. The computer cannot be used for personal financial gain. This includes selling products or services. The computer must not be used for personal productivity such as home finance, etc.
Only district technology personnel are allowed to operate computers or network appliances configured to offer network services. These include routers, hubs, switches, Wireless Access Points, web services, file and print sharing, DHCP, DNS, WINS, or peer-to-peer file sharing services.
No employee, student or guest may bring in a personal computer to use in the district with the exception of use during a presentation or workshop.
Network printer repairs are the responsibility of the district technology personnel.
Local printers are the responsibility of the building administrator or designee. These printers must be installed by district personnel since installation includes installing software.
Consumables and Local printer cables
Consumables such as printer ink/toner cartridges, writable CD-ROMs, and floppy disks are the responsibility of the local building.
Local printer cables are the responsibility of the local building.
Mice, keyboards, and network cables
The district will supply mice, keyboards and network cables.
Inoperable or obsolete computer systems must be disposed of by following state and federal guidelines. Usually this will cost the district money. The district has set up a repository of these old system. They must be made available to the public before they are disposed.
2.6 Donations
Do not accept old or inoperable systems from companies or individuals. Old systems are defined as any system that cannot support the WindowsXP operating system. Currently we are not accepting systems older than Pentium IV processors.
The district recognizes the services of the PTA, other organizations and individuals in providing equipment for use in the district. Such donations must be made after conferences between the donor, principal, and Office of Technology. The role of the Office of Technology is to see that the additions are in accord with administrative policies.
Donations of computer hardware are always made to Coventry Public Schools. They are not the ownership of a particular department or person. Computer hardware, especially computers systems, must support instruction and management goals of the district. These systems must be able to support district software including MS Office and Antivirus.
Donations need to be documented. This documentation includes original licensing agreements for operating systems and applications. A form is available on the public drive or on the district website.
The following considerations should be made before accepting a donation: (1) Does the equipment function properly; (2) Does the equipment have a legal operating system; (3) Will it run the current software; (4) Is furniture and space available for this computer; and (5) Is there adequate electrical and networking connections for this computer.
2.4 Relocation of Computer systems and Peripherals
District and School administrators are responsible for the movement of computer systems and network printers in their building or in their department.
Computers and network printers must be physically moved and configured by district technology personnel. District technology personnel have the responsibility of uniquely naming each system and configuring each system to meet any LAN policy or software requirement. Computers and network printers that are moved without the involvement of district technology personnel can cause other computers to be “knocked off” the network making them unable to function properly, it at all.
Computer and network printer movement also involves access to network resources. District and School administrators must work with district technology personnel to
2.5 Maintenance of Computer Systems and Peripherals
2.5.1 Self Help
Users should develop basic troubleshooting skills. These skills should be commensurate with a home user. Coventry teachers and staff are not expected to troubleshoot network issues or deal with mechanical failures.
These skills include:
Use all help menus or on-line help sites.
Ask three before you ask me! Ask a student or colleague who uses
the same resource.
Check all cables and electrical connections to make sure that these
connections are secure and connected to the correct port.
Making sure that the computer is plugged into an electrical outlet that
is working and all on/off switches are on. Sometimes a toggle switch
will be located in the rear of the CPU.
·
Making sure that all connections to the CPU are tight. These include
the mouse, keyboard, monitor and network cable.
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Checking the settings on the monitor so that it is not blackened or the
image distorted by the monitor controls.
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Setting the domain to CoventrySchools rather than to the local computer
on the login screen.
·
Making sure that the CAP LOCK key is not on. Passwords are case
sensitive.
·
Making sure that the username is entered correctly without spaces
before, after or somewhere within the username.
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Basic printer functions such as: changing ink/toner cartridges, clearing
paper jams, making sure that the printer in online, adding a network
printer, and checking the cable connection between the printer and
computer. Note that the district does not maintain low-end, local
printers such as bubble ink-jet printers. These are the responsibility
of the user or building administrators.
If users are unable to remedy the problem using the steps outlined above, then they must contact the local computer support person in their building. End-users should not contract district technology personnel directly.
2.5.2 Local Computer Support Personnel
Each building should have one or more individuals that serve in a technical support capacity. These individuals must have technical skill that will support users. The primary responsibility of these individuals is to help teachers and staff in their building to become competent with the use of computers and basic troubleshooting skills. They act as in-time trainers for other teachers. They act as technologically savvy teachers. As such they must follow all copyright laws and district policies concerning installation of software. They should know basic Windows functionality, basic use of Microsoft Office Applications including Microsoft Outlook. They should know how the set up email, install network printers, and access network resources.
They should assist the school community in the development of professional development needs and help communicate this need to the district.
They help teachers and staff by going through the basic troubleshooting steps outlined above. If the computer is still not functioning correctly, then this individual is responsible for contacting the district technology personnel. Their role is not to repair computer systems or act as a technician.
2.5.3 District Technology Personnel
Only district technology personnel may service a computer system outside the basic troubleshooting steps outlined above. It is their responsibility to open up a CPU and perform repairs on hardware. No other employee, parent, student or outside vendor is permitted to perform this function.
Maintenance requests must be done via email. In the case of an emergency a building administrator or their secretary should contact district technical personnel by cell phone. However, this should be followed by an email in order to have a electronic record of the request. . Please provide a detailed explanation. Follow-up this phone message with an email so that their is documentation of the request and response.
3 Software
The district is responsible for the purchasing and supporting of Microsoft and Apple operating systems. This licensing includes upgrades. The district is also responsible for certain district-wide productivity software. Currently only Microsoft Office is deployed as a district-wide productivity suite.
The District student management system is also a district-wide solution. This product is currently SchoolMax at all schools.
All other software purchases and support are the responsibility of the local building or department head. This software must be approved by district technology personnel for its ability to work with existing or future operating systems. Schools should give a preference to software which will run over a network and not be restricted to individual workstations.
Software must match the instructional and management goals of the district.
3.2 Licensing
All users have a responsibility to be aware of the terms of software license agreements. The original or copy of the license agreement must be supplied to the office of technology. This procedure expedites any auditing of the district.
As a rule software that is sold with media is allowed to be installed on a single workstation. Note that running the application one computer at a time is not the same as installing the software one computer at a time. The district must own that license. In the case of a single media, the district must own the media. The license agreement can usually be found on the cover, on paper or as a file on the media. If the agreement cannot be found the user should contact the software vendor to get a copy of the agreement. A legal copy can be made of the media to be used on the computer. The original should be stored in a safe place. A Xerox copy of the media must be sent to district technology personnel to be filed in the case of an audit.
Illegal copies of copyrighted software may not be made or used on school equipment. Specifically, no person may use or cause to be used on a school computer any software which does not fall within the following categories: (1) It is public domain; (2) It is covered by a licensing agreement with the software vendor; (3) It is donated to the district and a written record of a bona fide contribution exists; (4) It has been purchased by the district and a record of a bona fide purchase exists; or (5) It is being reviewed by the users in order to reach a decision about possible future purchase.
The legal or insurance protection of the district will not be extended to employees who violate copyright laws.
Some licensing is done on building or enterprise wide basis. This licensing is always in written form and should contain the signatures of the parties. A copy of these licenses must be forwarded to district technology personnel to be filed in the case of an audit.
The principal and tech support personnel in each school is responsible for establishing an atmosphere and practices which will enforce this policy at the school level.
3.3 Installation of software
Some software will run directly from a CD-ROM and does not need to be installed. These applications usually require that the CD-ROM is present in a drive.
Most network software does not require installation. Users must be certain that the network path is available for its use.
Software that requires installation must be done by district technology personnel.
Free downloadable software that provides functionality to certain applications such as Internet Explorer or are use to display files such as pdf-files must be installed by district technology personnel.
Currently fines can be given up to $150,000 for each infraction, i.e., each illegal installation. A workstation with five illegally installed software applications can cost the district $750,000. Lawsuits have been successfully placed against districts including in Rhode Island. For this reason the Office of Technology will need proof of licensing.
Communication
Coventry Public Schools provides all teachers and staff with an email address. This address is in the form of LastNameFirstName@CoventrySchools.net. This email address should be the primary address used when communicating with colleagues, students and parents. Click here for detailed e-mail instructions.
Schools and administrators should use email as a primary form of communication. Staff should habitually check their email for communication from Central Office, school, colleagues and parents.
The email server resides within the Coventry Public Schools’ WAN. It scans for inappropriate emails and content in the form of SPAM or viruses.
The district must maintains a website at http://www.coventryschools.net. Administrators should see it as a priority to keep the public informed by placing timely, germane information on both the district website and on each school website. District personnel should make it a priority to have documentation including district parent information, policies, and forms in electronic form available to the public. It is the responsibility of these administrators and their staff to check their area of the district website to make sure that this information is posted and accurate.
Every school must have a website that is kept current. This implies that all events, public documents, and any paper communication to parents and student be available in electronic form on the school website. Staff should post through the webmaster any information that affects the student body or staff.
School websites and their contents are the responsibility of the principal. School administrators should provide any information or links to areas of their website that would be of interest or importance to the district. These would include events, press releases, and projects that that showcases achievements made by administrators, teachers or students. All public paper documents should be in electronic form and made available through the district website. Remove or replace all broken links on a regular basis.
Schools should promote their websites as a primary vehicle of communication between school and home. An effort should be made to make the sites interactive and interesting so that the public will go to it for timely and important information. The public should have the ability to contact the school through an email contract or interactive web pages.
No student information or student work should be posted on a school or district website without parental consent. No student’s names or pictures should be posted in an unrestricted area. If student pictures or work are posted on the website only the student’s first name and last initial should be used. Information in restricted areas should be provided based on a need to access basis.
All pages must be curriculum or school related. No personal student or staff homepage or links to those pages are allowed on the school website.
DATA
The district provides space in the form of a home-directory or folder for each user account. These folders are titled by using the username. Home-directories appear in “My Computer” as a regular drive. However, the location of the data is not on the workstation, but resides on a server. Normally, the home-directory of the user is located in the same building as the user. However, in the case of itinerants, the home-directory is either located at one of the schools or at Central Office. These folders are accessible on any workstation in the district as long as a person logs in under his/her username.
Files that are placed on the home-directory are for the use of that user. Only the user and network administrators have access to this data. Any electronic media placed on the network is the property of the district while it resides on the network. Users are responsible for making backup copies of their files. However, daily backups are done of all files in home-directories.
Users should use discretion when storing files in their home-directory. Space is limited so that there should be some education purpose for files stored on the network. Home-directories are purged of multimedia files such as sound and video. They are not purged of graphics files. however a quota may be set for the amount of space available to a user.
Files and other data should not be stored on a local drive, especially the C-drive. These drives are routinely cleared on files due to limited space. The district assumes no responsibility for data placed on a local hard drive.
Public directories for groups are
provided on the network. Access to these directories can be limited to selected
individuals. Network administrators, however, always retain full access rights
to these directories and their contents.
Data stored on servers enjoy a high level of security. This data is also backed
up daily. Data stored on network servers that becomes corrupted can be restored
by contacting the Office of Technology.
Users are not permitted to create folders on the root of public nor on the root
of any school folder. If a user needs to share files with other users, they
should contact the Office of Technology to create a folder in the appropriate
location with the appropriate permissions. Once the folder is created the owner
of that top level folder can create folders, add files and do whatever they need
to based on the permissions they had set on the top level folder.
Teachers may wish to give student Read-Only access to certain folders. This
prevents students from deleting or changing a document which a teacher may want
to make available to a group. Add-Only access can be given to student in order
to allow students to drop work in a folder without being able to view the
contents of the folder nor be able to made changes in it. Note that documents
cannot be created in a Add-Only folder since such a process requires the
document be modified as it changes.
4 laptops
4.1 District owned Laptops or handheld computers
Employee Use
All employees using devices provided by the district must sign a equipment use form. Supervisors are responsible for maintaining a log of laptop assignments for their staff. The use of this equipment is for district initiatives. Only software purchased by the district may be installed on these laptops.
Laptops will be available ten (10) days before the opening of schools and must be returned within ten (10) days after the close of school. District technology personnel require the returned time to perform routine maintenance on these systems.
All software must be installed by the district technology personnel.
Student Use
Building administrators or, in the case of student receiving a laptop from special services, the Director of Special Services are responsible for maintaining a log of laptop assignments for students under their care.
Unless an IEP specifically states to the contrary, laptops/computer will be available ten (10) days before the opening of schools and must be returned within ten (10) days after the close of school. District technology personnel require the returned time to perform routine maintenance on these systems.
All software must be installed by the district technology personnel. Its use must be governed by either an IEP or another supporting document that outlines the educational purpose of this laptop and where and when it can be used.
4.1.3 Personal Laptops
Anyone may use a laptop as a stand-alone computer. That is, there are no restrictions of someone’s use of a laptop if it is not connected to the district network.
All owners of personal laptops are responsible for the safety and care of their laptop while it is in the district. The district is not responsible for power problems, viruses or any intrusion into their system while used in the district.
Users are responsible for any activity which can be traced to their system. They must bear the cost of any reparations due to their system use on the district network.
Personal laptops that connect to the Coventry Public Schools network must have current virus protection with the latest virus definitions installed. They may not run any network services that allows them to share data across the network. They may, however, connect to network resources provided by the district.
4.1.3.1 Administrators, Teachers and Staff
Administrators, teachers and staff are encouraged to use personal laptops to access network resources and Internet access.
4.1.3.2 Students and Guests
Students may connect laptops their laptops in conspicuous locations where they can be monitored by an administrator, teacher or staff member of the district. Students must follow the use rules outlined above in this document.
Network Appliances and tools
A network appliance is any device that is connected to the network that provides services or connectivity. These include servers, routers, switches, and hubs.
Network tools are software applications that are used to monitor, troubleshoot or view devices, packets or bandwidth on a network.
5.2 Purchases
Only district technology personnel may purchase network appliances or tools.
Installation, Configuration and Maintenance
Only district technology personnel or a vendor contracted with the district through the district technology personnel may install and configure a network appliance or network tool.
Only district technology personnel can configure and/or connect a network appliance to the district network. Anyone caught connecting a network appliance without the permission of the district is liable to trespassing charges.