Acceptable Use Policy

Teachers, Parents, Administrators, Support Staff

BACKGROUND

Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh (CK:P) is a telecommunications project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project is a collaboration among Pittsburgh Public Schools, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center and the University of Pittsburgh.

Prior to NSF funding Robert Carlitz, through a project at the University of Pittsburgh, offered area educators Internet access. This seed activity was the basis for the present group of accounts in the domain [pps.pgh.pa.us].

Your account gives you full Internet access as well as the ability to create web pages. There are presently about 2,500 PPS staff accounts.

The Internet provides a mechanism to access world wide resources for curriculum use and to facilitate community building in the school district. The Guidelines which follow have been developed to allow both the curriculum component and the building process to go smoothly.

The most recent technical innovations allow users, who have CK:P Internet accounts, the ability to create web pages. This development requires that we expand this policy document to include guidelines for web pages.

If you are a Pittsburgh Public Schools teacher, administrator, or support staff and would like an Internet account, please contact the Common Knowledge office at 622-2230. New accounts will be operational within a couple of days.

GUIDELINES

1. The account belongs to the person to whom it is issued and only that person is authorized to use it.

2. Your account is provided through the Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh (CK:P) project. It is intended to be used in support of the project's educational goals. These goals are on the CK:P gopher and WWW server.

3. In order to ensure smooth system operations, the System Administrator has the authority to monitor all accounts. Every effort will be made to maintain privacy and security in this process.

4. As part of the assessment component, the staff of Common Knowledge: Pittsburgh will monitor your use of network resources. Monitoring will include tracking the amount of time you spend using these resources, but will not identify you by name.

5. Your account associates you with the Pittsburgh Public Schools (PPS). Accounts should not be used in a way that would reflect badly on PPS.

Staff Homepage must:

- be curriculum focused and educationally oriented

- reflect School District's Ethics Policy

- cannot conflict with existing School Board Policy

A web conference held on January 27, 1996 produced a more detailed discussion on Web pages. Notes for this conference can be found at: Notes on Web Conference

PROHIBITIONS

The following practices are NOT acceptable:

1. giving out your password

2. sharing your account

3. using someone else's account

4. using your account to harass someone

5. using your account for commercial purposes

6. seeking unauthorized access to any resource

CONSEQUENCES

1. restricted network access,

2. losing your network account,

3. disciplinary or legal action including, but not limited to, criminal prosecution under appropriate state and federal laws.

Common Knowledge has set up a Resources Working Group to explore network resources and to handle issues around access, and accounts. This working group is made up of representatives from CK:P sites, as well as CK:P Ed-staff and CK:P Assessment-staff. The Resources Working Group will arbitrate any problems around access.

Please send any comments regarding this Ethics Policy to wg-resources