Acceptable Use Policy

Students will receive a laptop for school use.  Families must purchase insurance available through the School District of Philadelphia for student laptop computers or risk incuring the full cost of any and all repairs. The cost is $85, and payment plans are available for families in need of assistance. No student will be denied insurance for financial reasons. A notice is sent home about laptop insurance.

SLA Acceptable Use Policy

We live in a changing world where we have more and faster access to information than ever before. Students now can be both consumers and producers of information, and we at the Science Leadership Academy strive to be a 21st Century school, taking advantage of the many new technologies and new methods of communication now available to our students. With access to these new technologies, students will have opportunities to learn and create like never before, but with those opportunities do come new responsibilities.

The Laptop
Science Leadership Academy students will be provided with a laptop for their school use. The laptop is an extremely useful tool that when properly used can truly enhance learning. Though the laptop can be used for many purposes, you must remember that its main purpose is as a learning tool. In order to ensure that you get the most out of your computer, we ask you to read this document carefully and observe the guidelines and policies within.

General Information About Your Computer

The SLA laptops – Apple MacBooks or iBooks – will look similar; yours will, however, be labeled so that you can easily recognize it as your own. Your computer is your responsibility and no-one else’s; if something happens to it, you will be held accountable. We strongly recommend that you do not loan your computer to anyone or allow your friends to use it: you will be held responsible for how your laptop is used, no matter who  is using it. 

The laptops are School District of Philadelphia property - they belong to the school. The school therefore has the right to ask you for your computer back at any time or to search through your computer’s files. All SLA families are asked to pay an $85 insurance fee

The following guidelines are to ensure that the SLA laptop program continues and your laptop lasts all four years. Students will:
• Keep the computer in a safe and clean place.
• Agree to not attempt to change hardware settings or non-cosmetic system software settings.
• Notify the Science Leadership Academy if I move and change my home residence while the computer is in my possession.
• Provide the Science Leadership Academy with a police report in the event of fire or theft.
• Keep my laptop in a padded backpack. 

The following guidelines must be respected to ensure fair use for all SLA community members.

File-Storage                                                                                                                                                                                                          
In order to save on resources, the Science Leadership Academy prefers not to use CDs to store school related data. All of the files you will be working with will be stored in one of these places:  Your computer’s hard drive and your Science Leadership Academy server. Many of our students use jump drives, however they should only be used for temporary storage, not as a permanent storage solution.

The File Server
The server functions like a virtual hard drive; you will be able to store all of your work on your file space on the server and retrieve the files from home or from school whenever you need to. You will be provided with a password and a username that you will use to gain access to the server. Please do not share your password or username with anyone else, and do not try to log in using anyone else’s password and username.

By using the server, the safety of your files will be ensured, and if your computer crashes or breaks, you will still be able to get to your work using these drives. Keep in mind, the server space should be used for educational purposes only. Do not use the server to store personal files such as movies, games, non-school related images, etc. Personal files and applications may be stored on your computer’s hard drive; SLA is, however, not responsible for the loss of any of these files if your computer crashes or breaks. Please be sure to save a copy of any and all important schoolwork to the file server.

Connecting to the Internet
The entire school is covered by a high-speed wireless internet network. All students will be able to access the internet from anywhere within the school at any time. With all this, however, comes a degree of risk and of danger: there are a set of things to avoid and general rules to abide by while online. Below is a list of some of the opportunities and limitations presented to you on the Science Leadership Academy network.

Email                                                                                                                                                                                              
You will have access to an email account while at SLA. You may use this to communicate with parents, teachers, friends, and fellow students around the globe. Email can also be used to send and exchange documents between your teachers and peers.

An email address such as firstinitiallastname@scienceleadership.org will be provided to you. This is what you should use for exchanging information and documents with fellow SLA community members. We ask that you use this address for all school-related purposes.

Before or after classes, or during lunch/recess, you will be allowed to check your mail on non-SLA accounts such as www.gmail.com or www.yahoo.com. Please use these addresses for non-school related purposes.

You must not use the SLA email account for the following; sending viruses to other students or teachers, sending “spam mail” or “chain letters,” or sending very large files, such as videos, movies, or games (unless you have received special permission from your teacher). If network administrators see that an SLA email account is being used for these illicit purposes, the account will be suspended or deleted and you may be subject to disciplinary procedure.

Communicating with others over the internet is very much like communicating with people in person: you must be respectful of others at all times, and you can expect them to be respectful of you in return. Here are some basic do’s and don’ts of internet communication.

Do

• Use clear and precise language whenever possible.
• Treat others as you’d like to be treated.
• Be polite and courteous, whether you are writing to a friend or to a teacher.
• Keep your emails brief and to the point.
• Respond to emails promptly to assure that information gets to where it needs to go.

Don’t

• Use slang or swear words or Instant Messaging speak.
• Include any explicit sexual content in your writings.
• Be rude or aggressive towards others.
• Send others offensive files or messages.
• Use the SLA email account as a means of resolving a personal feud.

Remember that all email can be read by the SLA technology team and administration. Don’t write anything you’d be afraid to show your parents or teachers.

Research
You will be able to browse hundreds of thousands of websites, each containing tons of information which can be used in your school projects and personal learning. Remember that the information you view online is someone else’s work, and that it is essential that you respect copyright laws. Plagiarism will not be tolerated from any student.

Publishing To The Web
From time to time, you or your teachers will wish to publish your work and photos on the internet for others to see. This is a great opportunity for you as a student as well as for people not directly involved in the Science Leadership Academy: it provides you and other students with a chance to share your work with the world, and it gives outsiders a view of what is going on within the walls of SLA. Student photos may also be shown on the website. Of course, SLA wishes to respect the privacy of each individual student which is why we send home the media release form every year.

Gaming and Other Entertainment Media

At SLA, we understand that computers are not only great tools for learning, but for entertainment as well. However, we feel that gaming while at school would be distracting both to the gamer and to other students. Because of this, no gaming will be allowed by students while at SLA, unless the games being played have been specially approved by your teachers. For the same reasons, listening to music and watching videos on your computers is also off-limits while in classes, unless directly related to your SLA education. And of course, no pornography will be allowed on the SLA laptops. If any student is found to have pornography, disciplinary procedures including possible loss of laptop privileges will occur.

Chatting @ School
While many members of SLA -- including faculty and staff -- use chat programs such as iChat, Adium, Twitter and others, learning how to use these while remaining a productive member of the community is of the utmost importance. Students should be aware that chatting during class time is a distraction, and teachers have the expectation that students who are asked to get off of a chat program will do so immediately and not have to be told again. 

File Sharing and Downloading

In recent times, the use of the computer to share music, videos, games and other software has become very popular. The SLA network does not support file sharing for non-educational purposes; no personal file sharing is allowed while connected to the SLA network. This includes using Peer-to-Peer programs like Napster, Limewire and Kazaa, using BitTorrent, or sharing non-educational files with other students using the server.

Using Laptops in Class
While the laptops will be used in class often every day, there will be times when the teachers will ask that the laptops are closed. Students are expected to close and/or put away the laptops when asked. Failure to do so will result in loss of laptop privilege.

Other Network Restrictions

• Do not attempt to “hack” websites while on the SLA network.
• Do not attempt to log in as another person or to access another person’s work, server space, or SLA email account.
• Do not use the SLA network for personal profit (for example, for selling personal products on sites like eBay) or for buying personal objects.
• Do not host internet-based multiplayer gaming sessions.

Students who do not follow the policies in this document may be subject to disciplinary action including possible loss of computer privileges.

A Warning... 
Off-line, there are many people that you can make friends with and learn from, and yet there also some people who would do you harm. The same is true of the online world; while most people are quite like you, some individuals out there have bad intentions.. The School District of Philadelphia has internet filters and security to prevent harmful pages from getting through, but no filter is perfect. We trust that you will make the right choices in who you interact with and where you go online and will avoid potentially dangerous situations.  Making good decisions is key to keeping yourself safe.

Support
The SLA Technology Office is located in Room 306, and is staffed by our Systems Administrator, Chris Alfano. In addition, SLA’s Technology Coordinator is Ms. Marcie Hull who can be found in Room 300/301.