As an
educator, you are required to model and teach exemplary behavior.
You are required to use the technology available to you for
legitimate educational purposes. Educational purposes include
lesson preparation, research, instructional use, and any use
related to continuing your education as it pertains to your
profession,including but not limited to, state and district
requirements. All school owned and personally owned computers,
scanners, cameras, copiers, software, etc. on school property
and within school boundaries will be used in a manner that is
considered morally and legally appropriate. It
is your responsibility to know and understand the laws and moral
issues connected with technology use and to behave in a manner
that is professionally, ethically,and legally correct.
Legal
Issues:
Any
time that you are acting as a professional teacher you are required
to uphold the law, in order to do so it is necessary that you
inform yourself of the laws pertaining to computers and Internet
use.
Avoid use of technology in any way that could be considered
sexual harassment.
Sexual harassment in the workplace is against the law. Examples
of conduct which may be prohibited by law include but are not
limited to, the following:
-
Unwanted
sexual advances, flirtations or propositions.
-
Demands
for sexual favors in exchange for favorable treatment or continued
employment.
-
Unwanted
sexually oriented jokes or remarks.
-
Verbal
abuse of a sexual nature.
-
Graphic
verbal commentary about an individual's body, sexual prowess
or sexual deficiency.
-
A
display in the workplace of sexually suggestive objects, pictures,
posters or reading materials.
-
A
coerced sexual act or assault.
-
Physical
contact of a sexual nature such as pinching, grabbing, patting
or brushing unnecessarily against another person's body.
-
Leering,
whistling or gestures of a sexual nature. (list taken from
Consumer
Services)
Avoid
intentional disruptions of network activities, vandalizing equipment,
or tampering with server.
Intentional harm to technological systems negatively affects the
entire school system creating loss of instructional time, disruption
in the work place, and may be considered serious illegal acts.
Uphold
all state and federal laws pertaining to technology.
"Prior
technological advances (the automobile, telegraph, and telephone)
brought dramatic improvements for society but also created new
opportunities for wrongdoing. The same is true of the Internet
which provides unprecedented opportunities for socially beneficial
endeavors such as education, research, commerce, entertainment
and discourse on public affairs in ways that we may not now
even be able to imagine. Conversely, however, individuals who
wish to use a computer as a tool to facilitate unlawful activity
may find the Internet provides a vast, inexpensive, and potentially
anonymous way to commit unlawful acts such as fraud, the sale
or distribution of child pornography, the sale of guns, drugs
or other regulated substances without regulatory protections,
and the unlawful distribution of computer software or other
creative material protected by intellectual property rights."
State
cybercrimes include:
- The transmission
of child pornography, child exploitation, fraud, and harassment
of a person with the use of a computer such as e-mail spamming,
identity theft, death threats, and cyber-stalking.
- Unauthorized computer
trespassing through cyberspace, computer vandalism, transmission
of harmful programs and viruses, unauthorized possession of
computerized information, and software piracy.
-
"Hacking", defined as: The Infiltration of secure
computer systems or illegally obtaining access to data stored
in some other computer. This act can escalate into terrorism
when an individual "hacks" into a military or government
maintained website.
Please see federal computer crimes listed below. (Illinois
State Police)
Federal computer
crimes include but are not limited to accessing and/or tampering
with:
- National Security
records
- Financial records
form a financial institution
- Computers in interstate
commerce
Any evidence of illegal behavior should be reported to the
administration.
Moral Issues:
In
addition to knowing and understanding the laws associated with
technology, it is imperative that teachers acquaint themselves
with the many moral issues surrounding new technologies.
Copy, distribute,
and email only materials appropriate in the work setting.
Lascivious,discriminatory,
and/or malicious content is not appropriate in the workplace
and is especially dangerous in the school setting. Students
may accidentally or intentionally obtain information from
emails, files, web sites. It is important that all content
on school computers, as well as all personal computers used
while in school boundaries be for educational and/or professional
purposes only.
Avoid using or
tampering with unauthorized files, logins and passwords.
Using others logins, passwords, or files puts you in a position
of responsibility for that person's activities as well as your
own. Acting as another in an attempt to perform illegal activity,
tampering with files of your peers, and destroying other's documents
are unethical, unprofessional and may be considered illegal.
(Please
see the privacy section of this code.)
Limit personal use
of technological equipment during work hours.
Teachers must not use
technological equipment for excessive personal use during school
hours. "Excessive Use" is defined as: spending class
time or preparation periods on personal activities which include
email, Internet surfing, Internet chatrooms, faxing, scanning,
etc. in any manner that interfers with professional obligations.
Taking courses that pertain to improvements in the profession
are not seen as personal use. However, courses that are not directly
related to education, the accumulation of goods and services,
selling personal properties, maintaining personal websites, etc.
are considered personal use.
Excessive personal use could easily compromise teaching effectiveness
and student learning. Such behavior may warrant both parental
disapproval and administrative sanction. As a result, teachers
need to self-monitor personal use during work hours to ensure
the classroom maintains a productive environment.
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