Science Leadership Academy values of technology and encourages its use in creative ways to support student learning in a safe and secure learning environment. This policy is a guide to ensuring the appropriate use as well as safety for all community members. While these technologies provide powerful learning opportunities, they must be used responsibly.

These rules apply to any electronic device including laptops, mobile phones, MP3 players, gaming devices, digital cameras, any and all devices that are connected to the School District of Philadelphia network. Learning always takes priority while using SLA's wireless and hardwired internet connections.

Trespassing

• Do not touch another personʼs laptop/device unless invited by the owner 
• Do not play with, use, or change another personʼs user account
• Do not access another personʼs files or resources 
• Only access areas of the network you have been given permission to access

No Fooling Around 

• Do not load any game, video or music file on your machine that is not paid for or have the rights to use by you. 
• Do not play games at school, unless sanctioned and agreed to by staff and parents 
• Do not access inappropriate websites (obscene, violent etc) on your laptop
• Do not chat online or play music/videos unless given permission by your teacher 
• Leave mobile phones turned off or in silent mode in your bags/pockets unless their use is sanctioned by a teacher for a learning activity or listening to music during independent work 
• Do not post or send any message/picture/sound/video that is obscene, rude, harassing or insulting to anyone 
• Do not attack, threaten or intimidate another student via technology (or otherwise) 
• Do not take pictures or post pictures of others without asking their permission

No Hogging

Do not take up bandwidth by downloading movies, music, pictures, or by playing online games not directly connected to your learning 

Do not store music, movies, pictures or files on the school network not connected to your learning - all personal files must be saved on an external hard drive

No Stealing

• Do not download any illegal materials (e.g. cracked software, pirated music or movies, or any copyrighted materials) or intellectual property that was not purchased by you or that you do not have the rights to use
• Peer to peer file sharing is strictly prohibited and monitored by the School District of Philadelphia - these software programs can be detected by the District and they will shut off your access to the SDP Network 
• Do not plagiarize i.e. present anybody elseʼs work as your own - for more information see SLAʼs academic integrity policy
• No spamming, hacking, hawking, or trolling 
• Do not forward or send any content not directly associated with your learning (e.g. advertisements, games, pictures) 
• Do not deliberately or negligently spread viruses, malware, or spyware 
• Do not attempt to access any areas of the school network, or other peoplesʼ devices you do not have permission to visit 
• Do not run a business or seek to make profit using the school network

Guidelines

• Science Leadership Academy and The School District of Philadelphia will monitor user data and internet access and check the contents of any electronic device brought onto the schoolʼs premises or on any official school event 
• Educational use of the network and computer resources takes precedence over non- educational use including games not related to classwork
• This statement covers (but is not limited to) the use of electronic devices owned by the school and by students that are brought onto schoolʼs premises, or on excursions, camps or other official school functions - including computers, laptops, digital video and music players, cameras, other recording devices, mobile phones and organizers
• Science Leadership Academy reserves the right to ensure all student laptops have sufficient space to support learning activities. This may include the school need to deleting non-essential games, music and video files.

Laptop Audits

• Audits of student laptops can be done by any staff member at anytime. 

Sanctions 

• Sanctions for violations stated above may include the following measures: 
• Confiscation of the device for a defined period
• Withdrawal of privileges including on-line access for breaches of on-line policy 
• Withdrawal of the right to bring or use electronic devices to Science Leadership Academy 
• Blockage from the network of any and all devices downloading illegal files such as music, video and photographs 
• Community work for the Science Leadership Academy outside school hours 
• Payment for cost of repairs

Serious Breaches of Rules

• All incidences will be handled on a student by student basis 
• Suspension or expulsion 
• Law enforcement agencies may be involved 
• Simple finder will be installed on your computer this which limits the applications on your laptop to strictly educational use

The laptops are the School District of Philadelphiaʼs property. We strongly encourage that the insurance is paid for each year the laptop is in the hands of a student. That way if there is any major damage families are only liable for the $100 deductible. Any damage caused by the user starts with the $100 deductible.

Responsibility

• Keep the computer in a safe clean place 
• Notify SLA if the user changes residence at any point during the time they possess the laptop 
• Provide SLA and Officer Byrd with a police report in the event of fire or theft of the laptop 
• Keep the laptop in a PADDED backpack

Administration of Computers

All users will be granted with the power to change the settings within the computer. That way updates to software can be made and peripherals can be hooked up to the laptop with ease. The user may not change password settings or computer name settings, these are uniform to the school and are necessary for the maintenance and upkeep of the laptop.

File Storage

No personal files should be kept on the laptop, these must be saved to an external drive - this includes all music files and photographs, SLA is not responsible for any lost files school or personal

A two gigabyte storage space will be provided for students to keep all school related files safe - ALL FILES MUST BE SAVED TO THE DROPBOX ACCOUNT - further instruction on doing so will be given in the technology course during the first week of school

Students are responsible for maintaining current backups of all their own schoolwork either online through Dropbox or their own backup solution. You will be expected to turn in your work on time even in the event that your laptop fails - the Technology Team team cannot recover your files

Network - 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, as long as they follow this policy. With this connection comes a degree of risk, this policy is made to help users avoid these risks, keep our community safe and abide by internet laws.

Email

Users will have access to an email account the four years they are at SLA. You may use this to communicate with parents, teachers, friends, experts and fellow students around the globe. An email address with the suffix @scienceleadership.org will be provided to all students. This address is to be used for all school-related business. Your private account should be used for all other communications. Users will have access to their other email accounts during “off” times during school, like lunch and free periods.

Email/Chatting Etiquette

Communicating online is is very much like communicating with people in person. You must be respectful of others at all times. Remember that all email & M.O.O.D.L.E. messages can be read by the SLA Technology Team and the administration. Donʼt write anything you would not want to share with teachers and parents.

While many members of SLA, including staff members, use instant messaging and blogging software to communicate, part of the learning experience at SLA is to responsibly use these types of communication methods as part of your school day. Students need to be aware that chatting during class time when off topic is a distraction. Students asked to refrain from using or quit using chatting during class time must do so immediately.

Publishing or Uploading to the Web

In some cases your classwork will be published or students will be asked to hand in assignments that are published. Having work published means the world can see what you have uploaded. This is a great opportunity for students as well as people not directly involved with SLA; it provides you and other students a chance to share your work and have it viewed. People curious about SLA will be visiting our web portal to see what goes on daily.

Support

The SLA Technology Office is located in room 306, and staffed by our Systems Administrator Chris Alfano. In addition SLAʼs Technology Coordinator is Marcie T. Hull, who can be found in room 301.

Technology Office Hours for student repairs

Everyday after school the last half hour of first lunch and the first half hour of last lunch

Insurance Policy

SLA's Technology Team team will determine what type of repair a laptop is eligible for and be responsible for carrying out and administering the repair.

School District Insurance - in short

We strongly encourage the purchase of insurance available though the School District of Philadelphia for student laptop computers, the cost is $75.00. • Damage caused by the user is not covered by insurance. • Physical damage to the casing caused to chargers is not covered by insurance.

• Batteries are not covered by insurance. • All damage is subject to a $100.00 deductible.

F.A.Qʼs

1. What do I owe up front? The money for the insurance is due at the beginning of each school year. The deductible ($100.00) must be paid when damage occurs and the user brings the laptop in for a repair that is not covered by insurance. Users will not get the laptop back until the repair bill is paid in full. Payment plans can be set up for your convenience.
2. What not covered by the insurance? Batteries that can not keep a charge are not covered and chargers that have physical damage to the casing.
3. Who pays for parts that are not covered by the insurance? In the event that a battery goes bad or the charger suffers physical damage by the user then the user or their guardian must pay in full for the parts that are broken or missing.
4. Who makes the decisions about what is covered under the insurance? The coverage under this policy is dictated to us by Apple. For example, Apple considers batteries and chargers to be replaceable parts, and they are therefore not covered by insurance. SLA does not have the budget to replace these items. Therefore, should there be a problem with a battery, or a problem with a charger due to physical damage, it is the studentʼs responsibility to pay for a replacement.