​Dear Parents and Guardians,

This year students will be using a variety of digital tools as a resource to enhance their learning experience. Although these applications are widely used by the education community and support their use in K­12 institutions, their Terms of Service state that due to Federal Law any users under the age of 13 must obtain explicit parental permission to use their sites.

New and innovative tools come out every day. All of these digital tools have been, and will continue to be, thoroughly examined by experienced educators. Some common tools that your children may encounter and use are, but not limited to:

• Networks​: A networking site is a place where teachers and students can communicate, collaborate, and share content. Examples include email and cloud file storage and sharing.

• Blogs​: A blog ​is a website where student work can be published online.

• Google Apps​: An online suite of productivity and applications students can use to create and collaborate.

• Podcasts​: A podcast ​is a digital audio file that is distributed over the Internet for playback.

• Videos​: A video ​is a recording displaying moving images and audio. Digital video files can incorporate photos, voiceovers and music.

• Social bookmarking​: Social bookmarking ​is a way for Internet users to save, classify, and share websites.

As these sites are instrumental in the development of the curriculum, we are asking that you and your child please review the permission form below and complete it. Should your expectations change, we must be notified in writing. If you do not give your child permission to use these web tool applications, an alternative assignment will be provided.

Student Information

● Students are responsible for good behavior/character online just like they are in our school building. Students are not permitted to use obscene, profane, threatening, or disrespectful language. Students should notify the teacher of anything inappropriate. Bullying will not be tolerated.

● Copyright infringement occurs when an individual reproduces a work without permission that is protected by a copyright. If the user is unsure whether or not they can use it, they should request permission from the copyright owner.

● All use of these tools must be used in accordance with the Acceptable Use Policy of the District, even if you do the work outside of school on your own device.

Parent Information

Child Internet Protection Act: ​The school is required by CIPA to have technology measures and policies in place that protect students from harmful materials including those that are obscene and pornographic. Any harmful content contained from inappropriate sites will be blocked. http://fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/cipa.html

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act: ​COPPA applies to commercial companies and limits their ability to collect personal information from children under 13. By default, Google advertising is turned off for Apps for Education users. No personal student information is collected for commercial purposes. This permission form allows the school to act as an agent for parents in the collection of information within the school context. http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/coppafaqs.shtm

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act: ​FERPA ​protects the privacy of student education records and gives parents the right to review student records. Under FERPA, schools may disclose directory information (name, phone, address, grade level, etc...) but parents may request that the school not disclose this information.

● The school will not publish confidential education records (grades, student ID #, etc) for public viewing on the Internet. The school may publish student work and photos for public viewing but will not publish student last names or other personally identifiable information.

● Parents may request that photos, names and general directory information about their children not be published. Parents have the right at any time to investigate the contents of their child’s email or web tools. http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa