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
