The School Board of Highlands County Management Information Systems department provides Web hosting services to all SBHC schools and departments in the district. The use of the web pages and web sites must be in support of educational and professional activities that are consistent with the educational goals and policies of the School Board of Highlands County. This policy applies to all associated web content hosted by the SBHC including but not limited to, all web pages supported on the District s servers, whether created by school, departments, staff, or students. Web pages are public documents inviting the outside world to the individual schools, departments and the school district, while at the same time linking students and staff to outside sources of information. Statement of Purpose: The purpose of these procedures is to outline the responsibilities of SBHC webmasters. It also provides guidelines for the publishing of web pages. The SBHC website is managed by the Management Information Systems department, but schools and district offices may also post and maintain individual websites. I. Publishing A. Department Level a. The Department Web site is the responsibility of the director or coordinator who may designate a department Webmaster. b. All School Board of Highlands County newly created Web pages will reside on the District s network server(s) which is located in the MIS department, not through an outside vendor. c. MIS will assist with uploading of any Web pages. B. School and Teacher Level a. The school Web site is the responsibility of the principal who may designate a school Webmaster. The school administration or designee is responsible for managing the school Web site and monitoring class, teacher, student, and extracurricular Web pages. b. All newly created school web sites must be hosted by the District s web server, not through an outside vendor. c. MIS will assist with the uploading of Web pages. d. Personal (for profit, non-educational, not related to school or classroom) Web pages are not allowed to be housed on District or school equipment. e. All school web pages must adhere to the School Board of Highlands County s Management Information Systems Technology Policies and Procedures as published by the Management Information Systems department. 1
C. Student published Web Pages a. Students may publish Web pages on the school/district Web site as part of a class or school sponsored activity with parent consent. b. If students develop web pages for the school they must sign a form stating that all content belongs to the school and they must have parent consent. c. Material presented on a student Web site must follow the School Board of Highlands County s Web Publishing Guidelines. d. It is the teacher or advisor's responsibility to make sure that students follow the criteria for creating web pages. II. Design and Development Guidelines A. Department Level a. Links to the main School Board of Highlands County s home page must be included on the front page of each department s main page. b. Each department must include a proper and unaltered version of the School Board of Highlands County s logo. c. Every Department must provide useful information including, services of their department, contact staff, and/or a department mission statement. d. Web sites must include e-mail address of the person responsible for the site s correspondence. B. School Level a. Student created works are copyrighted. The copyright belongs to the student. b. Any school Web page that contains a School Board of Highlands County logo must use a proper and unaltered version of it. c. The home page for all school web sites must contain a link to the District s home page. All school home pages must identify themselves as members of the School Board of Highlands County. d. Include an e-mail address to the person responsible for that site s correspondence. 2
III. Content Guidelines for Department, School, and Teacher Web Pages A. All Department or School home pages must contain a link to the District Website (www.highlands.k12.fl.us) This link to the official School Board of Highlands home page should be located on the opening page of the School or Department website. The District Website will contain a list, with appropriate links, to all School and Department Websites. B. All Web Pages must reflect only educational, technological and community information that affects the School or Department. Information not related to the educational process, such as commercial endorsements or community information not related to School or Department activities, cannot be posted. C. Web pages may not contain or contain links to text, images, movies or sounds that contain pornography, obscenity, or language that offends or tends to degrade others. D. Web pages may not contain links to on-line chat areas. E. Web sites may have a section that lists Business Partners who are associated with that School or Department. This will be the limit of advertising for a business partner on any District sponsored web site. F. Each Website must have an e-mail address on the first page to the site s creator or person responsible for maintaining all pages. G. No SBHC website may contain a link to the personal web pages of any SBHC employee. H. Commercial use of the district Web site or district servers for the pursuit of personal or financial gain is prohibited. I. All publications must comply with all state, federal, and international laws concerning copyright, intellectual property rights, and legal uses of network computers. J. Publications must include a statement of copyright when appropriate and indicate that permission has been received when including copyrighted materials. K. All Publications must comply with the School Board of Highlands County s Web Publishing Guidelines, and the Management Information Systems Technology Policies and Procedures. L. All District Web pages should meet the goals of high quality in both style and presentation. M. Correct grammar and spelling are expected. N. Links from a school or district Web site should include a disclaimer for links that leave the SBHC site. The disclaimer links needs to be on the homepage and on all other pages of the website containing links to other non-school board sites. O. The Creator of the Website is responsible for checking with the data operator to ensure that student information, including photos, have not been excluded from release by the parent or by other security codes such as: Court Order, Parents work for Law Enforcement, etc. See Appendix C for Security Code Location in Genesis. P. Pages in Websites must not be used as a forum for political, religious, or personal philosophy. 3
Q. Site layouts or any map-like image that depicts the layout of the school in detail is prohibited. Appendix A Best Practices Page: Recommended criteria to follow when creating your web page. Appendix B Form for students who create web pages for the school to sign saying that the content belongs to the school. Appendix C Screen Shot of Security Codes Location in Genesis. Appendix D Form for teachers who want to create a web page. Form will state that they have read and agree to the terms set forth in the SBHC Procedures and Guidelines for Web Publishing. 4
Best Practices Guidelines for Web Page Development 1. Use a consistent design with clear navigation throughout the web site. 2. Keep the length of a page manageable. 3. Do not type text in all capital letters and keep text and link colors in sharp contrast to the background color or pattern. 4. Keep graphics, sound and animation to a minimum. 5. Give web pages a brief but specific descriptive title with in the title section of the page. 6. Avoid dead links and posting pages still under construction. 7. Avoid using large images. Control image size using image-editing software. 8. Prior to publishing, preview your site with multiples browsers. 9. Include the date of the last update on the homepage. 10. Design your page to fit 640X480 or 800X600 pixels. Viewers may miss important information if they have to scroll left or right. View your webpage using different screen resolutions before publishing. 11. Webmasters should periodically make a reasonable effort to insure that posted information is kept current. 12. Spell check and proofread all of your pages. 13. Keep backgrounds simple and small in size. 14. Select backgrounds that make text easy to read. 15. Images should be kept in the images folder. 16. Test the download time of each page to insure prompt loading of the page. 5
THE SCHOOL BOARD OF HIGHLANDS COUNTY STUDENT WEB PAGE PERMISSION CONTRACT PLEASE PRINT ALL INORMATION Student s Full Name: Teacher: School: Grade: Student Number: STUDENT AGREEMENT: I have read, understand and will abide by the Terms and Conditions for the School Board of Highlands County Procedures and Guidelines for Web Publishing. I further understand that creating a web page is a privilege designed solely for educational purposes and any violation of the Policy and Guidelines may result in the lose of privileges, school disciplinary actions and/or appropriate legal action initiated against me. In addition, I understand that anything I may create for my school s website is the property of the School Board of Highlands County. Student Signature: Date: PARENT OR GUARDIAN (Also required if applicant is under the age of 18) As the parent or guardian of this student, I have read and understand the School Board of Highlands County Procedures and Guidelines for Web Publishing. I understand that creating a web page is designed solely for educational purposes, and The School Board of Highlands County has taken reasonable precautions to supervise students during this process. However, I also recognize that it is impossible for the District to restrict unsupervised access to all information and materials, and I will not hold it responsible for material acquired on the network during the creation of web pages. I also accept full responsibility for the supervision of my child or ward in connection with such access outside of the school setting and at home. I hereby give permission for my child to participate in the creation of web pages in school and certify that the information contained on this application is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. Parent/Guardian Signature Parent/Guardian Name (Please Print) Date Parent/Guardian Work Phone 6
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SCHOOL BOARD OF HIGHLANDS COUNTY SCHOOL WEB PAGE DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL I hereby acknowledge receipt of the School Board of Highlands County Procedures and Guidelines for Web Publishing. I understand it is my responsibility to review the procedures and guidelines in detail and request any clarification needed from my supervisor, Technology Resource Teacher, or MIS staff. I agree to comply with School Board of Highlands County Procedures and Guidelines for Web Publishing. Teacher s Name Position Title School Name Teacher s Signature Principal s Signature Approving Web Page Date Date 9
DISCLAIMER POLICY The Management and Information Services Department of The School Board of Highlands County maintains Internet access and related services for the users on its wide area network. Please note the following: The School Board of Highlands County makes every reasonable effort to assure the accuracy of information provided in websites under its direct control. However, the District makes no warranty or guarantee that the information found on or via District Web Sites is accurate, authoritative or factual. References to commercial products or trademarks, either directly (by name) or indirectly (by hyperlink), on our Websites are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of any company and/or product by The School Board of Highlands County, nor does the District assume any liability for information accessed at other sites outside of its direct control. If you feel the information you have obtained via the World Wide Web or other access services is inaccurate or offensive, we suggest you contact the original producer/distributor of that information. 10