Google Procedures

Introduction                                                                                                    

As part of continual efforts to provide students with greater opportunities to learn, engage, communicate, and develop skills, the Frankfort-Schuyler Central School District provides students with Google Apps for Education (GAFE) accounts. GAFE is a collection of free programs including email, document creation tools, and collaboration tools that are accessed through a web browser. Commonly referred to as working “in the cloud," GAFE provides access to documents and projects from any Internet connected computer or other compatible device, enabling faculty and students to access their school documents and projects both in and out of school.

GAFE services are available through an agreement between Google and Frankfort-Schuyler CSD. GAFE runs on an Internet domain purchased and managed by Frankfort-Schuyler CSD and is intended for educational use. Accounts and settings are managed by Frankfort-Schuyler CSD and all advertising is disabled. High school students are issued an @frankfort-schuyler.org email address which serves as their login for GAFE.

School faculty and staff will monitor student use of GAFE when students are at school. Parents are responsible for monitoring their student’s use of GAFE when accessing the program at home. Students are responsible for their own behavior at all times.

What are Google Apps for Education?

GAFE is a specialized implementation of Google Apps, tailored specifically for educational institutions. Provided by Google at no cost to schools, the web based suite of programs includes some key differences for education, such as the removal of any and all advertising content.  

The GAFE agreement with Frankfort-Schuyler CSD provides access to Google Applications and online storage. Frankfort-Schuyler CSD maintains the ability to manage users, groups, and settings directly. This means that Frankfort-Schuyler CSD can grant and revoke user access and control other settings to ensure a safe and secure collaboration environment for students and teachers.

All of the Google Apps services can be accessed from any compatible device with an Internet connection (computers, smart phones, tablets, etc.). This reduces and replaces the need for flash drives and/or external data drives to transport documents and other files. GAFE is Internet-based, ensuring that faculty and students can log on anytime, anywhere. In addition, GAFE allows faculty and students to easily share documents and files, enabling students to turn in assignments electronically and collaborate on projects with their classmates.

Google Apps for Education includes the following programs:

Google Calendar

An individual calendar providing the ability to organize schedules, daily activities, and assignments.

Google Drive

Google Drive provides cloud storage space for most file formats. Google Drive can be accessed and/or shared from any computer or other compatible device with an Internet connection.

Google Documents

Word processing program similar to Microsoft Word.

Google Spreadsheets

Spreadsheet program similar to Microsoft Excel.

Google Presentations

Multimedia presentation program similar to Microsoft PowerPoint.

Google Forms

Survey/data collection tool for creating forms and collecting data.

Google Drawings

Simple graphic design program.

Using these tools, students can collaboratively create, edit and share files and websites for school related projects and communicate via email with other students and teachers. These services are entirely online and available 24/7 from any Internet-connected computer. Examples of student use include showcasing class projects, building an electronic portfolio of school learning experiences, and working in small groups on presentations to share with others.

Acceptable Use

The Frankfort-Schuyler CSD GAFE domain is intended for educational use. Use of GAFE is governed by the Frankfort-Schuyler CSD Acceptable Use Policy and the Frankfort-Schuyler CSD Internet Safety Policy.

Privacy

Frankfort-Schuyler CSD faculty and administration has access to student email and documents for monitoring purposes. Students have no expectation of privacy on the Frankfort-Schuyler CSD GAFE domain.

Limited Personal Use

Students may use GAFE for personal projects, such as word processing. Examples of inappropriate personal use include (but are not limited to):

• Unlawful activities
• Commercial purposes
• Use for personal financial gain
• Inappropriate sexual or other offensive content
• Threatening or bullying others
• Misrepresentation of the Frankfort-Schuyler CSD, faculty, staff or students (GAFE resources including but not limited to Apps, sites, email, and groups are not public forums - they are extensions of classroom spaces where student free speech rights may be limited)
   

Safety

• Students should not post personal contact information about themselves or other people, including addresses and phone numbers
• Students should tell their teacher or other school employee about any message they
• receive that is inappropriate or makes them feel uncomfortable
• Students are responsible for the use of their individual accounts and should take all
• reasonable precautions to prevent others from being able to use their account
• Under no conditions should a user provide his or her password to another person

Access Restriction

Student GAFE Account Set-up

All high school students will be assigned an @frankfort-schuyler.org account. This account will be considered the student's official Frankfort-Schuyler CSD GAFE account until such time as the student is no longer enrolled at Frankfort-Schuyler CSD. 

Additional information regarding content filtering and monitoring is detailed in the Frankfort-Schuyler CSD Acceptable Use Policy.

Applicable Laws and Policies

These are the laws and policies that help to protect our students online:

Google Apps for Education (Online) Agreement

 Full text available at http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/terms/education_terms.html

Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA)

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. This means that student email is filtered. Mail containing harmful content from inappropriate sites will be blocked.

CIPA Guide available at: http://www.fcc.gov/guides/childrens-internet-protection-act

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)

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 policy allows the school to act as an agent for parents in the collection of information within the school context. The school’s use of student information is solely for education purposes.

COPPA FAQ available at: http://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-coppa-frequently-asked-questions

Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

FERPA protects the privacy of student education records and gives parents rights 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 educational 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 to investigate the contents of their child’s email and Apps for Education files at any time.

 FERPA information available at: http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html