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Technology Use Policy

Network Use Notice

Giddens School recognizes the value of computer and other electronic resources to improve student learning and enhance the administration and operation of its schools. To this end, Giddens encourages the responsible use of computers; computer networks, including the Internet; and other electronic resources in support of the mission and goals of the school.

Because the Internet is an unregulated, worldwide vehicle for communication, information available to staff and students is impossible to control. Therefore, Giddens School adopts this policy governing the voluntary use of electronic resources and the Internet in order to provide guidance to individuals and groups obtaining access to these resources on Giddens-owned equipment.

Rights and Responsibilities

It is the policy of Giddens School to maintain an environment that promotes ethical and responsible conduct in all online network activities by staff and students. It shall be a violation of this policy for any employee, student, or other individual to engage in any activity that does not conform to the established purpose and general rules and policies of the network. Within this general policy, Giddens recognizes its legal and ethical obligation to protect the well-being of students in its charge. To this end, Giddens retains the following rights and recognizes the following obligations:

  1. To remove a user account on the network.
  2. To monitor the use of online activities. This may include real-time monitoring of network activity and/or maintaining a log of Internet activity for later review.
  3. To provide internal and external controls as appropriate and feasible. Such controls shall include the right to determine who will have access to school-owned equipment and, specifically, to exclude those who do not abide by the Gidden's acceptable use policy or other policies governing the use of school facilities, equipment, and materials. Giddens reserves the right to restrict online destinations through software or other means.
  4. To provide guidelines and make reasonable efforts to train staff and students in acceptable use and policies governing online communications.

Staff Responsibilities

  1. Staff members who supervise students, control electronic equipment, or otherwise have occasion to observe student use of said equipment online shall make reasonable efforts to monitor the use of this equipment to assure that it conforms to the mission and goals of the Giddens School.
  2. Staff should make reasonable efforts to become familiar with the Internet and its use so that effective monitoring, instruction, and assistance may be achieved.

User Responsibilities

  1. Use of the electronic media provided by Giddens is a privilege that offers a wealth of information and resources for research. Where it is available, this resource is offered to staff, students, and other patrons at no cost. In order to maintain the privilege, users agree to learn and comply with all of the provisions of this policy and the guidelines put forth in the respective Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs).

Disclaimer

  1. Giddens School cannot be held accountable for the information that is retrieved via the network.
  2. Pursuant to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (18 USC 2510 et seq.), notice is hereby given that there are no facilities provided by this system for sending or receiving private or confidential electronic communications. System administrators have access to all mail and will monitor messages. Messages relating to or in support of illegal activities will be reported to the appropriate authorities.
  3. Giddens will not be responsible for any damages suffered, including loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, or service interruptions caused by our own negligence or your errors or omissions. Use of any information obtained is at your own risk.
  4. Giddens School makes no warranties (expressed or implied) with respect to:
    • the content of any advice or information received by a user, or any costs or charges incurred as a result of seeing or accepting any information; and
    • any costs, liability, or damages caused by the way the user chooses to use his or her access to the network.
  5. Giddens reserves the right to change its policies and rules at any time.

G Suite for Education Notice

This notice describes the personal information we provide to Google for these accounts and how Google collects, uses, and discloses personal information from students in connection with these accounts.

Using their G Suite for Education accounts, students may access and use the following “Core Services” offered by Google:

  • Gmail
  • Google+
  • Calendar
  • Chrome Sync
  • Classroom
  • Cloud Search
  • Contacts
  • Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms
  • Drive
  • Groups
  • Hangouts, Hangouts Chat, Hangouts Meet, Google Talk
  • Jamboard
  • Keep
  • Sites
  • Vault

In addition, we also allow students to access certain other Google services with their G Suite for Education accounts. Specifically, your child may have access to the following “Additional Services”:

  • YouTube
  • Google Maps
  • Chrome extensions and plugins

Google provides information about the information it collects, as well as how it uses and discloses the information it collects from G Suite for Education accounts in its G Suite for Education Privacy Notice. You can read that notice online. You should review this information in its entirety, but below are answers to some common questions:

What personal information does Google collect?

When creating a student account, Giddens may provide Google with certain personal information about the student, including, for example, a name, email address, and password. Google may also collect personal information directly from students, such as a profile photo added to the G Suite for Education account.

When a student uses Google services, Google also collects information based on the use of those services. This includes:

  • device information, such as the hardware model, operating system version, unique device identifiers, and mobile network information including phone number;
  • log information, including details of how a user used Google services, device event information, and the user's Internet protocol (IP) address;
  • location information, as determined by various technologies including IP address, GPS, and other sensors;
  • unique application numbers, such as application version number; and
  • cookies or similar technologies which are used to collect and store information about a browser or device, such as preferred language and other settings.

How does Google use this information?

In G Suite for Education Core Services, Google uses student personal information to provide, maintain, and protect the services. Google does not serve ads in the Core Services or use personal information collected in the Core Services for advertising purposes.

In Google Additional Services, Google uses the information collected from all Additional Services to provide, maintain, protect and improve them, to develop new ones, and to protect Google and its users. Google may also use this information to offer tailored content, such as more relevant search results. Google may combine personal information from one service with information, including personal information, from other Google services.

Does Google use student personal information for users in K-12 schools to target advertising?

No. For G Suite for Education users in primary and secondary (K-12) schools, Google does not use any user personal information (or any information associated with an G Suite for Education Account) to target ads, whether in Core Services or in other Additional Services accessed while using an G Suite for Education account.

Can my child share information with others using the G Suite for Education account?

We allow students to access Google services such as Google Docs, which include features where users can share information with others or publicly. When users share information publicly, it may be indexable by search engines, including Google.

Will Google disclose my child’s personal information?

Google will not share personal information with companies, organizations and individuals outside of Google unless one of the following circumstances applies:

  • With parental or guardian consent. Google will share personal information with companies, organizations or individuals outside of Google when it has parents’ consent (for users below the age of consent), which may be obtained through G Suite for Education schools.
  • With Giddens. G Suite for Education accounts, because they are school-managed accounts, give administrators access to information stored in them.
  • For external processing. Google may provide personal information to affiliates or other trusted businesses or persons to process it for Google, based on Google’s instructions and in compliance with the G Suite for Education privacy notice and any other appropriate confidentiality and security measures.
  • For legal reasons. Google will share personal information with companies, organizations or individuals outside of Google if it has a good-faith belief that access, use, preservation or disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to:
    • meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request.
    • enforce applicable Terms of Service, including investigation of potential violations.
    • detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues.
    • protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of Google, Google users or the public as required or permitted by law.

Google also shares non-personal information -- such as trends about the use of its services -- publicly and with its partners.

What choices do I have as a parent or guardian?

First, you can consent to the collection and use of your child’s information by Google. If you don’t provide your consent, we will not create a G Suite for Education account for your child, and Google will not collect or use your child’s information as described in this notice.

If you consent to your child’s use of G Suite for Education, you can access or request deletion of your child’s G Suite for Education account by contacting the Director of Technology. If you wish to stop any further collection or use of your child's information, you can request that we use the service controls available to limit your child’s access to features or services, or delete your child’s account entirely. You and your child can also visit https://myaccount.google.com while signed in to the G Suite for Education account to view and manage the personal information and settings of the account.

What if I have more questions or would like to read further?

If you have questions about our use of Google’s G Suite for Education accounts or the choices available to you, please contact the Director of Technology. If you want to learn more about how Google collects, uses, and discloses personal information to provide services to us, please review the G Suite for Education Privacy Center (at https://www.google.com/edu/trust/), the G Suite for Education Privacy Notice (at https://gsuite.google.com/terms/education_privacy.html), and the Google Privacy Policy (at https://www.google.com/intl/en/policies/privacy/).

The Core G Suite for Education services are provided to us under Google’s Apps for Education agreement (at https://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/terms/education_terms.html).