Heywood Community School, Ballinakill, Co. Laois.
Terms and conditions for use of internet.
Please read the following carefully before signing this document. This is a legally binding document. Internet access is now available to students and teachers in Heywood Community School.
We are very pleased to bring this access to Heywood Community School and believe the Internet offers vast, diverse and unique resources to both students and teachers. Our goal in providing this service to teachers and students is to promote educational excellence in the school by facilitating resource sharing, innovation and communication.
The Internet is an electronic highway connecting thousands of computers all over the world and millions of individual subscribers.
Students and teachers have access to:
(i) Electronic mail communications with people all over the world.
(ii) Information and news.
(iii) Public domain and shareware of all types.
(iv) Discussion groups on a plethora of topics ranging from diverse cultures to the environment to music to politics.
(v) Access to many University catalogs.
With access to computers and people all over the world also comes the availability of material that may not be considered to be of educational value in the context of the school setting. Heywood Community School has taken available precautions to restrict access to inappropriate materials. However, on a global network it is impossible to control all materials and an industrious user may discover inappropriate information.
Internet access is co-ordinated and controlled by The Computer Department of the school. In addition, the smooth operation of the network relies upon the proper conduct of the end users who must adhere to strict guidelines. These guidelines are provided here so that you are aware of the responsibilities you are about to acquire. In general this requires efficient, ethical and legal utilization of the network resources. If a Heywood Community School user violates any of these provisions, their access will be terminated and future access could possibly be denied. The signature(s) at the end of this document is (are) legally binding and indicates the party (parties) who signed has (have) read the terms and conditions carefully and understand(s) their significance.
School use must be in support of education and research and consistent with educational objectives. Use of other organisation’s network or computing resources must comply with rules appropriate for that network. Transmission of any material in violation of any laws is prohibited. This includes, but is not limited to, copyrighted material, threatening or obscene material, or material protected by trade secret. Use for product advertisement or political lobbying is also prohibited. Use for commercial activities is generally not accepted.
The use of Internet is a privilege, not a right, and inappropriate use will result in a cancellation of those privileges. Students will be advised on proper use of the Internet. The system administrators and teachers will deem what is inappropriate use and their decision is final. The school may deny, revoke, or suspend specific user access.
You are expected to abide by the generally accepted rules of network etiquette. These include, but are not limited to the following:
(a) Be polite. Your messages should not be abusive to others.
(b) Use appropriate language. Do not swear, use vulgarities or any other inappropriate language.
(c) Do not reveal your personal address or phone number or the addresses and/or phone numbers of students or colleagues.
(d) Illegal activities are strictly forbidden.
(e) Note that electronic mail (e-mail) is not guaranteed to be private. People who operate the system do have access to all mail. Messages relating to or in support of illegal activities may be reported to the authorities.
(f) Do not use the network in such a way that you would disrupt the use of the network by other users.
(g) All communications and information accessible via the network should be assumed to private property.
(h) Programmes (software of any kind) are not allowed to be installed/loaded on any computer without the permission of the Administrator.
(i) Introducing floppy discs/CDRW discs/CDR discs is generally prohibited, and may only be used with the permission of the teacher.
(j) Printers should be used sparingly (All documents should be proof read before you go to print) (Students are allowed to print only with the permission of a teacher).
Heywood Community School’s Computer Department make no warranties of any kind, whether expressed or implied, for the service it is providing. The Department will not be responsible for any damages suffered. This includes loss of data resulting from delays, non-deliveries, miss-deliveries, or service interruptions caused by negligence, errors or omissions. Use of any information obtained via Heywood Community School, is at the users own risk. The school is not responsible for the accuracy or quality of information obtained.
Security in any computer system is high priority, especially when the system involves many users. If you feel you can identify a security problem on Internet, you must notify a teacher who will in turn notify a system administrator. Do not demonstrate any problems to other users. Do not use another individual’s account without written permission from that individual. Attempts to access Internet as a system administrator will result in cancellation of user privileges. Any user identified as a security risk or having a history of problems with other computers systems may be denied access to Internet.
Vandalism will result in cancellation of Heywood Community School privileges. Vandalism is defined as any malicious attempt to harm or destroy hardware, data of another user, Internet, or any agencies or other networks that are connected to the Internet backbone. This includes, but is not limited to, the uploading or creation of computer viruses.
All terms and conditions as stated in this document are applicable to users of computers in Heywood Community School. These terms and conditions reflect the entire agreement of the parties and supersedes all prior oral or written agreements and understandings of the parties. These terms and conditions shall be governed and interpreted in accordance with law.