Secondary School Technology Use Policy
Technology Mission
OSC uses Information Technology to enhance its mission to teach the skills, knowledge, and behaviors students will need as responsible citizens in the global community. The school's technology infrastructure and network provide extraordinary opportunities to explore and use various exciting resources, including software, electronic resources, and the Internet.
Access to the school network and the Internet is a privilege that is tied to responsibilities. The following guidelines are intended to help individual technology users understand responsible use and adhere to OSC’s expectations. The school may restrict, suspend, or terminate any user's access to the school's technology systems and network for not respecting these guidelines.
Scope
This policy covers the use of all information and communication technologies - digital and electronic devices, accounts, and facilities accessible by students on the OSC network or through any mobile 3rd party network while on campus. The scope includes privately-owned devices, school-owned devices, and services. It has but is not limited to: iPads, Chromebooks, tablets, mobile phones, laptops, desktops, robotic devices, printers, gaming devices, media players, user accounts, email accounts, and access to any third party service managed by or accessed from the school location.
General Guidelines
1. Use technology while on campus for only academic or school-approved activities.
2. Respect and protect the privacy of others and yourself.
- Students should only use their assigned network Wi-Fi login.
- Never ask or give out any of your login credentials to others.
- Do not make audio, photo, or video recordings of others without their consent.
3. Respect and protect the intellectual properties of others.
- Respect all copyrights and protected documents (Please use only legal software and digital media).
- Do not use any device for cheating or plagiarism purposes.
4. Respect and follow the OSC Mission Statement as a digital citizen when using technology.
- Follow all international law without violating the rights of others.
Respectfully communicate with others.
- Report threatening, obscene, or disrespectful content to a faculty member.
5. Respect the integrity, security, and availability of all electronic resources.
- Treat all technology on campus with respect, as defined in the scope.
- Students are responsible for any technology device that they are using.
- Access technology devices only when given direct permission from a faculty member.
- Students should refrain from using cell phones during class unless a teacher has explicitly given permission for a class lesson.
- Use only authorized software, applications, and websites as defined by your teacher or an OSC faculty member during instruction.
- Do not misuse the school network to access &/or download non-academic bandwidth-intensive applications &/or files such as movies, videos, music, games, or peer two peer networks.
- Please respect the network filter controls and not attempt to bypass any network or Internet restrictions with VPNs/proxy servers or personal hotspots.
- Maintain your school osc.lk and email accounts by removing unwanted spam and old messages regularly.
- Do not use your schools osc.lk email account for non-academic websites and social media sites
- Turn in any borrowed technology equipment by the end of the day that a student borrows unless permitted by a technology staff member.
- Any technology misuse that does not adhere to this policy may face a temporary or permanent restriction to technology services.
- Students are also governed by the student handbook and may face additional consequences as determined by the school Principal.
Bring Your Own Laptop (BYOL) Guidelines (Grade 5 & Secondary Only)
1. Bring only approved laptops that meet the minimum specifications as defined by the BYOL Recommendation Policy.
2. Ensure your laptop has installed all OSC required software and web certificates.
3. A student’s teacher may require additional applications beyond the necessary software for specific classes or projects.
4. Bring your own laptop to school, fully charged every day.
5. Never leave your laptop unintended or in playground areas where they may be damaged.
6. Ensure your laptop has up-to-date virus software installed and running regularly.
7. Keep your laptop updated regularly.
8. Check your @osc.lk email, ManageBac classes daily.
9. Use your laptop on the school campus for only academic or school-approved activities.
10. Backup any important emails or documents before leaving school.
11. Store all school-related documents within the G-Suite Google Drive cloud.
12. Backup laptops may only be checked out from the student center on a short-term basis.
- A backup laptop may only be checked out up to 10x in a semester.
- A backup laptop must be checked by the end of the school day to be eligible for future checkouts.
Student Supervision & Privacy Expectations
Overseas School of Colombo has installed specific content filtering and monitoring applications to safeguard the network and limit non-academic-related technology activity. Each teacher may set or make additional technology expectations for their classroom that students are expected to follow that go beyond the student technology use policy. Students should remember that when bringing or using technology at OSC, the sole purpose of the technology program is to be used for academic purposes only.
Students should be aware that any technology application, email, document, or website accessed at school is not considered private. Furthermore, certain network monitoring applications have been installed that can potentially detect, limit, and report the misuse of technology, which can include but is not limited to: excessive bandwidth usage, virus/malware detection, gaming applications, VPNs/proxy servers, pornography, offensive material, profanity, cyberbullying, and peer two peer activity. Any student who intentionally accesses these types of applications or documents may be held accountable in accordance with the student code of conduct.
Students are strongly encouraged to leave all non-academic content that they wish to remain private at home or to refrain from viewing this content while at school.
Student Responsibilities While On Distance Learning
1. Students are expected to use Google Chrome and be signed in with their OSC Gmail account while attending online classes and doing class-related work.
2. Use only authorized software, applications, and websites as defined by your teacher or an OSC faculty member throughout the online classes and online instruction time.
3. Students are supposed to turn on their webcam for at least ten minutes during online classes and upon request by a teacher during instruction time.
Parent Responsibilities
1. Parents are reminded to regularly check their ManageBac, and email for important messages regarding their child/children’s academic progress at OSC.
2. Keep parental contact information up to date via OpenApply or by emailing the ithelpdesk@osc.lk & admissions@osc.lk
3. Ensure that your child/children at OSC’s technology laptops are in good condition and are adhering to the Student Laptop Recommendation Policy standards.
- It is recommended that parents replace your child/children’s laptop every three years due to constant technology advancements and standardization changes.
- Parents are responsible for providing an alternative laptop in the event a student’s laptop requires repair.
4. Remind your child/children that the Bring Your Own Laptop program is only for academic purposes during school hours regularly.
5. Support the school in implementing the Acceptable Use Policy that is in place for the safe and correct use of the school equipment, infrastructure, and internet to benefit all students.
School Responsibilities
1. OSC will install management software on student and school-owned devices to help implement this policy’s requirements.
2. OSC will provide content-filtered Internet access to its students.
3. OSC will make available email services for its students that may be accessible at school and at home.
4. OSC will troubleshoot and support students professionally and timely for most technical and hardware-related issues.
5. OSC will regularly provide updates and new applications that are purchased for students.
6. OSC reserves the right to review, monitor, and restrict information stored on or transmitted via any school or student-owned device and investigate inappropriate use of technology resources during school hours.