WEB PUBLISHING STANDARDS
Published:
Document Version: 2.1
Author: Sharmila
Bristol
Approvers:
Executive Directory (Acting: Janine Gomez)
LHU Board (Director: Lori Christian)
Technology Group (Chair: Sharmila Bristol)
Date Approved:
The
primary purpose of the SMACS Web Site is to communicate effectively with its students,
parents, staff and prospectives. Classrooms are encouraged to develop and
maintain their own part of the school website that will provide information about
curriculum, instruction, school-authorized activities and other general
information. These procedures will apply to all web pages
supported on the school servers, whether created by students, staff, or faculty.
Guiding Principles
Educational
Value - Material to be
published must not display, access, or link to sites deemed offensive by the
SMACS Technology & Computing Resource Acceptable Use Policy. All published
material must have educational value and/or support the district standards,
goals and policies.
Publishing
Agreement - Only
materials authorized by the SMACS Web Master will be published on SMACS Web
Site and Servers. All personnel involved in web publishing must have on file
signatures of the SMACS Technology & Computing Resource Acceptable Use
Policy.
Protect
Privacy - At no time
shall any student's personal information appear on SMACS published materials.
All contact information should identify the School Webmaster or Content
Sponsor.
Content
Monitoring/Auditing -
The Web Master and Content Sponsor should regularly "visit"
accessible content to monitor appropriateness, quality and educational value. The
Technology Group reserves the right to audit and/or adjust materials on the
school website.
Site Standards
Active
Links - The web is a
very dynamic resource. All links to external existing sites must be checked
regularly to insure that links are not going to sites that do not meet the SMACS
Technology & Computing Resource Acceptable Use Policy.
Current
Files - Only active
files that are required for the proper operation of the SMACS website will be stored
on the School Web Server.
File
Size - Due to limited
storage space and varying network speeds, it is recommended that file sizes
should be kept under 50 Kilobytes. In
rare cases, where larger file sizes are required, please inform users by making
a note on referring documents.
Default
Home - In each directory
there must be an "index.htm" file so users will see this default home
page if they do not include a file name when requesting information.
Credits
Page - If you use
external resources on your site include a "credits" page.
Advertising
– Individuals are not to
use SMACS resources for personal gain or profit. Accordingly, there is no advertising, sale or
solicitations by individuals on SMACS sponsored sites.
Page Standards
Navigational
Links – Each page must contain
clear links to the SMACS and classroom home pages. There should always be navigational clues to
help users find their way around (a "back" button is not always
adequate).
Disclaimer – Each page sponsored on the SMACS
website must contain a disclaimer stating that published content adheres to
these standards.
Contact
Information - Out of
courtesy to web users, each page must contain contact information for the classroom
content sponsor.
Update
Information - Each page must
contain the date the page was last updated.
Sample
Footer containing
disclaimer (via link), contact information (e-mail link), copyright notice and
update Information:
Maintained according to SMACS Web Publishing Standards by
<Content Owner>
ã2006 SMACS - All rights reserved.
Last updated on <Date>
Quality Guidelines
Presentation
– All web pages should meet
goals of high quality in both style and presentation
Grammar – Correct grammar and spelling are
expected
Clarity
– Publications should be
high quality and designed for clarity and readability
Accuracy – All information must be verifiable
Safety and Liability Issues
Student Images - No image shall be added to a web page
that singles out a specific student. Images should be of a group nature only
and not contain legible nametags or other identifying text within the image.
Captions or accompanying text to the image shall not contain specific names of
students. Identifiable images shall not be posted without proper
permission from the parent/guardian. Permission must be obtained directly from
the parent/guardian. Student images should never be published without the
direct permission of the students in that image.
Physical location - Pages shall not include any
information that indicates the physical location of the student at a specific
time during the school day.
Parental/Guardian approval – Signed approval is required before any
student work is published on the School Website.
Staff Information - Limited information about staff
members is permitted for publication on the web to assist with prospectives.
Information should be limited to the following items (and of a professional
nature):
Full Name
Years on Staff
Current Class Base
Current Phone Number
Current Position
Past accomplishments and activities
Education and qualifications
Images
of staff members should only be used with the staff member’s permission.
This permission must be acquired before the photo is published on the web page.
Personal information - Any data that violates a child’s (or
staff member’s) right to privacy, or that may endanger their safety is
considered personal information. It includes home address, phone number,
neighborhood, personal email addresses, information regarding relatives or
parents, etc. Staff school email addresses are not to be considered private and
are not specifically protected by this definition. Special consideration
may be given for staff members in a sensitive position within the district
regarding the publication of email and other contact information.
However, email addresses may be published as needed without prior consent from
staff.
Copyright Laws
SMACS employees are expected to adhere to copyright
laws. The transfer or use of copyrighted material without the express
consent of the owner of the copyright is a violation of Federal Law.
For more
information regards Copyright Laws please refer to the US Copyright Office at http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html. A Copyright Tutorial is also available
from
A Plagiarism Tutorial is also available
from
Intellectual
Property Rights
SMACS faculty, staff and students are
expected to adhere to United States Intellectual Property laws, regulations,
polices, and specific provisions of the
grants relating to, but not limited to, inventions (ideas, concepts, methods,
materials, processes), discoveries, copyrights, and patents.
SMACS has ownership rights in all
inventions or discoveries of SMACS faculty, staff and students that are
conceived or first actually reduced to practice as a part of or as a result of
activities within the scope of the inventor's employment or attendance at
SMACS, or that involve the use of SMACS time, facilities, staff, materials or
funds administered by SMACS. Faculty, staff, and students, whose inventions are
made on their own time and without the use of SMACS facilities, materials, or
resources, therefore considered exclusive property as specified by the Patents
and Copyrights Policies, may request a waiver of SMACS rights of ownership of
the inventions or discoveries under terms to be agreed between the inventor and
the SMAC.
For more information regarding
Intellectual Property laws, regulations, polices please refer to the United
States Patent and Trademark Office at http://www.uspto.gov/
Sanctions
Maintenance of the Web page is
primarily the responsibility of the Content Publisher. If the publisher fails
to manage and update his or her web pages in a timely and appropriate manner
the responsibility falls to the Web Master who will determine whether to remove
the Web pages entirely or to update them as needed. The school Webmaster acts
as the liaison with the Technology Group regarding issues of online publishing
and web use.
Acceptance
I acknowledge I have read and understand the terms and conditions in the
Web Publishing Standards. This constitutes the entire agreement between both
myself and
_____________________________________________________________________
Name & Title (please print)
______________________________________________________________________
Signature
______________________________________________________________________
Date