Somerset College Acceptable Use

Policy
The College expects students to exercise judgment regarding
accessing appropriate internet sites related to their studies. Any
student who uses College equipment to access inappropriate
material can expect a sanction to be issued. The same applies to
any student who brings inappropriate reading, dvds/videos or other
stored electronic images to school.
All students from Years 4 to 12 are required to complete the
Information Technology Agreement which indicates they have
understood the policy and procedure regarding the internet and
other expectations regarding use of technology and the College.
Students who fail to sign this Agreement may find their access to
the internet through their College account is denied.
Logging on to the network by all users (staff and students) infers an
acceptance of this policy.

1. STATEMENT
The following policy clearly sets out the expectations that Somerset
College has for acceptable and responsible use of Information and
Communication Technologies (ICTs) by all members of the College
community. This policy is to be read in conjunction with the
Somerset College Information Technologies Device Policy which sets
out the guidelines under which students are able to bring their own
devices.

2. THE LAW

Criminal Code (QLD)

Privacy Act 1988 (CTH) and Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act
2000
Copyright Act 1968 (Cth)
Cyber Crimes Act 2001 (Cth)
Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth)
Software Licensing Agreements

3. PRINCIPLES
The welfare of staff and students at Somerset College is of primary
importance. All users have a responsibility to ensure that any use of
Somerset Colleges digital environment is appropriate, acceptable,
and does not jeopardise the integrity and good name of the College

or the security and functionality of the system.

4. DEFINITION
ICTs includes but is not limited to computer devices, mobile devices
including mobile phones, cameras, email, the Internet, removable
hard drives, iPods, USBs, online programs and software. Online
environments and online communication includes but is not limited
to the Colleges Administration System, the Colleges network, the
portal, email, wikis, blogs and other web based and online systems
including the Internet.

5. IMPLEMENTATION
Parents are asked to sign this policy upon enrolment and students
are asked to sign their acceptance of this policy in their diary
annually. A copy of this policy is available on the Colleges portal.
This policy may be updated throughout the year. The most recent
version can be found on the Colleges website.
Somerset College takes all reasonable measures to ensure that we
provide a safe digital environment that supports quality teaching
and learning. The environment is maintained to ensure the effective
use of ICTs and the network by all. An essential part of this is
education in acceptable use of current and developing ICTs and in
cyber safety. The College has a commitment to maintaining a
proactive approach to educating students in these areas.
The College believes parents share this responsibility for ensuring
their children understand the requirement for responsible, ethical
and acceptable use of all ICTs in the College environment.
Students have important responsibilities to ensure that they behave
in an acceptable manner in the Colleges digital environment and
exercise all proper precautions to keep themselves and others safe;
and alert a staff member immediately if there is any inappropriate
activity, whether intentional or accidental.

6. ACCEPTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE USE

AGREEMENT
As a member of Somerset College, I agree to the following as a
condition for being allowed to use ICTs at the College. The use of
ICTs confirms the acceptance of the following:
I accept that the primary use of ICTs is for educational and work
purposes.
I will keep my password secret. I will only use my account to
access devices at the College. I accept that I am responsible
for keeping my account secure and accept any responsibility
for its misuse. If I believe my account has been accessed or my

password is known to someone else, I will immediately change

my password or see an IT staff member.
I will not use any ICTs to cyberbully, harass or behave in an
inappropriate or wrong manner. This involves making another
person feel uncomfortable or acting in a morally or ethically
inappropriate manner.
I will not use ICTs to access or create inappropriate material or
share them with others. This includes not accessing illegal
sites, pornographic or sexually explicit sites, sites that incite
hatred or violence, sites that discriminate or contain
inappropriate games and material.
I will not attempt to search for anything that the College would find
unacceptable.
If I find anything inappropriate I will click on the Online Safety
Button, turn off the screen and tell a teacher or IT staff
member immediately.
I accept that the network, including the Internet, is monitored
actively at all times. I will not attempt to get around any
security or monitoring software and will immediately report
any breaches.
I will use email or means of online communication appropriately. I
will only use my College email account to communicate with
teachers and I understand that access to third party email
software is restricted. I will use my email responsibly and take
care when sending or posting messages to not reflect poorly
on the College. Posting media content online, outside of any
College provided online environments, such as photos, music,
or movies, created at the College, shall only be allowed with
the express permission of the College. I accept that all
communication can be logged and accessed if required.
I accept that the use of social networking sites are restricted within
the College and access is at the discretion of the Dean of
Information Technologies. I understand that no staff are
allowed to have any current students as friends on any social
networking account. All members of the Somerset College
community need to take care in identifying themselves with
the College on any site or social networking site. If they do so,
then care must be taken that they bring no disrepute to the
College.
I will not attempt to create any peer to peer network, including
sharing Internet access from my mobile phone or 3G device to
bypass the Colleges Internet. I accept that all use of the
Internet whilst in the College grounds on any devices, including
laptops, mobile devices and mobile phones is to be entirely via
the College provided wireless and Internet.
I will not attempt to install any software onto the College devices

I
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or damage any devices or digital resources. I will report any

damage to these immediately to staff. I will not bring in or
store any software or files which may cause damage to the
Colleges network or ICT environment.
will take care regarding giving out personal information about
myself, or others without permission, via the Internet. This
includes via photo, email, text or the Internet. I will report any
suspicious activity immediately to a teacher.
will behave in an ethical and legally correct manner. This includes
not plagiarising or breaking copyright, installing illegal or
pirated software or acquiring media, including music and
movies, in an illegal manner, such as by file sharing.
accept that gaming is only allowed for educational purposes and
with the express permission of a teacher.
understand that I am part of a community and that my use of ICT
resources needs to respect the rights of users to use these.

7. CONSEQUENCES FOR UNACCEPTABLE USE

I accept that the breach of any of the above is taken very seriously
by the College and may result in serious sanctions and disciplinary
action for a first offense. In the case of students, these may be
determined in consultation with the Colleges Behaviour
Management Policy. I am aware that my parents may be contacted
and informed of my actions.
Any breaches involving inappropriate images or videos and cyberbullying are unacceptable and are taken very seriously by the
College, whether via images, games, videos, animations or other
means, and will be referred to the Headmaster or his delegate for
disciplinary action. It should also be noted that some forms of
cyberbullying and accessing illegal sites are criminal acts and in
such cases, the College is required to report these matters to the
police or other appropriate authorities.

Somerset College Student BYO Device

Policy
Statement

The following policy clearly sets out the expectations and conditions
in which students can bring and use their own devices. This policy is
to be read in conjunction with the Somerset College Acceptable and
Responsible Use of Information Technologies Policy (as found in the
diary).

Principles
All users have a responsibility to ensure that any use of devices
within the Somerset Colleges digital environment is appropriate,
acceptable, and does not jeopardise the integrity and good name of

the College or the security and functionality of the system.

Definition
ICTs includes but is not limited to computer devices, mobile devices
including mobile phones, cameras, email, the Internet, removable
hard drives, iPods, iPads, tablets, USBs, online programs and
software.
Online environments and online communication includes but is not
limited to the Colleges Administration System, the Colleges
network, the portal, email, wikis, blogs and other web based and
online systems including the Internet.

Implementation
This policy applies to students from Years 6 to 12 who are given
permission to bring their own device for use in the classroom.
Outside these year levels, exceptions are to be made only for
specific learning purposes and permission must be sought from both
the Head of Junior School and Dean of Information Technologies in
writing.
Students and parents acknowledge that they accept and agree to
abide by the principles ofthis policy and the Responsible and
Acceptable Use Policy, in exchange for permission to bring and use
their own device at the College. The College requires the all
technology will be used in an appropriate and ethical manner.
Students and parents as part of the agreement accept that the
College reserves the right to rescind the permission for a student to
bring a device into the College environment if their use of this
device does not adhere to the Colleges expectations, as stated in
these policies. A copy of the most recent version of this policy is
available online. This policy may be updated throughout the year.
Somerset College takes all reasonable measures to ensure that we
provide a safe digital environment that supports quality teaching
and learning and supports users bringing in their own devices. The
user is responsible for ensuring that their device works reliably and
accept that the use of the device is not to be a hindrance to the
teaching and the learning at the College in any way. While the
Information Technology department is available to students for
advice and initial assistance, students and parents must accept that
the responsibility for the support and service for the device rests
with them and the College has no responsibility for this. It is
recommended that devices brought to school are insured and this is
the responsibility of the parents. This may involve specifying the
device in the insurance policy and ensuring they are covered for
outside the home. Parents may also wish to take out Accidental
Damage Protection. Device tracking software, such as Prey, is

recommended.

Bring Your Own Device Use Agreement

As a member of Somerset College, I agree to the following as a
condition for being allowed to bring and use my own ICT devices at
the College. The use of these devices confirms the acceptance of the
following:
I accept that the primary use of ICTs is for educational purposes
and that my devices are to be used by me.
I accept that I am responsible for the security and safety of my
device and any use of it. I will keep it with me or store it
securely at all times.
I have anti-virus software installed, have a full scan and the
definitions are up-to-date. I will ensure this is maintained. I will
ensure I have no malicious software installed on my device. I
understand that failure to do any of the above may result in
my onboarding the College network being denied and it is my
responsibility to ensure I meet these requirements.
I accept and acknowledge that it is my responsibility to understand
how to use my device in a competent manner and that the use
of it will not detract in any way from the teaching and learning.
While the College will be proactive in educating about
information technologies, the freedom to choose and bring my
own device means that I must understand and be able to use
the specific device and its platform.
I accept that Somerset College has a right to inspect my device
and its data and monitor its activity.
I accept that the use of social networking sites are restricted within
the College and access is at the discretion of the Dean of
Information Technologies.
I will not attempt to create any peer to peer network, including
sharing Internet access from my mobile phone or 3G device to
bypass the Colleges Internet. I accept that all use of the
Internet whilst in the College grounds on any devices, including
laptops, mobile devices and mobile phones is to be via the
College provided wireless and Internet.
I accept that I am responsible for the purchase and installation of
all software on my device and that all software is appropriate
and licensed. I understand I must have a modern browser
installed as per the minimum specifications for BYOD.
I understand if I am in Years 6 to 12 I will be allowed to connect my
device to the Colleges wireless and Internet. I must
authenticate with my username and password prior to any
session where I use the Internet and I will be allowed access on
a Student BYOD vlan. Any application to connect to the
wireless or Internet by students outside these year levels must

be in writing from parents to the Dean of Information

Technologies, stating the educational reason for why an
exemption is requested and approval is at the Colleges
discretion.
I understand that the College only allows wireless access through
certain frequencies in order to control the quality of wireless
access for all and that some older devices may not be able to
connect. Details of what frequencies are accepted are found on
the Information Technology page in the portal.
I understand that that the responsibility for the storage and backup
of my files on my device rests with me.
I accept that the College does not provide the facility for me to
charge my device during the day. I therefore am responsible
for ensuring that my device has sufficient battery to last
through a school day and that I take responsibility for ensuring
that it is fully charged ready for each day.
I accept that I will use the Internet responsibly and consider others
in the community and my impact on the shared bandwidth.
This includes not using the College Internet to download and
install large files and software updates, nor running
background services that use the Internet. I understand that all
my use of the Internet is monitored and use that shows a
blatant misuse of the resource and a disregard for the
Responsible and Acceptable Use Policy may result in sanctions
or my access to the Internet being limited.
I understand that the Information Technology Department will
provide information on minimum recommended specifications
and that this information is of a generic nature.
I understand that I am part of a community and that my use of ICT
resources needs to respect the rights of all users and members
of this community.
I understand that access to Information Technologies can provide
students with valuable learning experiences. I understand that
Somerset College cannot always control what is accessible and
some information available may be dangerous, illegal or offensive. I
accept that, while teachers will always exercise their duty of care in
relation to these matters, the responsibility for responsible use of
their devices, ultimately rests with the students.

Consequences for unacceptable use

I accept that the breach of any of the above is taken very seriously
by the College and may result in serious sanctions and disciplinary
action for a first offense, in consultation with the Colleges Behaviour
Management Policy. I am aware that my parents may be contacted
and informed of my actions. Ongoing or serious misuse of any
devices I bring into the College environment may result in

permission to bring in any devices being revoked.

8. ACCEPTANCE
By clicking "I Agree" I understand and agree to observe the
conditions in the Agreement as outlined above and breach of these
terms may result in my access to the network being restricted from
my BYO Device.