iPad Handbook

Families in grades 4-12 will be notified on the distribution of iPads prior to the beginning of the school year.  Parents and students must sign and return the iPad Protection Plan before the iPad can be issued to their child. The iPad Protection plan outlines options for families to protect the iPad investment for the school district. Please review the iPad Protection plan included in this handbook.

Student iPads in Kindergarten – grade 3 will remain in school in charging carts.

Individual iPads will be turned in during final week of school so they can be serviced over the summer. Students are to keep their iPad charger and charging cable over the summer.

Students who graduate early, withdraw, are suspended or expelled, or who terminate enrollment in Spring Lake Park for any other reason must return their school iPad, the iPad charger, and the charging cable, on or before the date of withdrawal.

If a student fails to return the iPad at the end of the school year or upon withdrawl from the Spring Lake Park Schools, the student's family will be responsible for the replacement cost of the iPad. Failure to return the iPad or pay the replacement cost will result in a theft report filed with the local Police Department, which may lead to criminal prosecution and civil liability.

• The iPad is owned by Spring Lake Park Schools and all users will follow the Spring Lake Park Technology Responsible Use Policy found on the district website.
• Only use a clean, soft cloth to clean the screen. Do not use cleansers of any type, as they can damage the display.
• Students will only use the cords and cables provided with the iPad.  Cords and cables must be inserted carefully into the iPad to prevent damage.
• Pads must remain free of any writing, drawing, stickers, labels, or any other physical alterations that are not the property of the Spring Lake Park Schools.  
• Students may not remove any of the Spring Lake Park Schools labels or stickers.
• iPads must never be left in an unlocked locker, unlocked car, or any unsupervised area.
• Students are responsible for keeping their iPad’s battery charged for use in school each day.
• The protective cases provided with iPads have sufficient padding to protect the iPad from normal treatment and provide a suitable means for carrying the device within the school.
• iPads should always be within the protective case provided by Spring Lake Park Schools.

iPads are intended for use at school each day. In addition to teacher expectations for iPad use, school messages, announcements, calendars and Schoology including grades, schedules and assignments may be accessed using the iPad.  Students must be responsible to bring their iPad to all classes, unless specifically instructed not to do so by their teacher.

If students leave their iPad at home, they are responsible for getting the course work completed as if they had their iPad present. If a student repeatedly (two or more times per class or as determined by any staff member) leaves their iPad at home or does not bring it to class, they will be required to leave their iPad at school for a specific time to be determined by administration.

iPads must be brought to school each day with a fully charged battery. Students need to charge their iPads each evening. Repeat violations will result in students being required to leave their iPad at school for a specific time to be determined by staff.  In cases where use of the iPad has caused batteries to become discharged, students may be able to connect their iPads to a power outlet in class.

A loaner iPad may be issued to students when they leave their iPad for repair.

Self Service
The Apple App Store has been removed from student iPads in grades kindergarten – grade 9.  All apps needed for learning can be found in the Self Service app on the student’s iPad.  These apps are either part of the district technology toolkit or vetted by a classroom teacher.  Students in grades 10-12 may download additional apps for learning through the Apple App Store. All installed apps must follow the district Technology Responsible Use Policy. Spring Lake Park Schools reserves the right to have a student remove inappropriate apps and/or student apps that may be taking away needed space for educational activities.

Software Upgrades
Upgraded versions of licensed software/apps are available from time to time. Students will be directed on how to install required updates for their school apps and iPadOS.

Inspection
The iPads provided are Spring Lake Park Schools property; students may be selected at random to provide their iPad for inspection to district staff at any time.

There are a number of apps and technology tools provided to students, including:

• Schoology
• Seesaw
• Nearpod
• Educreations
• Screencast-o-matic
• FlipGrid
• Discovery Education
• Book Creator
• Google Apps for Education (Docs, Slides, Sheets, Sites, Blogspot, YouTube, gmail)
• Notability
• iMovie
• Keynote, Powerpoint, Slides
• Pages, Word, Docs
• Numbers, Excel, Sheets
• iBook

Apps used in the classroom are vetted by classroom teachers. For other applications your child may be using in class, please contact their teacher. 

All content, photos and data, including lock screen and home screen wallpapers, must fall within the Technology Responsible Use Policy. Presence of guns, weapons, pornographic materials, inappropriate language, alcohol, drug, gang related symbols or other inappropriate pictures will result in referral to the office and other discipline actions will apply based on Student Code of Conduct Policy. Upon request, iPads will be inspected, and the student will provide the locked screen code. Upon failure to comply, the student iPad may be restored to factory settings without backing up the student data.

Students may save their work on the iPad.  However, it is recommended that students use their Google Drive for storage. Storage space will be available on the iPad, but it will not be backed up in case the iPad is wiped and reset to factory settings. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that work is not lost due to mechanical failure or accidental deletion. iPad malfunctions are not an acceptable excuse for not submitting work.

Spring Lake Park Schools makes no guarantee that its network will be up and running 100 percent of the time. In the rare case that the network is down, Spring Lake Park Schools will not be responsible for lost or missing data.

Students will be bringing the iPads home for learning purposes in grades 4-12.  Some tips for home use:

• The iPad should never be left unattended or in a car.  
• When leaving the school or “out and about,” the iPad should not be visible for the safety of the student.  
• Parents should spend time setting up home guidelines for the use of the iPad.
• Students are allowed to set up wireless networks on their iPads.  This will assist them with iPad use while at home.  However, the Technology Responsible Use policy must be followed while at home when using a district-owned device.
• Technology support is not available outside the school day.
• Keep iPads should not be exposed to extreme heat or cold.

iPads should be connected to their charger at the end of the day to charge the battery for the next school day.

Storing Your iPad
When students grades 6-12 are needing their iPads in class, they should be stored in the locked hallway locker. Nothing should be placed on top of the iPad, when stored in the locker. Students are expected to take their iPads home every day after school. iPads should not be stored in a student’s vehicle. If a student needs a secure place to store their iPad, they may check it in for storage in the main office.

iPads Left in Unsupervised Areas
Under no circumstances should iPads be left in unsupervised areas. Unsupervised areas include, but not limited to, the school grounds and campus, the lunchroom, computer lab, locker rooms, library, unlocked classrooms, restrooms and hallways. Any iPad left in these areas is in danger of being stolen. If an iPad is found in an unsupervised area, it will be taken to the main office. Do not ever leave the iPad on the floor where it can be stepped on.

Environmental
There are also a few environmental ways to care for your iPad.

• Keep the iPad out of heat above 95 degrees (Fahrenheit) for an extended length of time
• Keep the iPad out of cold below 32 degrees (Fahrenheit) for an extended period of time
• Keep it out of water or extremely humid locations
• It should also go without saying that part of caring for your iPad is to make sure you do not insert anything into the port connections other than the intended peripherals. Jamming things into the port connectors could render it unusable, and damaged caused by inserting foreign material is not covered under the iPad Protection Plan.

Students are to follow all expectations as outlined in the Spring Lake Park Technology Responsible Use Policy. A full version of the Spring Lake Park Technology Responsible Use Policy can be found here. These include but are not limited to the following:

• Illegal installation or transmission of copyrighted materials
• Any action that violates existing Board policy or public law
• Sending, accessing, uploading, downloading, or distributing offensive, profane, threatening, pornographic, obscene, or sexually explicit materials
• Use of chat rooms or sites selling term papers, book reports, and other forms of student work
• Changing of iPad settings (exceptions include personal settings such as font size, brightness, etc.)
• Spamming-Sending mass or inappropriate emails
• Gaining access to other students’ accounts, files, and/or data
• Use of the school’s internet/e-mail accounts for financial or commercial gain or for any illegal activity
• Use of anonymous and/or false communications through such sites as myPanthers and iChat
• Students are not allowed to give out personal information, for any reason, over the Internet. This includes, but is not limited to, setting up internet accounts including those necessary for chat rooms, eBay, email, etc.
• Participation in credit card fraud, electronic forgery, or other forms of illegal behavior.
• Vandalism (any malicious attempt to harm or destroy hardware, software, or data, including, but not limited to the uploading or creation of computer viruses or computer programs that can infiltrate computer systems and/or damage software components) of school equipment will not be allowed
• Transmission or accessing materials that are obscene, offensive, threatening or otherwise intended to harass or demean recipients.
• Bypassing the school district’s web filter through a web proxy
• Any violation of the district Student Code of Conduct
• Breaking terms of use on any website, app, or program

Responsibilities

Parent/Guardian Responsibilities are to:
Talk to your children about values and the standards that your children should follow on the use of the technology in your home just as you do on the use of all media information sources such as television, telephones, movies, and radio.

Should you want your student to opt out of taking an iPad home, you will need to sign a form indicating this and understand that your student is still responsible for meeting the course requirements in an alternative manner.

School Responsibilities are to:

• Provide Internet and Email access to its students.
• Provide Internet Blocking of inappropriate materials as able while in school.
• Review, monitor, and restrict information stored on or transmitted via Spring Lake Park-owned equipment and to investigate inappropriate use of resources.
• Provide staff guidance to aid students in doing research and help assure student compliance of the Technology Responsible Use Policy.

Students are Responsible for:

• Using computers/devices in a responsible and ethical manner.
• Obeying general school rules concerning behavior and communication that apply to iPad/computer use.
• Using all technology resources in an appropriate manner so as to not damage district equipment.
• Helping Spring Lake Park Schools protect its computer system/devices by contacting an administrator about any security problems they may encounter.
• Monitoring all activity on their account(s).
• Turning off and securing their iPad after they are done working to protect their work and information.
• Report inappropriate behavior or use to an adult.
• Returning their iPad to the school at the end of each school year. Students who graduate early, withdraw, are suspended or expelled, or terminate enrollment at Spring Lake Park for any other reason must return their individual school iPad computer on the date of withdrawal.
• Bringing their device to school each day charged and ready for use.

Technical Problems
If you are encountering technical problems, take your iPad to the media center. If it cannot be fixed at that time, a loaner iPad may be distributed. All iPad policy agreements remain in effect for the loaner iPad.

Damage
Complete an accident report –available in the school office- immediately if your iPad is damaged.  All damaged iPads will be dealt with on a case by case basis. Students will be liable for the cost of repair or replacement if the iPad is intentionally damaged.

Lost or stolen
The student or parent/guardian is required to immediately notify a school administrator and file a police report in all cases of stolen or lost iPads. After filing the police report, the student or parent/guardian shall notify the school and submit a copy of the police report. Failure to report stolen property in a timely manner could result in holding you liable for the entire cost of the iPad.

You will be issued one case and AC power adapter. You will be responsible replacement and purchasing additional supplies if needed.