TEL Mission Statement and Guidelines

Mission Statement

The Toronto Education Link (TEL) will provide an effective means of communication within the educational community of the TDSB in order to:

• Support the learning and teaching objectives of the Board and the Ministry of Education as an extension of the school;
• Enhance access to Toronto District School Board resources; and
• Encourage the development of values, skills, and knowledge needed to access and manage information electronically.

TEL allows users to collaborate through discussion and direct communication in an educational environment.

Guidelines

• TEL is owned, funded, and managed by the Toronto District School Board and is subject to all TDSB policies and procedures, including the TDSB Code of Online Conduct.
• TEL guidelines are developed and monitored on behalf of the Board of Education by the TEL Advisory Committee. The committee is a working group comprised of representatives from student, staff, trustee, and parent groups. TEL is operated by Academic Services and Technical Services in consultation with the TEL Advisory Committee
• TEL depends on users to participate actively in supporting its guidelines and operations.

1. TEL Access Guidelines

1. A user may have only one personal account on TEL. When the system is fully implemented, it is the intention to register all automatically. Until then, registration will be phased in according to the scalability of the system. TEL users will have varying degrees of access depending on their need and their role.
2. To join TEL, members of the TDSB educational community are invited to apply for access through any Board employee who is a member of TEL and will send the request to the TEL administration. Requests are processed by the TEL administration using the employee or student number as the unique identifier for accounts.
3. Students must be sponsored by their principal or a teacher designated by the principal. Parents must be sponsored by a principal or a TDSB employee designated by the principal for this purpose. Sponsors are the liaison for enforcement of TEL guidelines and are responsible for supporting and educating those sponsored in appropriate use.
4. Sponsors assume an obligation to co-operate with the TEL Administration in connection with the enforcement of TEL guidelines. Users are encouraged to discuss matters of concern with their sponsors.
5. TDSB employees do not require a sponsor for a TEL account.
6. The Toronto District School Board reserves the right to limit resources available to any account.

2. User Identification

1. Personal accounts will not be registered with pseudonyms or “handles.”
2. To maintain an account, every user must have a current and legible résumé on the system. Résumés shall identify school or department, role (teacher, student, coordinator, etc.), sponsor if applicable, and the date on which the résumé was last revised. Resumes must comply with the TDSB Code of Online Conduct.

3. Personal Mail

1. All communications are the property of the Toronto District School Board.
2. All communication on TEL is to be conducted in a respectful tone. Messages that are harassing and/or discriminatory in nature are prohibited.
3. Messages between users are similar in most respects to letters and other forms of communication but should not be considered private. Users should be aware that others have the ability to copy, forward or otherwise publish their words. Due caution should therefore be exercised when composing messages.
4. Users are cautioned that they are responsible as authors for communications that they send. Users are equally responsible for communications that they copy or forward to others. See also Section 5, below.
5. The TEL Administration retains the right to examine mailbox contents in instances when there is concern of a breach of TEL guidelines or when mailbox contents are suspected of causing technical difficulties.
6. The contents of a mailbox are subject to formal disclosure with the appropriate authorization.

4. Web Pages

FirstClass has the capability to publish Web pages that can be viewed by all registered TEL users. This capability will be available to teachers upon request (to the appropriate Academic Services leader). A teacher may also request access to this capability for her students.

5. File Transfer Guidelines

1. The only transfer which is allowed is that of freeware and public domain software.
2. TEL is not to be used for the transfer of:
   • Material that contravenes any TDSB policy
   • Commercial or licensed software or copyright material (without authorization);
   • Files and/or messages containing information on conducting any illegal procedure or act.
3. All uploads and downloads on TEL are logged. If users are not sure of the status or contents of a file, they should not upload it or attach it to a message.

See also Section 8: Prohibited Actions.

6. Conferences

1. TEL conferences have specific purposes. These purposes shall be consistent with the TEL Mission Statement and Guidelines and with the policies of the TDSB. The purpose of each conference will be posted in the conference folder.
2. Each conference shall have one or more conference moderators. Conferences intended primarily for student use shall have at least one co-moderator who is TDSB staff. The name(s) of the moderator(s) will be posted within the statement of the conference purpose. The moderator of a private conference will manage the subscription list for that conference.
3. Conference moderators are responsible for monitoring conference postings to ensure that they are consistent with TEL guidelines and that they are relevant to the purpose of the conference. Moderators have the authority to “unapprove” or delete postings deemed inappropriate. When dealing with potential discipline situations, moderators must follow the Procedures for Disciplinary Action published November, 2003.
4. All conference moderators shall be provided with detailed guidelines and training opportunities.
5. Inappropriate conference postings may be removed by the Administration or the conference moderator, subject to the user’s right to appeal. Conference moderators may consult with TEL administrators regarding decisions concerning the deletion of offending message. Moderators are encouraged to archive messages that they delete.
6. All public conferences are subject to the approval of the TEL Advisory Committee. In addition, curricular or TDSB Business-related Public conferences require the sponsorship of an appropriate TDSB staff member with district-wide responsibilities.
7. Private conferences are established on the approval of the TEL administration. Private conferences will serve identifiable groups of users.

7. Personal, Social, and Professional Responsibilities of TEL Users

The Toronto District School Board provides TEL as an educational tool. It is an extension of both the classroom and the workplace. All users are responsible for practicing and implementing codes of behaviour and the Code of Online Conduct of the Toronto District School Board. In simple terms, if it is not allowed in the classroom or school system, it is not allowed on TEL.

1. Personal Responsibility: It is the responsibility of all users to protect the privacy of their accounts. No user may share a personal TEL account with another person. Users are expected to maintain the confidentiality of their passwords and change them on a regular basis.
2. Social Responsibility: All users are expected to interact with one another with courtesy and respect in a manner consistent with the TDSB Equity and Human Rights policies. Examples of unacceptable behaviour include but are not limited to:
   • Discrimination of any kind (including that based on class, culture, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or ability);
   • Harassment of any kind. Refer to the TDSB Equity and Human Rights policies. Harassment is defined as engaging in a course of vexatious comment or conduct that is known or ought reasonably to be known to be unwelcome);
   • Derogatory comments about other members of the Toronto District School Board community e.g. flaming;
   • Threats and intimidation (including bullying, stalking, derogatory attacks, and any form of hate material) in accordance with the TDSB Safe Schools Policy, the TDSB equity and Human Rights policies and the Criminal Code of Canada;
   • Profane or improper language;
   • Exchange of mail or files containing sexually explicit, pornographic, prurient, or violent content.
3. Professional Responsibility: Toronto District School Board Staff are reminded that all activities are subject to various codes of ethics and behaviours. They may also be subject to standards of conduct, which are mandated and enforced by their professional associations, by law under the Education Act and the Teaching Profession Act, and by the policies of the Toronto District School Board.
4. Conference Discussions: The exchange of a wide range of viewpoints is encouraged on TEL; however, members are reminded to present their opinions in a respectful manner and to honour the rights of others to hold dissenting views. Although lively debate is often passionate, common courtesy must be observed at all times.

   All users are entitled to contribute to discussions in the appropriate conferences provided that TEL guidelines, Board and Ministry policy, the Ontario Human Rights Code, and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are observed. Users are reminded that submissions to conferences are potentially accessible to students of a wide range of ages.

5. Appeals: Users may appeal decisions of the TEL administration and conference moderators to the TEL Advisory Committee.

8. Prohibited Actions

In addition to the behaviours described in Section 6, the following are not allowed on TEL:

• Any communications to facilitate any unlawful activity. Legal authorities can expect the full cooperation of the TEL Admin Team and the TEL Advisory Committee;
• Discussion of any aspect of any labour negotiation process between the Toronto District School Board and its employees;
• Attempts to compromise Tel’s security, for example, by trying to break into another user’s account or intentionally exceeding volume or memory capacity of the system e.g. spamming;
• Advertising a business of any kind unless specifically approved in advance by a TDSB supervisory officer or the TDSB Business Development Office.
• Initiating or forwarding a chain letter.

Inappropriate conference postings or e-mail messages may be removed by the TEL Administration or the conference moderator.

9. Disciplinary Procedures for Violations of TEL Guidelines

1. All reported violations will be verified by the Administration prior to action. The Administration will deal with violations of TEL guidelines by means of one or more of the following:
   1. warning to the user;
   2. reducing or limiting access to features and services (such as chat, e-mail, conference access, and time allocation);
   3. temporarily suspending privileges;
   4. removing TEL privileges; and
   5. taking legal action.

Repeated violations may warrant escalating sanctions.

Where a student is involved in a violation and the Administration takes the actions described in (d) or (e), the Administration shall provide the student’s sponsor with particulars of the violation. The sponsor will be expected to initiate appropriate action at the school.

The administration will likewise report a violation by any other sponsored user to that user’s sponsor.