Skip to: Site menu | Main content

OSD Technology

Web Publishing Guidelines

The Olympia School District has established a network of computers connected together and to the world's Internet for educational purposes. The following guidelines are intended for all web pages developed and maintained within this computer network referred to as “OSDNet”. It is the intent of the District that web pages developed by staff and students, who have signed an OSDNet Access Release Form, include only appropriate educational content and conform to the guidelines presented here.

All web pages developed within OSDNet shall be the property of the Olympia School District.

Goals for Olympia School District Web Publishing:

  1. Provide access to web based educational resources and information for teaching and learning
  2. Provide an effective means of communication for students, staff, administrators, family and the community
  3. Support the efforts of the District for collaboration and shared decision making

Levels of Web Publishing and Organizational Responsibilities:

1. District Level

Publishing activities represent the whole District and provide the overall style and structure of District main pages and information. This level of publishing is managed by a District Webmaster and the Director of Communications who carry out the goals for the website.

2. Departmental Level

Administrative departments (such as Human Resources, Transportation, Support Services, etc.) will publish their pages as a part of the District's web site. The Director or Supervisor of each department is responsible for the content of these pages and may designate a department web master to develop and manage the actual pages. The District's Technology Department and the Communications Department will provide training.

3. School Level

The building administrator is responsible for the content and management of the school's web pages and may designate a Webmaster to manage and monitor the school's web site. This Webmaster will ensure that the school's web pages are maintained, current and consistent with District style and publishing guidelines.

4. Staff Level

Teachers or other staff may create web pages for educational purposes including class learning activities, and resources for students and other staff. The building's Webmaster oversees all pages developed for the building's website and is to be informed of planned publishing activities by staff.

5. Student Level

Students may create web pages as a part of a class or school sponsored activity. Content of student web pages must be approved by a supervising teacher and meet the educational requirements of the school-related activity and comply with District policy and guidelines. Personal web pages are not allowed on any District web server. Student web pages will be removed at the end of the school year unless special arrangements are made. The building's Webmaster oversees all pages developed for the building's website and is to be informed of planned publishing activities by students.

General Content and Linking Guidelines

  1. All material posted on any District web page must be in compliance with the OSDNet Acceptable Use Procedures, Board Policy, the Children's Online Privacy and Protection Act, state, federal, and international laws concerning copyright and intellectual property rights.
  2. Content on District web pages must serve educational purposes consistent with the goals of the Olympia School District.
  3. Content on District-served web pages shall be posted by authorized OSD staff. For student-generated web pages, an OSD teacher must approve all content prior to posting.
  4. Web page content that fails to meet established educational objectives or that is in violation of Board Policy or Procedures will be removed.
  5. Copyright laws are to be adhered to. If copyright is in question, always check with the author(s) for permission.
  6. Permission to use the originally created work of students or staff must be granted through a signed OSD Web Publishing Permission form prior to publishing. This published work will be protected by U.S. copyright law. However, the District will not be held responsible to enforce U.S. copyright law.
  7. District Web pages and any Web forums are not to be considered as “public” forums. They will be monitored for appropriate use as defined by the District.
  8. District web pages shall not display the personal address, phone number or email address of students.
  9. Student identification will be by first name only.*
  10. District web pages shall not display identifiable student pictures unless explicit parental permission has been granted through a signed OSD Web Publishing Permission form.*
  11. Email links for external feedback must be for a generic Webmaster address which forwards messages to a designated page supervisor, e.g. “personnel@osd.wednet.edu”
  12. All links to external web sites must be relevant to the department or school's services, needs or activities.
  13. Web pages should not include direct links to other web sites whose primary purpose is for commercial or political advertising.

* Exceptions to guidelines # 8 and # 9 include previously viewed printed publications or video productions that have been converted to PDF or streamed formats for the web.

Design and Maintenance Guidelines

Current templates for OSD web pages are to be used by all departments. Schools may choose between the district's template or their own design which has been approved by the District's webmaster or Director of Communications.

  1. Main pages should fit onto one screen and require no scrolling.
  2. All department and school homepages must have a direct link back to the OSD Homepage (http://osd.wednet.edu). All other pages must have a direct link back to the department or school homepage.
  3. Pages should be designed to work with several browsers including both Netscape and Internet Explorer. Requiring only ONE browser is not acceptable.
  4. Avoid the use of frames or other techniques or applications that can potentially eliminate some viewers. Provide two versions to accommodate those viewers with less sophisticated equipment.
  5. Correct grammar and spelling are expected and all information must be verifiable.
  6. Each main page shall contain the following:
    • date of recent modification
    • “© 2007 Olympia School District – All rights reserved”
  7. All District Web pages are to be monitored by the creator and/or local Webmaster for current links, accurate information and proper function. Any page that is found by the District Webmaster to contain outdated information or links will be removed

Technical Protocols and Consideration

  1. Access to the District web servers is administered by the District's Network Systems Manager and is by password only.
  2. File names:
    • use numbers and lower case letters only
    • use underscores instead of blank spaces
    • be consistent with the use of suffixes: .jpg, .gif, .htm, etc.
  3. Graphics and images:
    • Convert all graphics to either GIF or JPEG format
    • Make graphics as small as possible
    • Scan images at 72 dpi resolution
  4. Site management on server:
    • Each site's directory is to be well organized and maintained
    • Storage memory is to be conserved by removing unused files, folders, graphics, etc.
    • The District Web server is for active web page files only
  5. • Any deliberate tampering or misuse of district network services or equipment will be considered as vandalism and will be handled as such according to District policies.

10.22.07

[ Back to top ]