Think Before You Click (Professional Relations Services)

You may be checking your email  quickly to respond to a family member. Or you may be checking the weather, reading the news, buying tickets, or replying to a request to “add a friend” on Facebook. There may or may not be anyone else in the room. Whatever the circumstances, if you are using a school computer, you can be sure that you are not alone.

Aside from your physical fingerprints on the keyboard and the mouse, you are also leaving behind various digital fingerprints, markers, and log entries that allow your employer to monitor your time and activity on that computer. When using your employer’s property – the board’s computer and Internet connection – you are not “clicking” in private: it’s as though your principal were sitting beside you. Your principal and board can, and often do, have access to your every move.

For this reason your use of the Internet at work must at all times be in accordance with school board policy.

Boards must have policies

School boards are required to establish rules around the use of the Internet in order to achieve the following goals:

• To safeguard students from potential harm caused by teachers using computers inappropriately (e.g., to produce and/or distribute pornography)
• To stop boundary violations by teachers or others in a position of trust
• To limit infringements on human rights, civil and criminal liability for sexual harassment, bullying, criminal harassment, illegal downloading, and the accessing of child pornography
• To discourage or stop copyright infringements or theft of materials
• To ensure that unauthorized Internet and email use does not expose individual computers and networks to viruses
• To ensure that Internet bandwidth is not used disproportionately by any individual user
• To ensure that teachers avoid unauthorized use of the Internet/email for nonemployment-related purposes (efficiency reasons)
• To ensure compliance with specific use policies and codes of conduct.

Inappropriate use of the Internet could include:

• Downloading illegally posted commercial movies
• Downloading music in violation of copyright
• Visiting inappropriate websites, such as those offering “adult” content or those promoting racist views
• Excessive chatting during working hours on social networking sites such as Facebook. (City of Toronto and Ontario government employees have been banned from accessing Facebook at work.)

The consequences of violating board policies can be severe: you could be disciplined or fired. Depending on the infraction, you may also be reported to the CAS, the police, and/or the College of Teachers.

Your employer can check

Even if employers do not monitor computer or Internet use as it is occurring, they can always do so after the fact. They can work with information technology staff or hire an external company to provide data recovery services and a digital forensics report.

A “forensic” audit of the computer’s hard drive will show second-by-second Internet use, including all sites visited, length of visit, and downloads. Such audits can also recover deleted emails. Remember that nothing is ever truly deleted. Unless you erase the computer’s hard drive with special equipment, the forensic audit will uncover information about your use of that computer, including material you may think you have deleted.

Engaging in the following behaviour may lead to discipline:

• Spending inordinate amounts of time accessing email during hours when students are at school
• Constant text messaging
• Surfing the Net in your classroom while students are present
• Taking pictures of yourself and sharing them over the Net
• Displaying computer pictures of yourself in inappropriate dress
• Emailing students at their personal email addresses, or giving out your personal email address and using it for interaction with students.

Use your good judgment

Teachers are expected to lead by example, and they hold a special position of trust in relation to their students. You may be seen to be violating these obligations if students are in any way exposed to inappropriate material or communications as a result of your computer use – be it your own computer or the board’s.

For all of these reasons, remember to “think before you click.” Your expectation of privacy is diminished while using the  Internet on school board  property.  Exercising  caution  and  good judgment when checking email or surfing the Internet at work will help you to maintain your privacy and forestall any criminal investigations, professional discipline, and/or discipline  by the school board.

Visit etfo.ca and click on Advice for Members? PRS Matters Bulletins, volumes 25 and 9, for information on related issues.