Terms of Service
ST NICHOLAS TRAINING CENTRE FOR THE MONTESSORI METHOD OF EDUCATION LTD (CHARITY, MSN)
AND ST NICHOLAS MONTESSORI TRAINING LIMITED
(MONTESSORI CENTRE INTERNATIONAL – MCI)
“(together, “Montessori”)”
Montessori Moodle Terms and Conditions/ Terms of Service Statement.
1. Introduction
1.1 Moodle is a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) which is used for the purposes of teaching, training, research, coursework or associated administration and offers file sharing and communication tools to users. Montessori provides these services subject to the following rules and guidelines.
1.2 These guidelines should be used in conjunction with the
following Montessori policies which can be found in the Policies section on
Moodle:
·
ICT Acceptable Usage Policy
·
Misconduct Procedure
·
Data protection Policy and Code of Practice
·
Social Media Policy
Any questions regarding Moodle usage can be directed to the
Leader of e-Learning preeti.patel@montessori.org.uk
2 Use of Moodle
2.1 When using Moodle and connecting
services, each user must:
a) Respect the rights of others.
b) Remember to logout at the end of each session.
c) Comply with current and future legislation including:
·
The Data
Protection Act 1998
·
Copyright,
Designs & Patents Act 1988
·
Computer Misuse
Act 1990
·
Telecommunications
Act 1984
·
Protection from
Harassment Act 1997
·
Counter
Terrorism and Security Act 2015 Prevent Guidelines
d) Each user (this includes tutors, guest lecturers, placement
tutors, learners or guests) is responsible for ensuring that their use of
Moodle complies with Montessori policies and this document.
e) By using our Moodle services users agree to be bound by these
terms, which shall take effect immediately on their first use. If users do not
agree to be bound by all the following terms they should cease using Moodle and
notify e-support immediately.
3 Montessori VLE Policies Document
3.1 Montessori may revise these terms without notice by posting the
latest version of this document onto Moodle. A user’s continued use of Moodle
will be deemed acceptance of the updated terms or amendments.
3.2 Users accessing Moodle from non-Montessori owned equipment (such
as mobile phones or personal laptops) and users accessing Moodle from outside
College premises (such as their home or workplace) are bound by the same
conditions of use.
3.3 In accordance with the Montessori ICT Acceptable Usage Policy,
use of Moodle must be for the purpose of teaching, training, research,
coursework, associated administration or other authorised use.
4
Security
4.1
Access to course information and
resources on Moodle are controlled by user permissions. Users should log into
Moodle with their own network user account and never allow another user to
access Moodle under their network account.
4.2
Users should never attempt to
access any protected Moodle area unless they are a member of the course and
have been given permission to do so by the course lecturer or supervisor.
4.3
Activities on Moodle are fully
audited. Records are kept of when users access courses and resources along with
a log of all communications such as forum posts, assignment submissions, etc.
These records are available to lecturers or supervisors for course evidence,
but may also be used as a point of reference for any matters arising, such as
accounts of harassment, bullying or the transmitting of inappropriate material.
4.4
Users should not post personal or
sensitive information to any part of Moodle including to their profile, blogs,
or any course activities. Information sent through Moodle may be read by third
parties.
4.5
When information is placed onto
Moodle by users, you are acknowledging that you are making it available for
download, and therefore we cannot guarantee that such resources will not be
seen by/distributed to third parties.
4.6
Often tutors and managers, and
other users, will place links to useful websites on Moodle for the Montessori
community to investigate. Montessori cannot accept any responsibility for the
contents of external sites.
4.7
Access to Moodle will be
withdrawn when a user is no longer employed by Montessori or when the student’s
participation in one of our courses has expired.
5 Content
5.1
Users are responsible for
ensuring that the learning materials added to their areas does not infringe
confidentiality, copyright or the intellectual property rights of others
(including colleagues).
5.2
Users should not upload any
materials which would breach the ICT Acceptable Usage Policy (such as illegal
or obscene content) or add links to any web pages that host such material.
5.3
Users taking part in online
course activities (including assignment submission, chat rooms, forums, etc.)
are prohibited from transmitting any words or pictures which are libelous,
insulting, and abusive or would otherwise contravene codes of conduct.
5.4
All work submitted electronically
by users should be their own. Copying others work, cheating, collusion,
plagiarism and attempting to obtain unfair assessment advantages are in
violation of Montessori policies.
5.5
Tutors and managers are
responsible for supervising their Moodle areas and ensuring that any violations
of Montessori policies are dealt with. Any violations of policies identified by
learners should be made to their lecturer or supervisor in the first instance.
5.6
Moodle areas should reflect
current learning provision. Once an area has been created for a tutor it is
their responsibility for ensuring the academic content remains up-to-date.
5.7
Moodle areas may be removed
without warning if:
·
The lecturer or supervisor has
not accessed the area since it was created
·
No resources and/or activities
have been added to the area
·
The area has no recent access by
learners
·
The area is inappropriately
visible.
5.8
Where a course area has multiple
tutors or supervisors then arrangements should be made by the tutors or
supervisors team to ensure that they work together collaboratively. Montessori
cannot accept any responsibility where a tutor or supervisor makes changes to
files or settings without informing their colleagues and the e-team.
5.9
Moodle contains documents created
with a variety of software. Where possible we encourage users to upload
resources in commonly used formats (such as Microsoft Office) to offer wider
compatibility. Montessori cannot support learners with problems opening files
externally if they are caused by incompatible software and/or hardware.
5.10
Many files on Moodle (such as
videos) are quite large and best viewed over the Montessori network. Montessori
cannot guarantee quality of performance or be responsible for connection issues
when downloading these materials externally.
6 Data Protection
6.1 Users of Moodle must agree to:
i. Look after their own username and
password. They must not share their password with anyone else and must not use
the username and password of other users
ii. Keep physical access to Moodle
secure. For example, they must not login to Moodle and then leave their
computer unattended
iii. Not attempt to gain unauthorised
access to any part of Moodle
iv. Not knowingly post material which
contains viruses or other programs which may disrupt the University's systems
v. Not upload private, confidential
or sensitive material unless this is authorised
vi. Keep their own data up-to-date
and secure
vii. Ensure their computers and mobile
devices are kept fully up to date with Operating System and application
security patches, and that they have up-to-date virus protection on their
computers to help prevent the infection or distribution of viruses.
viii. Understand that Montessori will
not take responsibility for any loss of information, which has been posted on
Moodle, once users cease to be formally associated with Montessori.
7 Access logs
7.1 Access to courses and areas on
Moodle is logged and the information recorded about course usage is available
to the course managers. This information includes which users have visited the
course, when they visited and what they have looked at. These statistics are
monitored and may be used:
· to provide information on course
usage
· as part of our student assessment
7.2
If you have any concerns, please
contact e-support in the first instance.
8 Data storage limitations
8.1
Moodle is a platform for making
files and resources available to learners throughout their course. It should
not be used as a general storage area. Files that are not required for the
delivery of a course should be stored in your network area. Where collaboration
is required between lecturers, then your network shared area or another
collaborative tool such as the network shared area should be used.
8.2
All users should always keep
original copies of work they upload onto Moodle. Montessori accepts no
liability for lost or corrupt data that has been stored on Moodle by staff or
learners.
8.3
Whilst the server is routinely
backed up for the purposes of disaster recovery, it is the responsibility of
users to ensure that they have copies of any important data, including uploaded
resources, submitted assignments, etc.
8.4
All learner data and submitted
work are removed from the system and archived for 6 years after user access has
been removed.
8.5
Montessori computers are
routinely virus scanned but Montessori guarantee that all files transmitted
through Moodle will be virus free. Users accessing Moodle from home should
ensure that they have adequate virus protection on their computer to help
prevent their infection or distribution of viruses.
8.6
Staff should not use Moodle as a
tool to distribute software applications to learners (except where it has been
created as part of a programming course).
9
Disciplinary Action
9.1
Should a user contravene these
terms of use or any other College Policy related to the use of Moodle, the offence
will be logged and appropriate action will be taken, from a temporary
restriction of services up to and including permanent removal of services and
further disciplinary procedures.
10
Information about us
Moodle is operated by Montessori (‘Montessori’ or 'we' or 'us')
in conjunction with How To Moodle. Our registered addresses are: 4/4a Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2RP and e-Innovation Centre, Priorslee, Telford,
Shropshire, TF2 9FT
Last modified: Tuesday, 19 January 2021, 3:43 PM