Appendix

Appendix 5780.3-1 - Appendix: Web Content Style Guidelines

School, Staff and Student Web Site Parameters

1. INTRODUCTION

These guidelines apply to any web page developed for or by School District No. 36 (Surrey). This includes school, administrative site/department, district staff or student web pages. When referring to a site in this document, this refers to any school, administrative office or district department within the district.

A site manager may be senior management, a principal or a department manager.

The site manager is responsible for information shared with the public. A staff member or committee may be charged with the development and updating of a web site, but approval by the site manager is required. This section provides a series of requirements and suggestions that should be followed in the development and publishing of any district web site. Please remember that the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Safe Schools Act, copyright laws and board policies must be considered.

All schools, staff and students must adhere to the following guidelines regarding content and personal information about students and staff posted on internet web sites accessible by the general public.

2. GOALS

Any district website should have a clear purpose. Content and layout should be planned carefully to ensure that the purpose is achieved and that the website can be easily used by the intended audience(s).

Currently, SD36 websites are used for a variety of goals, including:

a)	Providing district information about schools and programs to the community.
b)	Providing information to staff, students and parents through district as well as school pages.
c)	Publishing student work through a forum that provides an authentic audience.
d)	Providing a useful interface for students and teachers to connect to curricular websites.
e)	Providing students with experience in electronic publishing related to information technology and computer studies expectations.
f)	Hosting web-accessible applications for staff (First Class, Subfinder, Edulog, etc.) as well as the public [Continuing Education registration, Facility Rental Bookings (viewing)].

There are two main types of web pages found on the School District #36 (Surrey) website – district-focus and school-based web pages.

District-focus web pages are consistently created using the same web template. Through the use of standard fonts, font sizes and headings, as well as structured design, the web site allows visitors to easily navigate the site and find what they are looking for quickly. School web pages are created by each site using unique, innovative web authoring styles and techniques that reflect the vision of each school.

The following guidelines are offered for all district web pages - technical and design “best practices” to be used in conjunction with current board policies and regulations regarding online publishing.

3. CONTENT GUIDELINES

3.1.

No advertising is allowed on district websites.

3.2.

A prepared statement regarding copyright materials, links to external sites, and purpose of site must be included where appropriate.

3.3.

Only material for which the site has copyright permission may be posted.

3.4.

No matter who develops the website, the site manager makes the final decision about what is appropriate to post.

3.5.

Include banners and headings to inform the user who is providing the information; in most cases this will include the name of the site.

3.6.

Include a link back to the “home page” or another appropriate page: the link should indicate the actual destination rather than reading simply “home”.

3.7.

Student work is clearly identified as such.

3.8.

Student work has been reviewed prior to publication:

a)	For potential libel and slander.
b)	For appropriateness.
c)	For conformity with Policy #8620 and Regulation #8620.1:Student Creative Works and Performances.

3.9.

Information is accurate and grammatically correct.

3.10.

Pages are marked with ‘last update’ information.

3.11.

Permission from the author has been obtained to use their work posted on the web.

3.12.

Identifiable photographs of secondary or elementary students comply with district policy for release.

3.13.

Any photographs of staff comply with district policy for release.

3.14.

Any work of student or staff is within the bounds of good taste and without objectionable language.

3.15.

A school home page will include:

a)	School name, full street address and telephone number.
b)	Principal and vice-principal names.
c)	List of content of subsequent pages.
d)	Details at the bottom including specification of last update.
e)	Content information for difficulties in accessing the data.
f)	Author or supervising adult of the document (not a student) preferably with an e-mail address.

3.16.

Suggested school topics and information:

a)	Link to Board home page
b)	Principal’s message
c)	Copyright and disclaimer note
d)	Staff list (with permission)
e)	School photo
f)	E-mail link to school
g)	School history
h)	School contacts
i)	School newsletters
j)	School calendar
k)	School logo and/or mascot
l)	Homework assignments, resources
m)	Student projects
n)	Links to external educational sites
o)	Photos of school (playground, gym, library)
p)	Team pictures (which comply with district policy)
q)	Descriptions of school activities (clubs, sports, the arts)

3.17.

School newsletters, if posted to the web site, should comply with all content restrictions

3.18.

The following should NOT be included:

a)	Any student’s address, phone number or e-mail address
b)	Any elementary student’s last name or photo unless written consent has been provided by a parent / guardian
c)	Any secondary student’s last name or photo unless consent has been provided by the student and parent / guardian
d)	Dated material where deadlines have passed
e)	Material without copyright permission on file.
f)	Material which might be considered libelous or slanderous.
g)	Any hotlinks to resources that are not of demonstrably educational Value to the user.

4. TECHNICAL ISSUES

4.1.

General

a)	All web sites should reside either on the district web servers or on SurreyNet.
b)	Websites may not exceed 50 mb in total.
c)	Keep all documents, including graphics, small (e.g., when scanning documents).
d)	Use low resolution to keep file size small.
e)	Use the following guidelines for file and page size: no file that makes part of a single page should exceed 100K; no page and its associated files should exceed 250K.
f)	Javascript may be used in pages; however, no Java applets may be included.
g)	Technical help cannot be provided to non-school district staff who develop school web pages.

4.2.

Links

a)	All home/anchor pages must contain a link back to the SD36 home page;
b)	Links should not be made to teacher and student home pages that reside outside the Surrey School District as the content of these sites is beyond our control.
c)	Links to external educational web sites must be monitored on a regular basis to ensure that they continue to meet your overall goals and are appropriate for audiences. Please include a disclaimer that states that you have no control over the content of external sites.

4.3.

Graphics

a)	Keep the number of graphics on a page to a minimum; long downloads will discourage users from wanting to see the page.
b)	Keep graphics small (e.g., when scanning documents use low resolution; use low resolution on digital camera).
c)	Pictures should be in JPEG or GIF formats.
d)	No copyrighted graphics may be posted unless purchased.

4.4.

Multimedia

a)	Keep movies and sound files as small as possible to avoid unreasonable download times (e.g., use software that compresses files when recording video/sound clips).
b)	QuickTime movies (sound or video) created on a Mac must be ‘flattened’ to make them work on the Internet.
c)	Sound files should be in a format that most browsers can interpret easily (AIFF [Mac], WAV [PC], MIDI, MP3).
d)	Recommended formats for movie files are MOV, AVI, and QuickTime.

4.5.

E-Mail

a)	Schools should post an e-mail address to which comments and inquiries can be addressed.
b)	Feedback for the main district website and departments is available through the ‘contact us’ page; however, including a department-specific contact is recommended.

Revised:	2008-05-28 2004-10-26
Approved:	2000-09-12 (Reg. #5780.2)