Laptop 101
August 04, 2008
Highland Park ISD is committed to being an organization that encourages all students and community members to be life-long learners. Essential to this vision is the development of the use of state-of-the-art technology that empowers teachers, students, and other adults to create learning experiences from the vast storehouse of information available both within and beyond the school building. In educating its students for the future, the district believes that schools must take part in equipping students, teachers, and the community to use all technology efficiently. This year, the district is committed to its vision of being an EXEMPLARY district, and we believe that our technology plays a major part in this endeavor.

Subject Integration Quick Time Videos
Social Studies Integration English Integration Video
Student to Student Quick Time Videos
Student Video I Student Video II
Policies and Information


Part One: Getting Started
Part Two: Digital Literacy
Social Networking
MySpace.com and other similar sites are designed to allow people to share their personal information, including pictures, names and addresses, schools they attend, cell and home phone numbers, and pretty much any information they can think of. The minimum age requirement of MySpace.com is 13 years old; however the safeguards they use to verify age are not foolproof. The content contained within MySpace.com is not monitored nor are contacts that your child may make. Below is an excerpt taken from MySpace.com:
NetSmartz - A helpful site for parents.
“…However, there are problems with minors lying about their age and posting profiles; there are problems with some adult members using the site to harass members or solicit illegal activities; there are problems with sexually explicit images posted as well—all of which violate MySpace’s Acceptable Use Policies”.
http://www.myspace.com/misc/WiredSafety_ORG.html
We advise you to find out if your child has a profile on MySpace.com or any other social-network website. MySpace.com allows you to search using an e-mail address or even narrowing it down by school. To protect your student, use of MySpace.com in the Highland Park School District is prohibited and filtered. However, we will take every measure we can to prevent additional access to such sites while at school.
Beginning Monday, November 6, 2006, consequences of accessing any social network (MySpace.com) while at school will be as follows:
1st offense- Removal of laptop for 6 weeks.
2nd offense- Removal of laptop for semester.
3rd offense- Laptop will be taken from student for remainder of year.
In addition, the student will spend 1 or more days in ISS for any of these offenses.
As in many schools, we have found that some students use technology to communicate with peers in inappropriate and hurtful ways. Consequently reactions and emotions spill over into the students’ school work and their relationships with classmates. Our Staff will deeply appreciate any efforts that you make to monitor your child’s use of the Internet and phones/cell phones while at home, so that we can help all students concentrate on their academic work while in school rather than be focused on interactions outside of school.
Thank you for your assistance with this matter.
Highland Park Independent School District



