Gann Academy FirstClass Messaging
Standards, Expectations, and Other Information
2009-2010
Introduction
Messaging in a web-rich world is vital to good communication and
student learning. Faculty, staff, and students, are provided with
FirstClass accounts. Parents have a shared space with access to school
wide information and news. The FirstClass Collaboration Suite is
an integrated suite of applications designed to enhance communication,
collaboration, and knowledge sharing within our school environment.
FirstClass takes communication capabilities beyond standard email
by integrating a set of features and applications for online collaboration,
learning, content sharing and publishing. Gann’s FirstClass
Collaboration Suite includes the following integrated components:
- The
FirstClass Desktop
- Email
and Instant Messaging
- Collaborative
Conferences & Workspaces
- Calendars
- Contact
Management
- Web 2.0 tools: Personal
Web Publishing, Blogs, Podcasting, and others
- Personal
File Storage
- Email Archiving
- Email synchronization
- Rapid Web Designer
- MassMailer
- Integrated Barracuda Spam Filter
FirstClass Tutorials can be found at http://www.gannacademy.org/parents/FirstClass.asp.
Our school understands the importance of both well-worded messages
and prompt replies in portraying a professional and educated image.
Users are expected to exercise good judgment in writing and forwarding
messages, as well as when using attachments and web tools. All
Gann users should adhere to the following guidelines when using
email.
Composing and Sending Messages
Email is considered formal communication, unlike text messaging,
chat, and other messaging tools. Users should review the content
of email communications prior to transmission to make sure that the
message is well structured, clear, has an appropriate subject line,
and does not include information or wording that could be misinterpreted
by the recipient.
Subject Lines
Appropriate subject lines are necessary
to reduce the chances that a recipient’s mail server will erroneously
tag your message as spam.This also enables the recipient, as well
as the sender, to locate messages more quickly.
Use a short and descriptive subject line to summarize the content
of the message that will enable recipients to interpret and prioritize
the message quickly.
Spell Checking and Formatting
Messages should be checked for spelling, grammar, and punctuation
before they are sent.
Use of proper case appropriate to formal written communications
is necessary. Messages should never be written in all capital letters
as this is more difficult to read and may be interpreted as shouting
or yelling.
Care should also be taken to use fonts, colors, and sizes that allow
for easy reading.
Block paragraph style is standard for email.
Use of smileys and other emoticon are encouraged to better communicate
by adding emotional context to your messages.
Signature
It is expected that all employees will use a standard block signature
format as such:
Message text……..
___________________________________________ (line separation)
Mary Smith (full name)
Science Department Chair (title or role)
Gann Academy-The New Jewish High School of Greater Boston
333 Forest Street
Waltham, MA 02452
Website: http://www.gannacademy.org
Telephone: 781.642.6800 x 000 (extension)
Fax: 781.642.6805
email: msmith@gannacademy.org
CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE
The information contained in this e-mail message and any attachments
hereto is privileged and confidential, and is intended only for
the use of the recipient and others who have been specifically
authorized to receive it.
Edit and Unsend
FirstClass messages can be unsent, edited, and resent. The use of
the unsend function is preferable to sending multiple emails
with revisions. Mail to outside Internet addresses cannot be unsent.
Some conferences may be established without permission to unsend
or delete messages.
Read and Respond Message Expectations
Emails must
be read periodically during the course of the day to receive announcements
and to be prepared for events, updates, and changes to the schedule.
Failure to read one’s messages is
not an acceptable excuse for missing official school communications.
Users are responsible for time-sensitive communications; messages
must be answered in a timely manner.
Message Retention, Retrieval, History
Messages in personal mailboxes will automatically be deleted after
90 days. If a user has sufficient reason to keep an email, the message
should be moved to a folder or marked to never expire.
Conference messages by default will automatically expire after 45
days. However, some conferences may have different expiration dates.
Expiration dates for conferences can be checked by viewing the conference
permissions.
Only conference creators, monitors, senders in most cases, or those
with explicit permission may delete messages from a conference folder
before its expiration.
Deleted messages can be undeleted before 3:00AM on the following
day. After that time it is irretrievable except through special arrangement
to retrieve from archive.
The history of a message can be checked to see when it has been
read and what other actions have been taken (e.g. forward, reply,
etc.). This is especially helpful for communications where time is
a factor, such as turning in a class assignment.
User Accounts
A user account consists of a username and password
combination. Passwords are assigned and cannot be changed by the
user. Passwords can not be saved in our FirstClass configuration.
In the wrong hands, user account information could lead to identity
theft or user impersonation (e.g. falsified emails). To that end,
it is expected that Gann users will not disclose password information
to anyone or keep account information in an accessible location.
If it is believed that an account’s information has been compromised
the HelpDesk should be notified immediately.
Privacy
Privacy of personal information is a reasonable expectation,
and the school makes every effort to provide for this through policies
and system security strategies. The expectation of privacy, however,
should never be assumed as it cannot be guaranteed. Occasions
may arise in which other factors have a clear priority over a user’s
personal privacy, such as the diagnosis and resolution of hardware
or software problems, issues related to user conduct, as well as
the school’s compliance with State and Federal disclosure laws.
FirstClass Desktop and Containers
Each user’s FirstClass desktop contains only items specifically
relevant to that user’s role at Gann; therefore, all desktops
are different. FirstClass desktops can be customized by the user.
A FirstClass container is used to store or send messages within
the Gann Academy intranet. A container can be a conference, mailbox,
folder, workgroup, or calendar. Each container that displays a red
flag indicates that it contains one or more unread messages. Containers
displaying a red flag should be checked for new messages.
FirstClass Conferences
Conferences are used to send messages and other items to a predefined
group of recipients within the school community. The fact that conferences
are accessible by many users implies that they are not confidential
within that user group. Duplicate messages should not be sent
to several conferences with the same readership. This practice
only overwhelms readers and actually decreases the value of the message
and the likelihood that it will be read.
- A FirstClass Mailbox contains messages
sent directly to an individual user.
- The Gann Academy News conference contains messages relevant
to the entire community (faculty, staff, parents, and students).
This conference also houses the school calendar, daily announcements,
and access to other important information and resources. All staff
and students with approval can send messages to Gann Academy News.
- The Employee Lounge contains messages sent to and from
staff members (no students).
- Messages sent to and from faculty are stored in the Faculty
Lounge (no students).
- The Student Lounge contains messages sent by students
to students’. No official school communications. (Monitored
only).
- Student class conferences contain messages to students
from students in the same grade. No official school communications.
(Monitored only).
- Parents can access the password protected Parent Area conference
via the web or FirstClass client. This is largely a read only area
containing a repository of all information sent to parents, as
well as a number of interactive areas there parents can send using
their personal email addresses. Generally, parents do not have
personal FirstClass accounts.
Additional conferences are set up for particular groups in the school,
such as academic departments and leadership teams, student clubs,
sports teams, etc. All student conferences are monitored by a faculty
member. Students do not have permission to create conferences.
Faculty will create their own FirstClass conferences for their classes.
They will determine what and how conference resources will be used
in their classes and will specify their requirements in their course
syllabus. For instance, they may limit the ability to delete or edit
time-specific assignments.
Bulk Mail
Gann employs special software and has
specific procedures in place for sending bulk email. These, as well
as external email lists, are restricted to ensure compliance with
bulk email standards, to protect Gann’s Internet address from
being blacklisted, as well as to insure that adequate content authorization
is maintained in school communications. All large mailings should
be made by either the receptionist (for parent mail) or the Development
Office (for alumni). Internally, FirstClass conferences should always
be used instead of large mail lists.
Attachments
Attachments to email messages are one way to share files
with others. Documents can also be uploaded into FirstClass without
having to be attached to an email.
Email attachments can be a means of propagating viruses or other
damaging files thus infecting the recipient’s computer and
possibly the network to which that computer is connected.
Inbound and outbound mail attachments are scanned for viruses and
infected files are blocked. Some specific file types are also prohibited
from inbound mail. Examples “.zip” and “.exe” attachments
are not allowed.
What is Attach0.html? FirstClass mail service is configured
to accept both plain text and HTML mail. By default and for security
reasons, all mail is received in plain text, but the HTML mail version
can be read by opening the attachment called Attach0.html once
it has been determined that the message is safe.
Email Archiving
FirstClass messages, including chats, are archived for all users
including students, full-time, temporary, and part-time employees
and interns of the school.
In order to better manage the system’s large volume of messages,
to reduce the amount of server storage space used by email, to enhance
the school's email backup, and to comply with e-discovery mandates
when legally required, the school employees a FirstClass Archive
server to automatically archiving messages to and from the system.
The use of an archive system does not change the basic tenets of
the school messaging policy in regards to security and privacy. Request
to search and retrieve archived messages must been initiated by a
message to the HelpDesk office. Review of the request and permission
to perform such search may be needed depending on the nature of the
request.
Message retention periods are:
Employees - 7 years
Incoming 9th grade students - 4 years
Incoming and current 10th graders - 3 years
Incoming and current 11th graders - 2 years
Incoming and current 12th graders - 1 year
Unauthorized Activity
It is strictly prohibited to:
- send or forward messages containing libelous, defamatory, offensive,
racist or obscene remarks or images.
- forward or copy a message or attachment belonging to another
user without first acquiring permission from the message’s
originator.
- send unsolicited email messages or chain mail.
- forge or attempt to forge messages, or disguise or attempt to
disguise your identity when sending messages.
- send messages using another person’s FirstClass account.
- publish others’ email addresses by listing all recipients
in the send or cc field (instead, use the BCC field to send to
multiple addresses).
Account Maintenance, Advice, and Other Information
Follow the steps below to ensure that all mailboxes and machines
are clean and safe.
- Delete all unneeded email messages. Regardless of space allowances,
FC flagable items
are limited and, if exceeded, more messages cannot be delivered.
- Specifically save those messages that should not be deleted.
Once trash collection happens at 3:00 AM each day a message is
irretrievable.
- Faculty should follow all the instructions provided in the “How
to Guides” in the Faculty Lounge so as to avoid loss of data
in conferences and to ensure that users can access your class materials.
- Faculty must unsubscribed users first before deleting class
conferences that are no longer valid.
- Check and categorize messages in your Barracuda area regularly
to avoid missing timely “good” mail.
- Keep your personal machine updated with the latest operating
system security and critical updates. http://www.windowsupdate.com (or
other computer system similar resources).
- Keep your FirstClass client updated with the latest version
for security and the benefit of added features. Check http://www.firstclass.com/clientdownloads/ for
version updates. Always update when notified to do so.
- Check for hoax information before opening and/or resending
any questionable mail or attachments.
http://www.sophos.com/security/, http://securityresponse.symantec.com/
- Check for virus threats, removal tools, updates, definitions,
on your personal machine. This is automated for school machines
through the Sophos anti-virus client. Updated anti-virus is required
for personal devices connecting to the school network. http://www.sophos.com/security/, http://securityresponse.symantec.com/
Understand Malware
Malware is any intrusive control
program put on a computer with or without the user’s knowledge.
Malware includes spyware, adware, backdoor Trojans and keystroke
loggers. One of the programs' purposes is to make a computer a “zombie” – a
computer under the control of a hacker. The infected system may be
used to send spam, host a pornography site, or, with key-logging
programs, steal personal information. Anything typed – identity,
credit cards, passwords, and other important information – can
be captured by such programs.
Avoid installing unknown software on your personal computers and
on Gann laptops. Beware of free software.
The Acceptable Use Policy (AUP), school rules, user policies, school
machine configurations, software, and other devices are efforts to
protect the school’s systems and users’ data against
these vulnerabilities.
Unsafe Messages Links
Links to web sites and images
within a message may contain malicious computer code that is dangerous
to Gann’s network and user
data, and can result in a loss of privacy.
Barracuda and FirstClass help manage this by blocking potentially
bad messages based on a scoring system and by not allowing html messages
to automatically open before the sender’s legitimacy can be
verified. For this reason, a generic marker for mail with images
and other potentially unsafe links is used.
Protection from such vulnerabilities is more difficult with web-based
mail, chat, popups and bad web pages. Gann uses a combination of
policy, software, hardware and other to thwart these potential threats.
FirstClass will automatically generate an attachment called Attach0.html where
potentially unsafe html messages can be viewed after their legitimacy
has been determined.
Spam Filter
Gann Academy uses a Barracuda Networks
spam filter. Every Gann account has a personal Barracuda quarantine
account. This account will inadvertently “catch” some
good mail as well as spam. No spam filter will catch all spam.
Messages received in quarantine must be addressed in a timely manner.
It is very important that the user classify the sender message as
spam or not spam. Messages classified as not spam will be delivered
to the users FirstClass mailbox.
Users will receive an automated quarantine account message with
account access information. The user ID is the full email address,
i.e. msmith@gannacademy.org.
The password is automatically generated and can be changed in the
users’ Barracuda account preferences. Subsequently, users will
receive regular quarantine message summary when new quarantine messages
exist.
Support
Questions regarding Gann software, hardware, access and other
technical issues must be sent via email to the (helpdesk@gannacademy.org).
If the problem prohibits email, call extension 210.
(1) As authorized
by the Electronic and Communications Privacy Act of 1989, Title
18, United States Code 2510. Information sent from, received
on, or stored on Gann Academy’s computers or network system
is the property of Gann Academy. The school will, with proper
concern for the right of privacy, have the authority to view
the contents of these files or programs in the course of investigating
and/or diagnosing problems or difficulties of any type.
(2) If you receive
an email of this nature you must promptly notify your department
head, advisor, or teacher.
(3) Flagable items
are messages, calendar entries, and other FirstClass items that
can be marked with a red flag.
Read the complete Messaging Standards and Expectations document in PDF format.
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