INDEPENDENT PROCEDURE. Corporate FirstClass Conferences and FirstClass Procedures

Transcription

1 INDEPENDENT PROCEDURE Title: Department: Corporate FirstClass Conferences and FirstClass Procedures Learning Support Services Procedure No.: 9037 Effective Date: 2002 Feb. 26 Reference(s): - Computer Security Procedures FirstClass Conference Request Form Outlook FirstClass is the corporate platform used in TVDSB. standard product for and conferencing at TVDSB. The FirstClass system is designed to assist communications and to enhance the educational experience by providing a mechanism for staff to share resources and best practices. Over time, The expectation is that the system will evolve into is a comprehensive internal electronic information system that combines , conferencing, archival and document retrieval capabilities. services and conferencing are provided for the purposes of furthering Board objectives and use of and conferencing must be consistent with the Computer Security Procedures. Exercising professional judgement regarding the appropriateness of messages sent out and material posted to Groups Conferences will ensure that the system works efficiently and in the best interest of everyone Accounts accounts will be set up and maintained for the purposes of conferencing to assist communications. and further the Board s objectives. Each school will have a school account and, where determined necessary for Board purposes, other generic types of accounts will be established (e.g., Custodian Westmount). All employees are provided with entitled to individual accounts to facilitate the exchange of information. that will enhance learning and promote excellence in teaching practice, student learning and administration. Once employment with the Board ceases, accounts will be terminated. Human Resources is Supervisors are responsible for notifying the FirstClass Manager Administrator of in Information Technology Services when a person is leaving the organization so that accounts can be terminated in a timely way. Where there is no direct supervisor, the superintendent or manager responsible for maintaining the employment status of an individual will be responsible for notifying the FirstClass Administrator when the account should be closed. accounts will be made available to non-board employees (including retirees) only in very exceptional circumstances with Associate Director approval. in writing Accounts granted to non-board employees must be for a specific period and Administered By: Learning Support Services Amendment Date(s): 2002 February 26

2 renewed annually. 2.0 Best Practices in Communications and Conferencing 2.1 Signatures First Class Resume All accounts shall have a signature. Account signatures shall include the user s name, job title, school/site, telephone and address. All accounts and Conferences are required to have a résumé. For individual accounts the following information must be included: name, job title, telephone and fax numbers, work location and address. The inclusion of a photograph is optional. School accounts shall have a résumé indicating name of school, address, telephone and fax numbers and address. Conference résumé information is provided by the individual or group proposing the Conference (see section 5.2). 2.2 Sending Messages To reduce the volume of unwanted electronic communications, users of E- mail and Groups Conferences are asked to consider carefully the audience for the message and target the message using the appropriate Group Conference, , distribution list or by sending to individuals. In replying to messages, consider whether a reply is best sent to an individual, a group of individuals or to a Group Conference. 2.3 Use of Attachments Use cut and paste to place the contents of a word processing file into your E- mail text rather than sending attachments for small items. (e.g., a meeting agenda) or use FirstClass (FC) word processor which has a spell checker and many other features you find in WordPerfect or MS Word. It is more convenient for message recipients if they do not have to open attached files. 2.3 System Distribution Lists TVDSB will continue to provide distribution lists for the convenience of Outlook FirstClass users. Membership on system distribution lists will be based on job function and or/location. FirstClass users can see what distribution lists exist and the names in the lists by viewing the Mail Lists folder on their FirstClass desktop. The ability to send to Urgent News is restricted to individuals based on their job function. Staff are to use Groups Conferences instead of E- mail distribution lists, wherever appropriate. 2.4 Message Management messages are stored on the FirstClass server and the system automatically deletes messages after a number of days. This information is available in the FirstClass FC How Do I? Conference in a message with the subject Expiry Date of Messages. Deletion of messages is made to conserve disk space and the expiry date may vary depending on disk space availability. Page 2 of 5

3 Messages in individual mailboxes will be maintained for a minimum of 100 days. Conference messages will have an expiry time determined by the Conference. This information is available in the Conference résumé. Mailbox size limits will be established from time to time by the FirstClass Administrator. For short term storage of mail messages, creation of folders helps keep the mailbox organized. Delete unwanted messages/old mail messages on a regular basis. Messages requiring long term storage should be copied to the desktop/laptop computer hard drive or to floppy disks. 3.0 The Advantages of Groups Conferences Over There are several advantages to posting messages to shared Groups Conferences instead of sending messages to individuals or using an distribution list. These benefits include the following: individuals participating in a Group Conference are not burdened with the task of saving messages; there is no risk of deleting an important message or losing a piece of the discussion; and new members in a discussion group can review the discussion to date. 3.0 Using is best used in the following situations: where the sender needs to communicate with an individual or individuals and no Conference exists to reach that audience; where the message contains a request for action by the recipient; or where there is a time sensitive aspect to the message (e.g., cancellation of a meeting). 4.0 Using Groups Conferences Groups Conferences provide areas for schools/departments to hold group discussions and post information. 4.1 Types of Groups Conferences Public Groups Conferences will be open to all Outlook FirstClass users. with the exception of some private which are considered private. Conferences. Some Groups Conferences will be read only. For example, the contents of the Job Postings Group Conference can be viewed by any TVDSB staff member but only designated Human Resource Services staff will be able to place postings in the Group Conference. Private Groups Conferences may shall be established and authorized by Page 3 of 5

4 Associate Directors for very specific purposes where warranted that justify exclusions (e.g., a department, cross-department, or project working group requires a common electronic forum to share information, to exchange ideas or post minutes). The Swap Shop Conference is provided as a means of encouraging a sense of community and promoting the use of electronic communication. It is not intended that this Conference, or any other Board supplied electronic communication, be used for promoting commercial or private business enterprises. Individuals with concerns about the appropriateness of messages are asked to communicate their concern to the Conference contact person whose name is provided in the résumé for Swap Shop. 4.2 Procedure for Initiating a Group Conference A list of existing Groups Conferences can be obtained from the FirstClass Directory by selecting People, Directory, All Groups. Conferences. A proliferation of Groups Conferences can become a barrier to communication by making it difficult to find information; therefore, Outlook FirstClass users are asked to consider whether any existing Group Conferences will meet their needs before initiating a new one. If after reviewing the existing Groups Conferences, a department, school or a group of staff wish to initiate a new Group Conference, then completion of the Group FirstClass Conference Request Form ( is required. On the Request Form, outline the purpose of the Group Conference and the intended audience. The purpose information will be posted to the Group Conference résumé when the Group Conference is created. All Groups Conferences, including sub-conferences, are required to have a résumé. Requests and approval for Groups will be processed by ITS. For a private Conference, indicate the name of the individual who has volunteered to facilitate the Conference. This information will be posted in the résumé. Seek the approval of the appropriate Associate Director. The Associate Director will forward approved Conference requests to the FirstClass Administrator, Information Technology Services, for implementation. 4.3 Group Conference Facilitators/Contact Persons Private Groups Conferences A Private Group Conference shall have a facilitator who shall be responsible for: reviewing materials posted to the Group Conferences and removing dated or inappropriate materials; handling requests for access to the Group Conference. If a request is granted, the facilitator will be responsible for notifying all Conference members that a guest or new member has been added to the Page 4 of 5

5 Conference; ensuring that their his/her name and contact information are is posted to the résumé area of the Group Conference; updating the Group Conference résumé as necessary; deleting members from the Group Conference where necessary (e.g., where they are no longer involved in a project or part of that work group); and informing the Outlook FirstClass Administrator when a Group Conference or sub-conference should be deleted. 5.4 Public Groups Conferences Public Conferences shall have a contact person whose name and contact information will be available in the Conference résumé. and/or in a message to the Conference with the subject Contact. The contact person informs the FirstClass Administrator when the Conference can be deleted, as it is no longer needed. 4.4 Content in Groups Individuals with concerns about the content of messages can inform the Group owner contact person who, based on existing Board policies and professional judgement, can request that an individual remove an inappropriate message from a Group Conference. In an extreme case, the Group owner contact person or any other Board employee can request that the Manager of Information Technology Services to remove a message that poses a threat to the protection of individuals or property, or appears to be inconsistent with Independent Procedures, or to violate the law. Page 5 of 5