Guidelines and Rules

Social Media Guidelines for Staff

The use of Social Media shall be governed by TSD’s Acceptable Use Policy as stated in Board Policy CQ guidelines.  To ensure proper use, assigned TSD employees will monitor TSD’s use of Social Media at certain times without advance notice or consent.

These guidelines are in addition to and complement any existing or future policies from TSD regarding the use of technology, computers, e-mail and the Internet. TSD employees are free to publish or comment via social media in accordance with these guidelines. TSD faculty/staff are subject to all TSD policies to the extent they identify themselves as a TSD employee.  All uses of social media must follow the same ethical standards that TSD employees must otherwise follow.

Be transparent. You must identify yourself with your real name and state you are a staff member at Texas School for the Deaf on every site you create for use in your classroom, sports team, extra-curricular activity or any other school business. Interaction with students is only permitted within TSD Social Media* sites.  If you have a personal Social Media site, you should ensure there is a clear distinction between your school site and your personal site. Having a conversation or interactions in your personal sites with any TSD student is not allowed.

Personal Responsibility:  Blogs/Vlogs, Wikis, Podcasts, Digital Images and Video

• TSD employees are personally responsible for the content they publish online. Be mindful that what you publish will be public for a long time—protect your privacy.
• Restraint of posting topics of a religious or political nature on TSD Social Media sites.
• Your online behavior should reflect the same standards of honesty, respect, and consideration that you use face-to-face.
• When posting to your TSD blog be sure you say that the information is representative of your views and opinions and not necessarily the views and opinions of TSD. 
• Remember that blogs, wikis, and podcasts are an extension of your classroom.  What is inappropriate in your classroom should be deemed inappropriate online.
• The lines between public and private, personal and professional are blurred in the digital world. By virtue of identifying yourself as a TSD employee online, you are now connected to colleagues, students, parents and the school community. You should ensure that content associated with you is consistent with your work at TSD.
• What you write or sign is ultimately your responsibility. Participation in Social Media on behalf of TSD is not a right but an opportunity. Ultimately, what you publish is yours and so is the responsibility. Please treat it seriously and with respect.
• By posting your comments and having online conversations etc. on social media sites you are broadcasting to the world. Be aware that even with the strictest privacy settings what you ‘say’ online should be within the bounds of professional discretion. Comments expressed via social networking pages under the impression of a ‘private conversation’ may still end up being shared into a more public domain, even with privacy settings on maximum.
• Before posting photographs and videos, signed media releases must be obtained.
• Photographs relating to alcohol or tobacco use may be deemed inappropriate. Remember, your social networking site is an extension of your personality and by that token an extension of your professional life and your classroom. If it would seem inappropriate to put a certain photograph on the wall do not put it online.
• Micro-vlogging/blogging - comments made using various media outlets are not protected by privacy settings.  Employees should be aware of the public and widespread nature of such media and again refrain from any comment that could be deemed unprofessional. 

Be Judicious. Make sure that you are not sharing confidential information such as last names, grades, identifying information or anything concerning Texas School for the Deaf, its staff, students or parents.

Be the First to Respond to Your Own Mistakes.  If you make an error, be up front about your mistake and correct it quickly. If you choose to modify an earlier post, make it clear that you have done so. If someone accuses you of posting something improper (such as their copyrighted material or a defamatory comment about them), deal with it quickly.

Respect Copyright Laws.  It is critical that you show proper respect for the laws governing copyright and fair use or fair dealing of copyrighted material owned by others. You should never quote more than short excerpts of someone else's work and always attribute such work to the original author/source. It is good general practice to link to others' work rather than reproduce it. Respect and protect your audience and partners, the public in general, and TSD’s staff and community. They reflect a diverse set of customs, values, and points of view. Don't be afraid to be yourself, but do so respectfully. This includes not only the obvious (no ethnic slurs, offensive comments, defamatory comments, personal insults, obscenity, etc.) but also proper consideration of privacy and of topics that may be considered objectionable or inflammatory. Use your best judgment and be sure to make it clear that the views and opinions expressed are yours alone and do not represent the official views of TSD.

Perception is the Reality. By identifying yourself as a TSD staff member or student, you are creating perceptions about your expertise and about the school.  Be sure that all content associated with you is consistent with your work and with the school’s professional standards. Use your best judgment and be sure to make it clear that the views and opinions expressed are yours alone and do not represent the official views of TSD.

Protect Your Own Privacy.  Privacy settings on social media platforms should be set to allow anyone to see profile information similar to what would be on the TSD website. Other privacy settings that might allow others to post information or see information that is personal should be set to limit access. Be mindful of posting information that you would not want the public to see.

Disclaimers.  Many social media users include a prominent disclaimer saying who they work for, but that they're not speaking officially. Ensure that you do this, but don't count on it to avoid trouble.

Don't Forget Your Day Job.  Make sure that blogging or other social media outlets do not interfere with your job or other commitments to TSD.

Quality Matters!  Use a spell and grammar check. If you're not design-oriented, ask someone who is, whether your blog looks decent, and take his or her advice on how to improve it. The speed of being able to publish your thoughts is both a great feature and a great downfall of social media. The time to edit or reflect must be self- imposed. If in doubt over a post, or if something does not feel right, either let it sit and look at it again before publishing it, or ask someone else to look at it first.

 

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