The New Westminster Schools uses various media and technology to promote learning and collaboration for students, staff and parents, while also maintaining privacy and safety. All of the technology systems used by the school district meet the requirements of the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) and the district continuously works to ensure compliance with current regulations.

On this page you will find the Catalogue of the District approved digital tools (software, platform, applications…) currently in use by New Westminster Schools, and their associated Privacy Impact Assessments summary (this package coming soon).

 

Technology systems used by parents and guardians and/or students

Microsoft 365 (Education)
The District is pleased to provide students with access to Microsoft 365 for Education, enabling the creation, storage, and sharing of learning documents as part of a managed digital classroom experience. Microsoft 365 provides students with web-based access to a suite of Microsoft applications, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Stream, as well as personal OneDrive storage space, email and Teams digital classrooms. Data for most of these applications is stored in Canada, but a few applications are stored in secured servers outside of Canada, such as Sway, Forms or Minecraft Edu. All Microsoft 365 accounts are created by the district and will be decommissioned after a student leaves the district or upon request.

Additional digital tools

In addition to Microsoft 365, the district has approved a number of digital tools for classroom use, after an extensive privacy risk assessment. Some of these digital tools may store data on secured servers located in Canada and some outside of Canada. While stored outside of Canada, information on your child’s account may be subject to the laws of foreign jurisdictions, including the USA Patriot Act. Your child’s personal information may be collected, used, disclosed, stored and/or shared through these online applications with third party providers based outside of Canada. The complete list of district approved digital tools with a summary of their Privacy Impact Assessment will soon be available below.

If you have any questions or concerns, you are also encouraged to discuss those with your child’s teacher, so that they can speak to the specific applications that they intend to use this school year in the classroom.

Digital Tools Catalogue with PIA summaries

A privacy impact assessment (PIA) is a step-by-step review process to make sure the school district protects the personal information it collects or uses for business and/or educational purposes. FOIPPA requires the school district to conduct a PIA when a project involves personal information  to identify, assess, and address privacy and security risks to personally identifiable information when using a digital tool (e.g. a software application or system, online program, etc.).

We’re working on finalizing and formatting this whole package of information! Please check back later for more!

Learn more about privacy principles for keeping information safe in B.C.

 

Digital Technology Administrative Procedures and User Agreement

At New Westminster Schools we take the personal privacy and security of our students, staff and families seriously. And, as we continue to expand and develop our digital platforms and usages, we’re continuing to hone and improve the way we operate in an online space.

There are three primary Administrative Procedures that are integral to our District Technology Policy Agreement:

AP 140:  Acceptable Use of Digital Technology

There are also other related guidelines that cover things like media consent and a variety of additional topics. Those can be found here: https://newwestschools.ca/our-board/policies/ap100/

Engaging in technology can promote learning and collaboration for students, staff and parents.  The New Westminster School District is committed to ensuring that district technologies are used for educational purposes and that all users of these technologies are aware of their responsibilities for appropriate use.

The details for responsible use of district technology are outlined in administrative procedure listed above and the relevant Student Digital Technology User Agreement (K-5, Gr. 6-8, Gr. 9-12). Additional information can also be found in the Digital Wellness Guide. Please take time to review these with your child.