List of active policies

Name Type User consent
Social Media Policy Other policy All users
Privacy Policy Privacy policy All users

Summary

This policy provides the expected guidelines that will be required from all our staff, educators, students/learners and stakeholders when engaging with social networking/media.

Full policy

Social Media Policy 

Background

This policy provides the expected guidelines that will be required from all our staff, educators, students/learners and stakeholders when engaging with social networking/media.

Social networking/media platforms e.g. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, blogs, browsing the Internet, emails, wikis, microblogs, message boards, chat rooms, electronic newsletters, online forums, social networking sites, social networking apps etc. as a way to connect with others, share educational resources, log experiences, create educational content, enhance the classroom experience, and network within and outside of the education and training community.

Introduction

While social networking is fun and valuable, there are some risks we need to keep in mind when using these tools. In the social media world, the lines are often blurred between what is public or private, personal or professional. Social media refers to online tools and services that allow any Internet user to create and publish content. Many of these sites use personal profiles where users post information about themselves. Social media allows those with common interests to share content easily, expanding the reach of their ideas and work. Popular social media tools include but are not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snap Chat, blogs, YouTube and Flickr to name a few.

Purpose of the policy

To provide a framework within which students,/learners educators, staff and the community involved with VeryCoolIdeas can best protect students and their personal reputations and that of VeryCoolIdeas when participating in social media activities.

Procedure

VeryCoolIdeas request that all our staff, educators, students/learners and stakeholders abide by the following when using social networking/media platforms:

1. Use good judgement at all times when commenting on social media platforms:

·             We expect good judgment in all situations.

·             Behave in a way that will make you and others proud and reflect well on the VeryCoolIdeas.

·             Regardless of your privacy settings, assume that all of the information you have shared on your social network is public information.

2. Respect each other and mindful of what and how you comment on social media:

·             Always treat others in a respectful, positive, and considerate manner.

3. Be ethical at all times when commenting on social media:

·             Please stick to discussing only those education, training and development related matters that are within your area of responsibility/ area of learning.

·             Adults should be open about their affiliation with the VeryCoolIdeas and the role/position they hold.

·             If you are someone’s peer, interact with them online if you are so inclined.

·             If you are an employee, thinking about interacting with a student/learner, consider the following questions before proceeding: 

What is the purpose of my interaction with a student/learner? (If it is not related to your classroom activities, reconsider using a social network.) 

What is the social network in which I propose to interact with a student/learner? (If the social network in question has limited professional applications – Facebook, for instance – reconsider using that social network.) 

If you are uncertain how to proceed, consult your line manager.

·             Share and interact in a way that will enhance your reputation, the reputation of others, and the reputation of VeryCoolIdeas, rather than damage them.

4. Be a good listener on social media:

·             Keep in mind that one of the biggest benefits of social media is that it gives others another way to talk to you, ask questions directly, and share feedback.

·             Be responsive to others when conversing online. Provide answers, thank people for their comments, and ask for further feedback, etc.

5. Be accurate and appropriate when commenting on social media:

·             Check all work for correct use of grammar and spelling before posting. No slang is allowed.

·             A significant part of the interaction on social networks involves passing on interesting content or sharing links to helpful resources.

However, never blindly repost a link without looking at the content first.

·             Be sure to correct any mistake you make immediately, and make it clear what you’ve done to fix the mistake.

·             Apologise for the mistake if the situation warrants it.

·             If it’s a major mistake (e.g., exposing private information or reporting confidential information), please let your educator or line manager know immediately so the VeryCoolIdeas can take the proper steps to help minimize the impact it may have.

6. Be confidential

·             Do not publish, post, or release information that is considered confidential or private. Online “conversations” are never private.

·             Use caution if asked to share your birth date, ID number, address, and cell phone number on any website.

7. Respect private and confidential information:

·             To ensure your safety, be careful about the type and amount of personal information you provide. Abide by the POPI Act regulations at all times. 

·             Avoid talking about personal schedules or situations.

·             Never share or transmit personal information of students, parents, faculty, staff, or colleagues online.

·             While taking care when posting to safeguard people’s privacy, be sure – as necessary and appropriate – to give proper credit to sources. In cases of doubt, privacy should be the default.

·             Generally, use only first names of students / learners. There may be special circumstances where a student is widely known for a particular achievement, in which case the use of the full name may be appropriate. If there is any doubt, use only first names or ask your teacher/educator or line manager for guidance.

·             Always respect the privacy of VeryCoolIdeas community members.

8. Post images with care on social media:

·             Respect brand, trademark, copyright information and/or images of VeryCoolIdeas.

·             Do not caption photos with the names of current students/learners.

·             Do not post photos of students/learners who are on the “Do Not Photo” list. (Ask your teacher/educator or line manager for guidance.)

9. Be security conscious:

·             Do not post details (exact time and exact locations) of travel itineraries.

·             Post about the day’s activities after the fact. Avoid saying what you “will be” doing the next day.

·             Be aware that what you post today will stay in the public domain for years to come.

·             Read the terms and conditions of each site you engage with and make sure you agree with them before engaging with content on that site. 

VeryCoolIdeas rules

·             Always behave in a manner that is representative of VeryCoolIdeas ethos.

·             Never publish content that could bring VeryCoolIdeas into disrepute.

·             You may not publish any content whatsoever when impersonating another person or third party.

·             Regularly review information that has been posted and remove information that could be damaging to VeryCoolIdeas.

·             The VeryCoolIdeas reserves the right to investigate, by examining content on devices that belong to VeryCoolIdeas or individual, where there is suspicion of students/learners, staff or VeryCoolIdeas being placed at risk.

·             Where blogs or posts have gained media attention, students/learners, staff or community should report the matter to the MD or most senior person on campus for guidance on responses to these posts and you should not engage with the public in any manner prior to obtaining advice.

·             The VeryCoolIdeas provides computers and software that allows learners/students to engage with VeryCoolIdeas learning material or content. Abuse of this property or private use thereof where it negatively impacts the VeryCoolIdeas or is potentially harmful will be treated as an offence.

·             Social media platforms should not be used by students/ earners or staff during class time, during any assembly including meetings of any kind.

·             Content published must be accurate, ethical and legal.

·             Students/learners, educators, staff may not post:

·             Information or images that may place VeryCoolIdeas in a negative light.

·             Private and confidential information (and this includes photos or images) without prior approval of the person involved.

·             Inappropriate, obscene, violent or pornographic content.

·             Information of any kind that goes against our Constitution including that which is offensive, defaming, hateful, threatening, intimidating, abusive, malicious or discriminatory.

·             Information that may infringe intellectual property rights.

·             Violation of these rules may result in disciplinary action being taken against the individual concerned.

Closure

VeryCoolIdeas strives to maintain high standards, maintaining confidentiality and being ethical and fair at all times.

 

 


Summary

We take our users privacy very serious and below is our Privacy Terms you need to be aware of.

Full policy

Background

This policy seeks to ensure that personal information managed by the Company is handled in a way that is compliant, ethical and adheres to industry best practice. Personal information is in general terms, any information that can be used to personally identify an individual.

Definitions and Interpretation

·         “Personal Information” means information relating to an identifiable, living, natural person and where it is applicable, identifiable, existing juristic person, including all information as defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, available at https://www.gov.za/documents/protection-personal-information-act

·         “Processing” means the creation, generation, communication, storage, destruction of personal information as more fully defined in the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013, available at https://www.gov.za/documents/protection-personal-information-act

·         “You” or the “user” means any person who accesses and browses this website for any purpose.

·         “Website” means the website of VeryCoolIdeas at https://verycoolideas.online/my/ or such other URL as VeryCoolIdeas may choose from time to time.

Status and Amendments

VeryCoolIdeas respects your privacy. This privacy policy statement sets out VeryCoolIdeas information gathering and dissemination practices in respect of the Website.

This Privacy Policy governs the processing of personal information provided to VeryCoolIdeas through your use of the website.

Please note that, due to legal and other developments, VeryCoolIdeas may amend these terms and conditions from time to time. The version of the terms and conditions effective for this Privacy Policy are indicated by the effective date incorporated in the title of this Privacy Policy. It is your duty to remain appraised of the current version of this Privacy Policy. The date indicated in the heading of this Privacy Policy is the effective date that governs the browsing and use of this Privacy Policy from that date until the next revision of this Privacy Policy becomes effective. By continuing to browse or use this Privacy Statement after a revised Privacy Policy becomes effective constitutes your agreement to observe this Privacy Policy as may be revised.

Processing of Personal Information

By providing your personal information to VeryCoolIdeas you acknowledge that it has been collected directly from you and consent to its processing by VeryCoolIdeas.

Where you submit Personal Information (such as name, address, telephone number and email address) via the website (e.g. through completing any online form) the following principles are observed in the processing of that information:

·         VeryCoolIdeas will only collect personal information for a purpose consistent with the purpose for which it is required. The specific purpose for which information is collected will be apparent from the context in which it is requested.

·         VeryCoolIdeas will only process personal information in a manner that is adequate, relevant and not excessive in the context of the purpose for which it is processed.

·         Personal information will only be processed for a purpose compatible with that for which it was collected, unless you have agreed to an alternative purpose in writing or VeryCoolIdeas is permitted in terms of national legislation of general application dealing primarily with the protection of personal information.

·         VeryCoolIdeas will keep records of all personal Information collected and the specific purpose for which it was collected for a period of 1 (one) year from the date on which it was last used.

·         VeryCoolIdeas will not disclose any personal information relating to you to any third party unless your prior written agreement is obtained or VeryCoolIdeas is required to do so by law.

·         If personal information is released with your consent VeryCoolIdeas will retain a record of the information released, the third party to which it was released, the reason for the release and the date of release, for a period of 1 (one) year from the date on which it was last used.

·         VeryCoolIdeas will destroy or delete any personal information that is no longer needed by VeryCoolIdeas for the purpose it was initially collected, or subsequently processed.

Note that, as permitted by the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, VeryCoolIdeas may use personal information collected to compile profiles for statistical purposes. No information contained in the profiles or statistics will be able to be linked to any specific user.

Collection of anonymous data

VeryCoolIdeas may use standard technology to collect information about the use of this website. This technology is not able to identify individual users but simply allows VeryCoolIdeas to collect statistics. VeryCoolIdeas may utilise temporary or session cookies to keep track of users’ browsing habits. A cookie is a small file that is placed on your hard drive in order to keep a record of your interaction with this website and facilitate user convenience.

Cookies by themselves will not be used to identify users personally but may be used to compile identified statistics relating to use of services offered or to provide VeryCoolIdeas with feedback on the performance of this website.


The following classes of information may be collected in respect of users who have enabled cookies:

·         The browser software used;

·         IP address;

·         Date and time of activities while visiting the website;

·         URLs of internal pages visited; and

·         referrers.

If you do not wish cookies to be employed to customize your interaction with this Website it is possible to alter the manner in which your browser handles cookies. Please note that, if this is done, certain services on this website may not be available.

Security

VeryCoolIdeas takes reasonable measures to ensure the security and integrity of information submitted to or collected by this website but cannot under any circumstances be held liable for any loss or other damage sustained by you as a result of unlawful access to or dissemination of any personal information by a third party.

Links to other websites

VeryCoolIdeas has no control over and accepts no responsibility for the privacy practices of any third-party websites to which hyperlinks may have been provided and VeryCoolIdeas strongly recommends that you review the privacy policy of any website you visit before using it further.

Queries

If you have any queries about this privacy policy please contact us by emailing info@verycoolideas.co.za