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software_purchasing_and_installing

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Software Purchasing and Installing


All software purchases or installations are to be approved by the Technology Department. This is true whether the software will be purchased from district funds, grants, gifts, etc. This process ensures that the purchases or installation are compatible with existing technology and are in line with the district’s long range Technology plan and district goals - per Board of Education Policy #4510:
“conduct internal and external evaluations of software and hardware prior to final adoption, purchasing, or installation”

Ideally, perspective new software should be evaluated and approved by April to be included on the image for the next school year (to coordinate with the summer workstation imaging roll-out). In the case where new software needs to be implemented on an existing image during the active school year; a rollout procedure and timeline will need to be established for a well-planned, carefully initiated launch, in which everyone involved, from end users to administrators to IT staff, has the information needed to accommodate the new program for a successful rollout. This plan should include basic items such as testing, training, deployment and “go live” schedule.

Step One:

  • Obtain approval from Principal and Curriculum Director


Step Two:

  • Submit a Technology Work Request with the following information: Name of software, vendor, where are the funds coming from


Step Three:

  • Technology Department will assist in approval based on the following:

Will the hardware/software be compatible with the networking infrastructure? Can technical support be provided? Will the software run properly on the intended workstations?
Is there already a license agreement in place to cover the software? Is there a vendor who could provide better pricing?

Step Four:

  • Once approved the individual or department will be contacted by the Technology Department to either start the purchase order process or install the software. Once the software has been received the Technology Department must be contacted to schedule the installation. Only with prior approval from the Technology Department may a staff member install the software.

Most software available for use by Lowell Area Schools’ employees is protected by federal copyright laws. Educational institutions are not exempt from the laws covering copyrights. In addition, software is normally protected by a license agreement between the purchaser and software seller. The software provided by Lowell Area Schools for use by its staff may only be used on equipment as specified in the various software licenses. It is the practice of Lowell Area Schools to respect the copyright protection given by federal law to software owners. It is against the district’s practice for the staff to copy or reproduce any licensed software on the district’s computing equipment, except as permitted by the specific software license. Also, Lowell Area Schools’ staff may not use unauthorized copies of software on the district’s owned computers. Unauthorized use of software is regarded as a serious matter and any such use is without the consent of Lowell Area Schools. Violations of this are detailed in Board policy #4510. System or district administrators at their discretion will reserve the right to terminate the account and/or privileges of any person who is misusing the intended purposes for technology within Lowell Area Schools.
Revision – March, 2010

software_purchasing_and_installing.1522256313.txt.gz · Last modified: 2018/03/28 12:58 by jasonw