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Code of conduct

This code of conduct applies to all spaces that are part of the European Schoolnet Academy portal. This includes all our online courses, mailing lists, social media channels, and any third party tools we use to communicate with each other as part of the European Schoolnet Academy activities. In addition, violations of this code outside these spaces may affect a person's ability to participate within them.

If you believe someone is violating the code of conduct, we ask that you report it by emailing academy@eun.org.

Be friendly, welcoming and patient

We strive to be a community that welcomes and supports people of all backgrounds and identities. This includes, but is not limited to members of any race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, colour, immigration status, social and economic class, educational level, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, age, size, family status, political belief, religion, and mental and physical ability. It is therefore important that when interacting with each other we are aware of this diversity and do not discriminate against each other.

Because of this diversity our understanding of how things work will be different, our cultural and linguistic references will be different, and we will have very different solutions to the problems which we discuss. This is a key strength of the community but requires us to be patient and friendly when interacting with each other. A reference you make might not be clear to someone else and accordingly their response might be less clear to you. This requires patience and openness in trying to understand someone else's viewpoint.

Be constructive

Critical reflection is a welcome part of our community's activities but this should always be friendly and constructive. Criticism should always come with concrete suggestions on how things can be improved and should always take into account as much information as is available about the context of the object of criticism. For example, when reviewing someone else's work on the community make sure to take into account their cultural background and work conditions when offering suggestions on how to improve the work.

Be considerate

Your work will be used by other people, and you in turn will depend on the work of others. Any decision you take will affect users and colleagues, and you should take those consequences into account when making decisions. Remember that we're a world-wide community, so you might not be communicating in someone else's primary language.

Be respectful

Not all of us will agree all the time, but disagreement is no excuse for poor behavior and poor manners. We might all experience some frustration now and then, but we cannot allow that frustration to turn into a personal attack. It's important to remember that a community where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not a productive one. Members of the European Schoolnet Academy community should be respectful when dealing with other members as well as with people outside the Academy's community.

Be careful in the words that you choose

We are a community of professionals, and we conduct ourselves professionally. Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other participants. Harassment and other exclusionary behavior aren't acceptable. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Violent threats or language directed against another person.
  • Discriminatory jokes and language.
  • Posting sexually explicit or violent material.
  • Posting (or threatening to post) other people's personally identifying information (‘doxing').
  • Personal insults, especially those using racist or sexist terms.
  • Unwelcome sexual attention.
  • Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.
  • Repeated harassment of others. In general, if someone asks you to stop, then stop.

When we disagree, try to understand why

Disagreements, both social and technical, happen all the time and the European Schoolnet Academy is no exception. It is important that we resolve disagreements and differing views constructively. Remember that we're different. The strength of the Academy comes from its varied community, people from a wide range of backgrounds. Different people have different perspectives on issues. Being unable to understand why someone holds a viewpoint doesn't mean that they're wrong. Don't forget that it is human to err and blaming each other doesn't get us anywhere. Instead, focus on helping to resolve issues and learning from mistakes.

Acceptable use policy

The European Schoolnet Academy's mission is to provide free access to high-quality online teacher professional development courses to teachers across the world but with a specific focus on the interests and needs of the European teacher population. We believe strongly in bringing people together on our courses to exchange and share their views, experiences and resources. As part of this it is important for the European Schoolnet Academy at all times to preserve free speech and expression for our learners. We also want to make sure that all of our learners and instructors feel safe and comfortable while using our services. We have drafted these guidelines to ensure that people understand and follow the rules when participating in our online community and otherwise using our services.

Although we do not routinely screen or monitor content provided by users, we may remove or edit inappropriate content or activity reported to us or suspend, disable, or terminate a user's access to all or part of the services if they do not abide by the terms of this policy or the honour code.

You are prohibited from using our services to share content that:

  • Contains illegal content or promotes illegal activities with the intent to commit such activities.
  • Contains credible threats or organizes acts of real-world violence. We don't allow content that creates a genuine risk of physical injury or property damage, credibly threatens people or public safety, or organizes or encourages harm.
  • Harrasses others. We encourage commentary about people and matters of public interest, but abusive or otherwise inappropriate content directed at private individuals is not allowed.
  • Violates intellectual property, privacy, or other rights. Do not share content that you do not have the right to share, claim content that you did not create as your own, or otherwise infringe or misappropriate someone else's intellectual property or other rights. Always attribute materials used or quoted by you to the original copyright owner.
  • Spams others. Do not share irrelevant or inappropriate advertising, promotional, or solicitation content.
  • Otherwise violates the European Schoolnet Academy's Privacy Policy. Please note that specific courses may have additional rules and requirements.

You also are not allowed to:

  • Do anything that violates local, state, national or international law or breaches any of your contractual obligations.
  • Share your password, let anyone access your account, or do anything that might put your account at risk.
  • Attempt to access any other user's account.
  • Access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of our systems, unless specifically authorized to do so.
  • Break or circumvent our authentication or security measures or otherwise test the vulnerability of our systems or networks, unless specifically authorized to do so.
  • Try to reverse engineer any portion of our Services.
  • Try to interfere with any user, host, or network, for example by sending a virus, overloading, spamming, or mail-bombing.
  • Use our Services to distribute malware.
  • Impersonate or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.
  • Encourage or help anyone do any of the things on this list.

Responsible and Ethical Use of AI

At the European Schoolnet Academy, we encourage you to let your unique ideas shine! You are welcome to use AI tools, much like you would seek a friend’s help—for brainstorming, discussing ideas, or proofreading. However, it is crucial to use AI responsibly and ethically:

  • AI-generated content should be adjusted to ensure originality and align with your context and objectives. Simply copying and pasting AI output is not acceptable.
  • If you use AI, you must disclose how it has been used to anyone reviewing your work—unless the final result is significantly edited and can be considered entirely your own.
  • Failure to follow these guidelines may be considered plagiarism, which could result in disqualification from receiving a certificate.
  • Any suspected misuse of AI will be carefully investigated, and a decision will be communicated to the affected participants.

Honour code

All students participating in European Schoolnet Academy courses must agree to the following honour code:

  • I will register only one account on the European Schoolnet Academy.
  • My answers to quizzes, tests, projects, learning diaries and other assignments will be my own work (except for assignments that allow collaboration).
  • I will not make answers to quizzes, tests, projects, and other assignments available to anyone else on the courses (except if an assignment permits sharing solutions).
  • I will not conduct any other activities which will dishonestly improve my results or dishonestly improve or hurt the results of others.

The texts of the above policies are based on work of the Django Project.