If student is a minor, permission slip must be completed by parent or
guardian.
1. Student/parent/guardian hereby grants permission for student to
participate in one or more of the aforementioned summer
workshops. Student/parent/guardian has been advised that student might
be using potentially dangerous tools, such as screwdrivers, soldering
irons, or wire cutters, during some portions of some workshops, as
well as working with intricate and potentially dangerous electronic
equipment. Student/parent/guardian agree that he or she will promptly
obey all instructor directions regarding the proper use of all tools
and equipment, and always exercise caution to avoid injuries to self
and others. The Miller Institute for Learning with Technology promises
to exercise appropriate caution and good judgment, and to provide
adequate supervision of student tool and equipment usage at all
times. Student/parent/guardian agrees to hold harmless The Miller
Institute for Learning with Technology and its personnel, as well as
hosting school or other venue in the unlikely event of any accident or
injury resulting from tool or equipment use. Permission is also hereby
granted to obtain emergency medical attention for student, if needed.
Any religious restrictions on medical treatment options, or special
circumstances, such as need for certain medications, or allergies to
certain medications, should be noted in the COMMENTS field of this
form.
2. Student/parent/guardian hereby grants permission for student to
bring home all binders, toolkits or other workshop materials upon
successful completion and graduation from the program, with the
understanding that, if tools are to be used at school in the fall,
they will be immediately checked in with the appropriate teacher or
school official, and never carried around campus without permission.
Student and parent/guardian have been advised that schools consider
even a small screwdriver in a backpack to be a concealed weapon.
Students must not add Swiss army knife, Leatherman, or similar tools
to their kits, should they plan to use their toolkit at school in the
fall.
3. Student/parent/guardian understands that a small number of
"retired" computers and/or electronic devices such as printers,
scanners, software, or PDAs, may be given away during some workshops,
either as prizes for excellent work and/or via a random raffle system,
with every student having a fair chance of winning. These items are
completely without warranty of any kind, and not necessarily intended
for serious home use; they are provided only as further opportunities
for the student to continue exploring and learning about technology.
Permission is hereby granted, should student happen to win one of
these prizes, to accept the item, with the understanding that they are
"as is," with no warranty of any kind, expressed or implied. In
particular, there are no exchanges and there is no follow-up technical
support available. (A moderate number of short emails from workshop
attendees, asking technical questions relating to workshop topics,
including about such equipment, will usually be answered.) There is no
guarantee that any student will receive any such retired equipment,
since this aspect of the program varies with availability of donations
of suitable items relevant to workshop topics. Sometimes such
equipment has been provided through the generosity of RAFT (Resource
Area for Teachers); other equipment might have been retired by local
schools or otherwise donated by local families to The Miller Institute
for use in its programs.
4. If student's family owns an older computer or other electronic
device, in need of repair, student may be invited to bring it in
during the CTO workshop, as a special project to pursue with
instructor guidance. Please be certain to supervise any equipment
selection for this activity! No guarantee or warranty is associated
with this opportunity. Student/parent/guardian and equipment owner
alike hereby agree to hold workshop organizers harmless for any and
all damage to such equipment.
5. For Build-a-Computer workshops, parts purchased for the new
computers being built are under warranty for one year, provided that
student has obeyed all workshop instructions on installation and
use. The computer itself carries no warranty, since it is "home
built," but Miller Institute personnel will provide limited assistance
to families during the warranty period, in the event of suspected
parts failure, to facilitate troubleshooting and warranty parts
replacement. Troubleshooting requests caused by installation of
additional parts or software, beyond those provided or recommended, or
due to misuse, are not covered and cannot be provided by the
instructors, except at standard consulting rates. Normally, monitors
are not included with the purchase of computer parts; however, used,
working CRT-style monitors will be made available at no charge, so
that each computer constructed by a student comes equipped with a
working monitor (if desired). Also, several local computer stores
typically offer workshop graduates discounts on purchases of related
equipment, including new, larger monitors or additional RAM. Evidence
of participation or equivalent discount coupons, accepted by several
local computer stores, will be provided during the workshops upon
request.
6. Student/parent/guardian hereby acknowledges that student is
responsible for bringing sack lunches, beverages, and snacks. However,
it is understood that workshop organizers may provide additional
food/drinks/refreshments for the students. Therefore, any food
allergies (e.g., milk, nuts, chocolate), religious or other dietary
restrictions (e.g., low sugar) should be noted in the COMMENTS field
of this form.
7. Student/parent/guardian stipulates that no medications will need to
be administered to student during the workshops. Any special
situations (arrangements for administering medication, including
written permission with name of authorized provider, time, and dosage)
should be noted in the COMMENTS field of this form. If at all
possible, it is safest for all medications to be administered at home,
before arrival; a qualified school nurse is NOT normally available
during summer workshops. Any unique learning needs or disabilities
that should be taken into consideration in working with this student
(e.g., A.D.D., autism, hyperactivity) should also be noted in the
COMMENTS field.
8. Student/parent/guardian grants permission for workshop organizers
to obtain photographs of students participating in workshop
activities, under carefully controlled conditions. Individual student
pictures are to be used only for creating student (Classroom
Technology Officer) identification cards, showing that student is a
member of the CTO program. Group shots -- where students are not
identified by name -- may also be used in promotional materials (such
as can be seen on learningtech.org's web site), without
compensation. Separate, written permissions shall always be sought in
advance for any other usage of photographs depicting students. (Note:
creating and editing photographs with a digital camera is one of the
skills taught in some workshops.)
9. Student and parent/guardian agree that infractions of program rules
(such as violating the school district's Appropriate Use Policy,
including deliberately visiting inappropriate web sites, behaving
disrespectfully in class, or exploiting passwords or CTO status for
other than helpful reasons) is expected to result in relevant and
appropriate consequences, up to and including removal from the
program. In the case of the CTO program, minor infractions normally
result in a corner being cut from the student's membership card. Major
infractions, including loss of all card corners through multiple minor
infractions, result in termination of membership and possibly other
disciplinary measures. Parents may be called if necessary during
class, in the rare case of serious behavior problems. Workshop
graduates typically set the example at their schools for both skilled
and appropriate technology usage. Program rules include arriving on
time each day, and then returning to home or other scheduled
activities upon completion of the session. Instructors are not
available to provide before-class or after-hours day-care. If student
has a partial overlap with another activity, apt to result in late
arrival or a need for early departure, specifics should be noted in
the COMMENTS field. Attendance is taken daily and parent/guardian will
be contacted if a minor student has not arrived, about 30 minutes
after starting time. Please call instructors in the event of absence
such as for illness.
10. Cancellation and Refunds Policy: In the event that The Miller
Institute needs to cancel one of our workshops, full refunds are
given. If you withdraw from a class at least 3 working days before
the class begins, then you will be issued a refund for tuition, less a
$5 processing fee. However, a special policy applies to Parts Costs.
Parts must be paid for 3 weeks prior to the first day of class. Parts
will be ordered approximately two weeks prior to class. After we have
ordered the parts, you own them, and no parts refund is possible, even
if you then withdraw more than 3 days in advance. (If a part is
defective, it will be exchanged for a working replacement part.)
11. Student/parent/guardian has been advised that a very limited
number of scholarships are usually available each year, to help ensure
that students are not excluded from participation due to financial
hardship. Historically, service organizations such as Rotary, as well
as private individuals, and The Miller Institute have worked together
to sponsor scholarships for students in need. An authorized official
from the child's school should notify workshop organizers that school
records indicate financial need; no further details or other forms of
documentation are necessary. Naturally, workshop organizers are unable
to guarantee the availability of a scholarship, but in the past,
sufficient philanthropic support has been identified to avoid
excluding any applicant.