Welcome to the Manitoba Professional Learning Environment (Maple), an online educational learning community for Manitoba educators and guests that provides access to resources, professional learning services and opportunities for collaboration and interaction.

By accessing this web site and checking the button accept (http://www.Mapleforem.ca), you signify that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use for the Maple website and services connected with the Maple website (the Maple Site/Service).

Please read these Terms of Use carefully as they contain important information regarding your legal rights, remedies and obligations, including various limitations and exclusions.

These Terms of Use apply to all registered users of the Maple Site/Service.

Eligibility for Registration

The Maple Site/Service is intended for use only by Manitoba teachers and Manitoba Education staff (together, "Manitoba educators"), and certain other invited users ("guests"). You are eligible to register to become a registered user of the Maple Site/Service if you:

• are a Manitoba teacher, school clinician, school leader or library personnel; or
• are a Manitoba pre-service teacher, or instructor or associated library personnel of Manitoba pre-service teachers; or
• have been invited to become a registered user because you are a Manitoba educational assistant, and involved in a special project, or
• have been invited to become a registered user because you are a staff member of a department of education in another jurisdiction, and a collaborator with Manitoba educators.
• The Maple Site/Service is not available to parents, students or members of the public at large.

By registering, accessing and using the Maple Site/Service, you represent and warrant that you are a Manitoba educator or guest.

Registration, access to and use of the Maple Site/Service by anyone other than a Manitoba educator or guest, is prohibited.

In consideration of your registration, access to and use of the Maple Site/Service, you agree to

• provide accurate, current and complete information about you on the Maple Site/Service ("Registration Data");
• maintain the security of your password and user name for accessing the Maple Site/Service;
• maintain the security of your password and user name for accessing the Maple Site/Service;
• be fully responsible for your use of the Maple Site/Service and the use of the Maple Site/Service by others who gain access to it by the unauthorized use of your password and user name.

User Conduct

You understand that the Maple Site/Service is available for your personal, non-profit educational use only.

You agree not to access or use the Maple Site/Service:

• to upload, post, transmit, share, store or otherwise make available ("post") material of any kind that:
• you did not create or you do not have permission to make available;
• will or may violate or infringe upon the rights of any third party, including intellectual property rights (copyright, trademark, patents), privacy, confidentiality, or any other personal or proprietary rights;
• is libellous, defamatory or otherwise unlawful;
• is harmful, threatening, abusive, inflammatory, harassing, vulgar, obscene, fraudulent, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable;
• constitutes unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, solicitations, promotional materials, "junk mail", "spam", "chain letters", "pyramid schemes", or any other form of solicitation;
• contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment;
• constitutes, encourages or provides instructions for a criminal offense, violates the rights of any party, or otherwise creates liability or violates any municipal, provincial, federal, international or other law; or
• in the sole discretion of Manitoba Education, is objectionable or may restrict or inhibit any person from using or enjoying the Maple Site/Service, or may expose Manitoba Education or the users of the Maple Site/Service to harm or liability of any type;
• to harvest (that is, automatically collect) or collect email addresses or other contact information of other users from the Maple Site/Service by electronic or other means for the purposes of sending unsolicited emails or other unsolicited communications;
• to intimidate or harass another person or entity;
• in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the Maple Site/Service; or
• by using automated scripts to collect information from or otherwise interact with the Maple Site/Service.

Manitoba Education may, but is not obligated to, review the Maple Site/Service and may, in its sole discretion, remove User Material that violates these Terms of Use or for any other reason or no reason.

You may wish to create backup copies of User Material that you post on the Maple Site/Service. You are solely responsible for the costs and expenses of creating backup copies or replacing any of your User Material that has been removed from the Maple Site/Service. Manitoba Education has no responsibility or liability for the removal of any of your User Material.

Comments submitted to Groups, Wikis and Discussion Forums

The Maple Site/Service includes groups, wikis and discussion forums, also known as collaborative services. Registered users of the Maple Site/Services may submit comments (a specific type of User Material) to these collaborative services. Moderation of comments is the responsibility of their owners and facilitators. The owners and facilitators are expected to:

• monitor comments to ensure that the norms and practices for dialogue and interaction are followed by all registered users; and
• monitor comments to ensure that all comments comply with these Terms of Use.

These Terms of Use are based upon the principles of limiting the exposure of registered users of the Maple Site/Service to harmful or unsuitable materials while protecting the freedom of expression of all individuals in society.

Manitoba Education welcomes your comments as long as they are appropriate. Comments that are inappropriate will be removed from the Maple Site/Service.

Inappropriate comments include, but are not limited to, comments that:

• are abusive, obscene, indecent or offensive
• are defamatory, harassing, hateful or unproven/unsupported accusations against individuals or organizations
• identify publicly-elected representatives or candidates, regardless of their political affiliation, whether comments are supportive or critical
• invade the privacy of others or impersonate others
• are not related to the topic
• are posted without the necessary rights, licences and consents
• encourage conduct that may or could be a criminal offence or a civil liability
• violate any municipal, provincial, federal, international law or regulation
• spam
• are contrary to the principles of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Manitoba Education Material

The Maple Site/Service contains material owned by the Government of Manitoba ("Manitoba Education material")in which the Government of Manitoba owns copyright and trade-mark rights. Manitoba Education, on behalf of the Government of Manitoba, grants you a revocable licence to access and use the Manitoba Education materials posted to the Maple Site/Service subject to the following restrictions:

• The license is for your personal use only. You must not sub-delegate the license to any other person or entity.
• You may view and copy the Manitoba Education material in electronic, print or other forms only for non-profit educational purposes. You must retain the copyright notice and any Government of Manitoba and Maple logos from the original material on any copies that you make.
• You may use and distribute copies of the Manitoba Education materials that you make for non-profit educational purposes only. You must not use or distribute Manitoba Education materials for any public or commercial purpose.
• You may modify the Manitoba Education material to suit your lesson needs. You may use and distribute the resulting modified work for non-profit educational purposes within your school division or district only. You must include the following acknowledgement in a prominent place on all modified works: "This work has been adapted from a learning resource owned by Manitoba Education (www.edu.gov.mb.ca). Manitoba Education is not responsible for such modified works since they are not authorized resources of Manitoba Education."
• Except for the required retention of the Government of Manitoba and Maple logo on copies that you make of the Manitoba Education material, as stated above, the Government of Manitoba and Maple logos are trade-marks belonging to the Government of Manitoba and they may not be copied, modified, reproduced, published, uploaded, distributed or posted in whole or in part in any way without the prior written consent of the Government of Manitoba.

Intellectual Property Complaints

Manitoba Education respects the intellectual property rights of others. Manitoba Education prohibits registered users from posting to the Maple Site/Service any material that violates another persons or entity's intellectual property rights.

If Manitoba Education receives notification of an alleged violation of intellectual property rights from the owner or a license holder of those rights, Manitoba Education will promptly remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material. If the material that is alleged to violate the intellectual property rights of another was posted by you or through the use of your password and user name, Manitoba Education may suspend or terminate your registration to the Maple Site/Service. If you believe that any material on the Maple Site/Service infringes the intellectual property rights which you own or for which you have a license, you may send a written notification of such infringement to Manitoba Education: Coordinator, Learning Support and Technology Unit, 1567 Dublin Ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3E 3J5.

Indemnification

By registering, accessing and using the Maple Site/Service, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Government of Manitoba, its ministers, officers, employees and agents from and against all claims, liabilities, demands, actions, suits or other legal proceedings that may be made against them in respect to your registration, access and use of the Maple Site/Service.

Suspension or Termination

Manitoba Education may suspend or terminate your registration, remove your profile and any User Material that you posted on the Maple Site, and suspend or terminate your access to all or any part of the Maple Site/Service for any reason or no reason, at any time, in Manitoba Education’s sole discretion, without notice.

Manitoba Education may, in its sole discretion, without notice:

• vary the Maple Site/Service, or any part of it; and
• modify or discontinue the Maple Site/Service, or any part of it.

Disclaimer relating to Third Party Websites and User Material

The Maple Site/Service contains links to other web sites ("Third Party Sites") and User Material.

Manitoba Education does not review such Third Party Sites and may, but is not obliged to, review User Material for accuracy, appropriateness or completeness, or content or views. Manitoba Education accepts no responsibility whatsoever for the accuracy, appropriateness or completeness, or content or views of the Third Party Sites accessed through the Maple Site/Service or the User Material on the Maple Site/Service.

Inclusion of links to Third Party Sites and inclusion of User Material on the Maple Site/Service does not imply approval or endorsement of them by Manitoba Education. If you decide to leave the Maple Site/Service and access, use or install content from the Third Party Sites or if you use or install any User Materials from the Maple Site/Service, you do so at your own risk.

Limitation of Liability

The Government of Manitoba accepts no liability or blame for injury, damage or loss to any person or property caused by or in any way related to the use of the Maple Site/Service, its information or any website linked to it.