Privacy Policy for ThinkQuest Projects
OUR COMMITMENT TO PRIVACY
The Privacy Policy set forth herein (“Privacy Policy”) applies to your use of www.thinkquest.org (the “Site”) for the purpose of participating in the global program that provides interactive project-based learning to students in several countries (“Projects”). The Site is hosted by the Oracle Education Foundation (the “Foundation”), a California non-profit organization with registered offices at 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, California, U.S.A. The Site offers all teachers, students, Foundation staff and partners of the Foundation that are registered to use the Site (“Users”) access to the various interactive learning tools, programs and services of Projects.
We, at the Foundation, respect the personal privacy of all Users of the Site and support initiatives intended to preserve individual privacy on the Internet. This Privacy Policy discloses the current information-gathering, use and dissemination practices of the Foundation with respect to Projects. Please read this Privacy Policy carefully so that you understand exactly what information we collect about you during your visit to the Site, how we may use your personal information, the choices you have about how we use your personal information and how we protect that information.
By using the Site, you accept and agree to the practices described in this Privacy Policy. Your use of the Site also is subject to and contingent upon your agreement with the Projects Terms of Use, which are hereby incorporated by reference.
In light of the international nature of Projects, the Foundation’s privacy practices are self-certified to the U.S. Department of Commerce Safe Harbor Program. For more information about the Safe Harbor Program, go to http://www.export.gov/safeharbor/.
The Foundation is also a licensee of the TRUSTe Children’s Privacy Seal Program. TRUSTe is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to build Users’ trust and confidence in the Internet by promoting the use of fair information practices. Because the Foundation wants to demonstrate its commitment to your privacy, it has agreed to disclose its information practices and have its privacy practices reviewed for compliance by TRUSTe.
The Foundation welcomes any comment or question that Users may have. Please contact us via email by clicking on Contact Us, by sending us an email at support@thinkquest.org, or calling 1.866.600.HELP (4357).
If you do not receive acknowledgment of your inquiry or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, you should then contact TRUSTe at http://www.truste.org/consumers/watchdog_complaint.php. TRUSTe will serve as a liaison with the Foundation to resolve your concerns.
INFORMATION WE COLLECT
Information That You Provide. The Foundation collects from its Users certain personally identifiable information (“Personally Identifiable Information”), including:
School Application Information: Schools that wish to participate in Projects submit applications for registration via the Site. As part of the application process, the school’s name, mailing address and phone number is collected (submission of a school’s website address is optional.) We also collect the first and last name, title and email address of a primary contact person, as well as the name and contact information for the person with legal signing authority for the school. Each school enters into an agreement with the Foundation that governs the terms of the school’s participation (a “School Agreement”).
Account Information: The Foundation collects Personally Identifiable Information about registered Users of the Site when a member school creates individual User accounts for their teachers and students. The following information is collected when an account is created:
• User’s first and last name. Only a User’s first name and the first initial of their last name are visible to other Users of the Site. Teachers and Foundation staff can view a student’s last name for administrative purposes.
• Grade Level. Grade level enables the Foundation to disable accounts of students who are no longer affiliated with or have graduated from the school. This information is not available to all Users of the Site but may be viewed by a school’s administrator(s) and teacher(s) and Foundation staff.
• School: The name of a User’s school is collected when a User’s school applies and agrees to participate in Projects. Collecting this information allows a member school to monitor its Users and content created by such Users.
User Created Content: Users may create content on the Site and may upload pictures and post information about personal interests, such as hobbies and sports. Users are not required to submit this information and each User is allowed to choose what information he/she would like to post. While Users are asked not to post Personally Identifiable Information and Personally Identifiable Information is never solicited by the Foundation, Users should be aware that any Personally Identifiable Information posted will be accessible by and shared with other Users of the Site.
Partner Project Information: Educational projects associated with Projects (“Partner Projects”) may be provided and managed by the Foundation’s partner organizations (“Partner Organizations”) in conjunction with Foundation staff. Users’ participation in any Partner Project may result from posting work, questions and/or messages and/or interacting with other Users and Partner Organizations. Users are not required to participate in Partner Projects or to submit Personally Identifiable Information. While Personally Identifiable Information is never solicited by the Foundation or its Partner Organizations for use in Partner Projects, Users should be aware that any Personally Identifiable Information supplied in the course of participating in Partner Projects will be accessible by and shared with Partner Organizations.
Unless you provide it to us voluntarily, neither the Foundation nor its partner organizations independently collect Personally Identifiable Information about you in connection with your use of the Site. When providing Personally Identifiable Information via the Site, Users must take all reasonable care to ensure that it is accurate, up-to-date, complete, relevant and not misleading. Any information that you provide to the Foundation, including Personally Identifiable Information, must be true, current, consistent and relevant for the purpose for which you are providing such information. You must have the authority to provide the information submitted to and through the Site and you understand and agree that we may from time to time use the information submitted to verify such authority.
THE FOUNDATION DOES NOT WISH TO RECEIVE ANY PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION PERTAINING TO ANY INDIVIDUAL UNLESS ALL REQUISITE PERMISSIONS HAVE BEEN OBTAINED IN ADVANCE, INCLUDING PARENTAL CONSENT. YOU HEREBY REPRESENT AND WARRANT TO THE FOUNDATION THAT YOU HAVE FULL AUTHORITY TO SUBMIT THE PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION AND OTHER INFORMATION REQUIRED FOR PARTICIPATION IN PROJECTS AND ANY OTHER INTERACTION WITH US.
Information Collected Automatically.
Usage Data: The Foundation automatically tracks the IP/Internet addresses of the domains from which Users access the Site. This information is part of the computer contact information provided to the Site’s server when Users log in.
Cookies: “Cookies” are small pieces of data that Sites send to web browsers. The Foundation often uses cookies to track Users’ preferences and personal interests, as well as to evaluate how the Site is used. This information is important to help us develop the correct ordering of screens and to facilitate User navigation. Within the Site, the Foundation uses cookies to authenticate Users, which helps maintain the security of the Site.
USE OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECT
The Foundation collects Personally Identifiable Information as part of providing the educational services of the Site and we use the information solely for this purpose. We use this information for the duration of a User’s participation in Projects and for a reasonable time thereafter as may be required for legitimate legal and organizational purposes.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INFORMATION THAT WE COLLECT
Personally Identifiable Information is shared only as described in this Privacy Policy and the Foundation establishes contractual protections to confirm that any such party does not use or disclose the information for marketing or other functions not related to Projects. The Foundation does not sell or rent any information that we collect from Users to third parties, nor does the Foundation use the information collected for any marketing purpose. We do not require that Users disclose more information than is reasonably necessary to use the Site.
While our primary data center is in the United States, in order to provide service in a timely, cost effective and efficient manner, information provided in connection with the Site may be made available to authorized Foundation staff across our global offices or to approved Partner Organizations that require access to the information for the purpose of supporting the Site. Any information provided is used in accordance with this Privacy Policy and processed in compliance with the relevant instructions provided by the Foundation.
Once logged in to the Site, all Users, including Foundation staff, school staff and Partner Organizations can view the information posted by Users on the Site. This information is made available by each User through the act of publishing content and can be withdrawn at the User’s discretion. In addition, Foundation and school staff have access to students’ and teachers’ full names for purposes of creating and administering accounts.
In addition to other data sharing described in this Privacy Policy, we may share Personally Identifiable Information and other data as may be required or permitted by applicable legal requirements, including the disclosure of information to the government, law enforcement or other authorities. You should be aware that Personally Identifiable Information also could be accessed if someone unlawfully logged into the Site (for example, by obtaining a student’s ID and Password, or unlawfully “hacking” the Site), despite the security measures adopted by the Foundation. Further, the Foundation can (and by agreeing to the Project Terms of Use and this Privacy Policy you authorize us to) disclose Personally Identifiable Information in cases where the Foundation, in its sole discretion, believes that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with (either intentionally or unintentionally) the Site, the Foundation’s rights or property, any User or any third party.
In the event of a sale, merger, liquidation, dissolution or transfer of substantially all of the assets of the Foundation, Personally Identifiable Information and/or usage data submitted by you via the Site may be sold, assigned, or transferred to the party acquiring all or substantially all of the equity and/or assets of the Foundation in order to permit the party to continue the operation of the Site. By using the Site, you consent to the sale and transfer of your information as described in this paragraph.
CONSENT TO PROCESSING
By using the Site or providing information to the Foundation, you understand and unambiguously consent to the collection, processing, transfer and use of such information, including Personally Identifiable Information, in the United States and other countries and territories, exclusively for the purposes set forth in this Privacy Policy. You hereby consent to the collection, processing and disclosure by the Foundation of your Personally Identifiable Information, to the use of cookies and to the tracking of IP addresses (as described in Section II of this Privacy Policy.) For further certainty, any consent relating to a right to transfer information referred to in this Section shall be deemed to include your consent to the transfer of the applicable Personally Identifiable Information to a jurisdiction which may have a different level of privacy protection than that available in your own country.
MODIFICATION OF INFORMATION AND OPT-OUT CHOICES
Parents of children using the Site have the right to review and have the Foundation modify or delete their child’s Personally Identifiable Information. Each parent has the right to request that the Foundation terminate a child’s status as a User and to refuse to permit further use of a child’s Personally Identifiable Information. Parents should contact their children’s schools or the Foundation directly by clicking on Contact Us.
Site Users have the right to review their Personally Identifiable Information, to modify the information they make available on the Site at any time and to request the opportunity to review and correct their own Personally Identifiable Information by contacting their school’s administrators. Users also may receive assistance by clicking on Contact Us.
Parents of Users and Users also may opt-out of certain functions on the Site. Parents of Users and Users may "opt-out" of (1) receiving communications from the Foundation, except for communications necessary for the use of the Site or participation in a project, or (2) any other consent previously granted for a specific purpose concerning your Personally Identifiable Information, by contacting Support via Contact Us.
THIRD-PARTY LINKS
This Privacy Policy applies only to the Site. The Foundation, its affiliates and subsidiaries operate many other websites for different purposes and in multiple jurisdictions where local laws may apply. The Site may include links to certain affiliated sites and to other educational resource and non-profit websites, including access to content, products and services of such affiliated and non-affiliated sites (“Other Sites”). When you click on a link to these Other Sites, you leave the Site. Prior to accessing Other Sites or non-Foundation content via the Site, we urge you to familiarize yourself with the privacy policy and other terms of use for each Other Site prior to submitting any Personally Identifiable Information. The Foundation takes no responsibility for the compliance or non-compliance by any Other Site with any privacy law or undertaking.
PARENTAL CONSENT
Parental consent is required before a student can participate in the Site. Schools are responsible for obtaining written parental consent before a student is provided with a Student Account and before any Personally Identifiable Information about the student is submitted to the Foundation to enable participation in the Site.
DATA SECURITY
The Foundation is concerned with the security of the Personally Identifiable Information and has in place adequate security measures to prevent unauthorized access to that information. These measures include policies, procedures, and technical elements relating to data access controls. In addition, the Foundation uses standard security protocols and mechanisms to exchange the transmission of sensitive data such as Personally Identifiable Information.
CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
The Foundation reserves the right to revise the Privacy Policy by posting the revised Privacy Policy on the Site. We will provide notice of any material change to the terms of this Privacy Policy by posting a “New Privacy Policy” (or similar formulation) link on the Site’s home page. Member schools are responsible for obtaining updated parental consent if material changes are made to this Privacy Policy.
No Rights of Third Parties
This Privacy Policy does not create rights enforceable by third parties.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS PRIVACY POLICY
The Foundation welcomes your comments or questions. Please contact us via email by clicking on Contact Us or by sending us an email to support@thinkquest.org or by sending a letter to:
Oracle Education
Foundation
500 Oracle Parkway, MS 5OP890
Redwood Shores, CA
94065
Tel: 650-607-2920
LAST UPDATED: August 15, 2008