About Us
Maryland Learning Links is a site developed under federal funding through a State Improvement Grant. It is co-owned by the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Special Education and Early Intervention Services (MSDE), and the Johns Hopkins University, School of Education, Center for Technology in Education (JHU CTE). JHU CTE continues to operate and maintain the site through a cooperative agreement with the MSDE and funding from a variety of sources.
The site is free to use, free to join, and free to publish to. We seek content from a variety of contributors, with link and/or authorship attribution. All content reflects the views and opinions of the author and/or organization, and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of either MSDE, JHU CTE, the financial sponsors, or other contributors. Question or concerns can be posed to the contributing author, or to the webmaster through info@marylandlearninglinks.org.
Maryland State Department of Eduction (MSDE)
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), under the leadership of the State Superintendent of Schools and guidance from the Maryland State Board of Education, develops and implements standards and policy for education programs from pre-kindergarten through high school. MSDE also oversees technical education, rehabilitation services and library programs throughout the state’s 24 local systems.
Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services
The Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services collaborates with families, local early intervention systems, and local school systems to ensure that all children and youth with disabilities have access to appropriate services and educational opportunities to which they are entitled under federal and State laws; and assists local early intervention systems and local school systems to comply with federal and state regulations and to implement policies and procedures through grant funding, professional development opportunities, technical assistance, and monitoring.
Johns Hopkins University School of Education, Center for Technology in Education
The Johns Hopkins University School of Education through its Center for Technology in Education (CTE) strives to improve the quality of life of children and youth, particularly those with special needs, through research, teaching, and leadership in the use of technology. CTE is a unique partnership combining the research and teaching resources of The Johns Hopkins University and the leadership and policy support of the Maryland State Department of Education.
Contact Us
Please contact us at info@marylandlearninglinks.org.
Terms of Use
Maryland Learning Links Terms of Use Policy
1. Terms of Use
Welcome to the Maryland Learning Links website (The Site). The following legal restrictions and terms of use apply to MarylandLearningLinks.org. The terms and conditions set forth herein apply to all information, online communication, services, communities, text, video, audio files, graphics, still images, links or other material and content that is or becomes available on The Site or is otherwise offered.
Please read the following terms and conditions of use carefully before using The Site. By accessing or using The Site, you (the User) represent that you have read, understand, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use whether or not you are a registered member of The Site. MSDE and CTE/JHU (We) reserve the right to change, modify, add or delete portions of this Agreement at any time and without further notice. It is your responsibility to regularly check this page for changes in the Terms of Use and to review such changes.
The Terms of Use apply to members and non-members alike.
You may not use the Service and may not accept the Terms of Use if you are not of legal age to form a binding contract or if you are barred by law from using The Site or accepting the Terms of Use.
2. Advice
The contents of The Site do not constitute advice and should not be relied upon in making or refraining from making any decision.
If you have specific concerns which require professional guidance, please contact a professional in the appropriate field.
3. Registration
While you may use The Site without registering, some parts of The Site offer features or services that may only be available if you register with The Site by establishing a user account. Any registration by anyone under 18 is unauthorized, unlicensed and in violation of these Terms of Use. By registering with The Site, you represent that you are 18 or older and that you agree to abide by all the terms and conditions of The Site.
When registering a user account with the site, you must provide true and accurate information. If the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) , Division of Special Education/Early Intervention Services (DSE/EIS) or the Center for Technology in Education/Johns Hopkins University (CTE/JHU) suspects that you have provided information that is not true and correct, the MSDE has the right to terminate your account on The Site.
4. Use of The Site and its Content
The Site is offered for noncommercial educational use only. You agree not to use The Site for any commercial purpose or in any manner where you charge or collect a fee for access or use of the content available on The Site.
You agree that you will not use The Site in any unlawful manner, including but not limited to any use that may constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, or otherwise violate any local, State, national or international law or create liability for MSDE or CTE/JHU.
You agree not to use The Site in any manner which could damage, impair, or overburden The Site.
You further agree that you will not use The Site to:
Infringe any third parties’ copyrights, trademarks or other proprietary rights;
Harass members of The Site;
Collect any personally identifiable information;
Access or attempt to access any information on the Site through an interface other
than the Site or otherwise approved in writing by MSDE and CTE/JHU;
Solicit passwords or other information for unlawful purposes;
Post, upload, transmit, share or store any content that contains any virus that may
disrupt The Site and its users.
You further agree to:
Use The Site in a manner consistent with these Terms of Use and in compliance
with applicable laws and regulations;
Maintain the confidentiality of any passwords associated with your use of the
Site;
Notify MSDE immediately in case of any unauthorized use of your account;
Use data provided by The Site only as allowed by The Site’s privacy policy.
5. User Generated Content
Some areas of The Site will allow you to post messages and comments at part of an online community. MSDE and CTE/JHU do not have any control over the content generated by The Site’s users. Material is not necessarily reviewed by MSDE or CTE/JHU before it is posted. Materials do not reflect the opinions or policies of MSDE or CTE/JHU. MSDE and CTE/JHU make no warranties, express or implied, as to the content of the User Submissions or the accuracy and reliability of any User Submissions. Nonetheless, the MSDE and CTE/JHU reserve the right to prevent you from submitting User Generated Content and to edit, restrict or remove such material at any time and for any reason.
MSDE and CTE/JHU have no responsibility for monitoring User Generated Content for inappropriate content, no obligation to modify or remove any inappropriate content, and no responsibility for the conduct of any user submitting any content.
You are solely responsible for the content that you upload, publish, or display through The Site or transmit to or share with other users. You may not submit consent to The Site that you did not create or that you do not have permission to submit.
By adding content to The Site, you agree to restrict yourself to comments about the subject matter on The Site. You also agree that MSDE and CTE/JHU have no liability whatsoever if we determine that your content is inappropriate and therefore edits, restricts, redacts, or removes your submitted content.
You agree that you will not use The Site to:
Post, upload, transmit, share, or store content which is unlawful, defamatory,
infringing, obscene, invasive of another’s right to privacy or publicity,
vulgar, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable.
Impersonate or claim the identify of any other entity or person,
Post, upload, transmit, share or store unsolicited or unauthorized advertising
solicitations, spam, or any other type of unauthorized solicitation.
Solicit personal information from any user under the age of 18.
6. Children and The Site
Please note that children under the ages of 18 may not register for an account on The Site and may not contribute User Generated Content.
7. Disclaimer of Warranties
While we provide rules for user conduct and submissions, we do not control and are not responsible and are not liable in any manner for any content submitted to the Site. We are not responsible for the content or conduct, whether online or offline, of any user of the Site. Further, you understand and acknowledge that by using The Site you may be exposed to content that you may find offensive, indecent, or objectionable and in this respect, you use the Site at your own risk. The Site is provided “as is” and “AS AVAILABLE” without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including without limitation warranties of title, non-infringement, or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU USE THE SITE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither MSDE nor CTE/JHU warrant that any information is complete or accurate, that learninglinks.org will be uninterrupted or error-free, or that any information is free of rogue programming.
8. Limitation of Damages
Under no circumstances, including but not limited to negligence, shall MSDE or CTE/JHU be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages that may result from the use or inability to use The Site online, including without limitation use of or reliance on information available on Learninglinks.org interruptions, errors, defects, mistakes, omissions, deletions of files, delays in operation of transmission, non-deliverability of information, disclosure of communications or any other failure of performance.
9. Release and Indemnity
You hereby release and waive any and all claims and/or liability against MSDE or CTE/JHU arising from or in connection with your use of The Site. You also agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless MSDE and CTE/JHU from and against any and all claims or liability including costs and attorneys fees arising from or in connection with your use of The Site or failure to abide by applicable law.
10. Intellectual Property
The Intellectual Property rights in The Site and the materials on or accessible via The Site belong to MSDE and CTE/JHU or their licensors. The Site and the materials on or accessible via The Site and the Intellectual Property Rights therein may not be copied, distributed, published, licensed, used, or reproduced in any way (save to the extent strictly necessary for, and for the purposes, of accessing and using this website).
“Learning Links” is a trademark held by MSDE and CTE/JHU. The Term “Learning Links” may not be used, including as part of other trademarks or domain names, in connection with any product or service in any manner that is likely to cause confusion. Further “LearningLinks” may not be copied, imitated or used, in whole or in part without the prior written permission of the MSDE and CTE/JHU.
For these purposes “Intellectual Property Rights” includes the following (wherever and whenever arising): any patent, trademark, trade name, service mark, service name, design, design right, copyright, database right, moral rights, know how, trade secret and other confidential information, rights in the nature of any of these items in any country, rights in the nature of unfair competition rights and rights to sue for passing off or other similar intellectual or commercial right (in each case whether or not registered or registrable) and registrations of and applications to register any of them.
User Generated Content - Authors and organizations of all attributed/linked third-party content retain the intellectual property rights for that content, and are free to reuse said content per their individual agreements with their own institutions/organizations.
11. Links to Third Party Websites
The Site may include links to third party websites that are controlled and maintained by others. Any links to other websites is not an endorsement of such websites. You acknowledge and agree that we are not responsible for the content or availability of any such sites.
12. Governance, Venue, and Jurisdiction
By using The Site, you agree that these terms will be governed by and interpreted in the English language pursuant to the laws of the State of Maryland whose courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all disputes arising in connection with this agreement, without giving effect to any principles or conflicts of law.
13. Severability
If any provision of this agreement shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable then that provision shall be deemed severable from this agreement and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
Privacy Policy
Maryland Learning Links Privacy Policy
The Maryland State Department of Education and the Johns Hopkins Univeristy Center for Technology in Education are very committed to protecting your privacy. This policy will provide an overview of how we protect your personal information. Please review this policy to learn more about your rights and responsibilities as a LearningLinks community member. This policy was last updated on September 1, 2011.
This privacy policy applies to LearningLinks.org. While our site might contain links to other sites, we are not responsible for the privacy policies of those sites.
Gathering of Information
We will not collect personally identifiable information from you, other than what you supply to us on a voluntary basis.
This information might include name, address, telephone number, and email address or demographic information such as age, gender, county and state or information about your profession or role in the education community. We may also ask you how you learned about LearningLinks.
In order to participate in some activities, such as responding to a poll or joining a community to post messages, or receiving an e-newsletter, you may be asked to provide some personally identifiable information.
You are under no obligation to provide any information at any time; however this may limit your participation in some activities on the site.
In addition to information that you provide to us, we may also collect and store some non-personally identifiable information automatically when you use the site. This may include your IP address, date, time and duration of visit, URLs visited, or browser information. We use this data to improve performance on the site, to diagnose problems with a server, and to make sure our content is accessible to the widest possible audience.
Use of Information
We will never sell, swap or rent your personally identifiable information for the activities describe above.
Your information will be used for internal processes only and we will not disclose your information to any third party unless we are required to do so in response to a subpoena, warrant or other legal process.