QOTD: Should Schools Use Laptops to Watch Kids?
Over the last few weeks there's been a lot of controversy surrounding the issue of schools monitoring students using school-owned laptops.
Media coverage of the lawsuit filed by student Blake J. Robbins of Philadelphia has been extensive. Robbins was disciplined for "improper behavior in his home" by the Vice Principal of his school and the VP provided a photo taken by the webcam as evidence.
The school has since said the monitoring software was installed to help identify thieves and maintains that the tracking-security feature was limited to taking a still image of the operator and the operator's screen. According to the school district, this feature has only been used for the limited purpose of locating a lost, stolen or missing laptop. A FAQ from the superintendent of the school district, Dr. Christopher McGinley, says the tracking feature or web cam isn't ussed for any other purpose or in any other manner whatsoever.
Today a new case has come to light in which a school in New York has been using monitoring software to keep an eye on students during classes. Very different to the school in Philadelphia, Vice Principal of the Bronx-based school, Dan Ackerman, openly admits to monitoring what the students are doing during school-time; though it's unclear if they keep an eye on them outside of school hours.
Today's Question of the Day is: Do You Think Schools Should Be Allowed to Monitor Students Via School-owned Laptops?
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HELL NO!
HELL NO!
Couldn't have said it any better. This is a clear violation of privacy (esp. for a female student).
What? NO! What kind of question is this Jane? D:
If i had a kid, I'd also agree. HELL NO! There are enough low life pedos out there. So... What if he is one? That's my feeling.
Silly question... NO
I'm surprised You even considered asking the question. Ofcourse not! Especially not by laptops that activate and film you while you're away from school. Let that be a parent's job.
Lets just let the government and school systems have our kids...... That way the parents can focus on being slaves to the elite.
The American family system is broken.
Time to wake up people.
Via Webcam? Over my dead body!!
can't they just packet sniff the student's laptops when they are at school?
Watch the pedophiles flock to teacher positions.
Why dont the kids just put a piece of tape over the webcam when they arent using it? Bam, multi-million dollar lawsuit with a pennys worth of tape
If
Why dont the kids just put a piece of tape over the webcam when they arent using it? Bam, multi-million dollar lawsuit with a pennys worth of tape
Because the kids shouldn't be the ones correcting the situation.
does this need a new topic everyday? drop the bat..the horse stopped twitching a while ago.
Because the kids shouldn't be the ones correcting the situation.
The problem doesnt necessarily lie with the schools either.
Today i was in an army recruting office and noticed a piece of tape over the microphone on a recruiters laptop. Im sure his superiors do not install any software to monitor his voice, but this is just a counter-measure from anybody hacking into the system and monitoring.
The piece of tape wud be a safe guard from the schools and anybody else who decides to sneak some malware onto these kids computers.
F
Couldn't have said it any better. This is a clear violation of privacy (esp. for a female student).
Wow, sexist much?
The problem doesnt necessarily lie with the schools either.Today i was in an army recruting office and noticed a piece of tape over the microphone on a recruiters laptop. Im sure his superiors do not install any software to monitor his voice, but this is just a counter-measure from anybody hacking into the system and monitoring.The piece of tape wud be a safe guard from the schools and anybody else who decides to sneak some malware onto these kids computers.
Or even better, don't get laptops with webcams built in. I work for a fortune 100 firm, and I don't do anything that requires a "special" level of security; however our company buys laptops and cellphones with no camreas. Too much risk of spying/corporate espionage. It's not hard to plug a webcam into a usb port if you actually need one.
On a side note, perhaps the schools could get them computers that they'll actually be able to learn skills from which could help them get a job.. just a thought.
swisscheez makes a good point; if the only way to obtain one of these school issued laptops was to abide by some CRAZY monitoring policies like this, then sure, they can just put a piece of electrical tape over it, which would surely block it out.
On the topic as a whole; is it really the school's job to monitor what the student is doing OUTSIDE of school? I could possibly see monitoring the activities on the computer (what sites, applications, etc) are being used to make sure it's within the guidelines of the intended use / legal. But certainly not monitoring personal behavior.
I want them to not spend taxpayer money on MACBOOKS, when they could at the very least buy normal $500-600 laptops. Though preferably netbooks instead.
NO. Plain NO. Violation of privacy.
I want them to not spend taxpayer money on MACBOOKS, when they could at the very least buy normal $500-600 laptops. Though preferably netbooks instead.
University's make most of they're budget through the cost of entering school , not through the cost of tax payer money. Hell getting into a university costs about as much as 10 or 20 Macbook pro's if they're the expensive kind.
Do we need to remind you that the kid was kicked out for eating candy?
in soviet russia, computer watches you!
As long as I can watch the principal through his webcam. This is like Sarah Palin defending Bush's wiretapping... However, when that hacker stole her emails, she sure didn't like that, did she?
I don't think it's that crazy a question to be honest. If the school is providing kids with laptops I think they should be allowed monitor their use of those laptops inside school hours. It's no different to the teacher looking over their shoulder.
With that said, I don't think it's ever okay to use the webcams on those laptops to watch kids. You don't need to see what the child is actually physically doing to figure out if he's updating his facebook page during english or chatting on AIM during maths.
Another No along the way
Watch the pedophiles flock to teacher positions.
I think they already do that
Ok, I'm a firm believer that there is no such thing as a stupid question, but I guess I'll have to label myself an apostate now.
No, of course not.
I agreed that school should use laptop to enhanced learning but without a built-in webcam and possible keylogger.
As others above have said, HELL NO!
sigh. i go to this school and the policy was that if a computer was lost or stolen, the school would take a picture with the webcam and a screen cap of what was on the screen of the lost computer when it was first turned on after being stolen.
Sad sad sad. If skool wasn't communist enough during skool....
Jeannie, to put a stupid question could happen, even if it shouldn't, and is already disappointing. The damage control attempt, restricting it to "school hours", is even more so... But to insist on, and even defend it, is below any critic. Can you get any lower?
Are there any pressures from the big brother/nanny police state to push this through?