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School Shows Off Webcam Controlling Ability

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Those students don't even deserve those laptops in the first place. During my schools years, we sure didn't get any laptops. If the monitoring system was unnecessary, they would've not implemented such feature.

Quit talking non-sense people. As long as kids on the school property/campus, the school officials did NOT invade kids' privacy by monitoring their activity on the laptops which the kids do NOT own.

EnFission - I agree with you mate...
 
[citation][nom]EnFission[/nom]The use of remote monitoring while in the school IMO is not an invasion of privacy. I am currently a college student going for my BS in computer science, and every single year I've had to sign an Acceptable Use Policy. Stated in said policy it essentially says that while on campus, my account may be monitored for inappropriate/illegal use by means of remote monitoring and logging of network activity (although my school doesn't care if I visit THW/FB/similar sites, they just don't like us going to youtube because of the bandwidth usage). I do agree that remote monitoring a student while they are not on campus should highly illegal, however from the video you can see the laptop cabinets, so this school locks the laptops up while they are not in use at the school.[/citation]

Hey genius, there is a big difference between monitoring an account and using video surveillance. You must be at the top of your class. Phoenix University?
 
My question is that with all the "budget problems" with the public schools how can they afford to purchase 2300 high school kids a laptop, let alone the most expensive brand, A MAC! The "budget problems" sounds like "MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS" propped up by a teachers union.
 
Well... I think that spying on the students is fundamentally wrong. Especially if they don't know that they are being watched. However... if the school gives you a laptop (for schoolwork) I think they have a right to use this technology. However, it shouldn't be mandatory to use the 'schools' laptops. Unwarranted spying and pulling pranks on students should be absolutely forbidden.
 

By remote monitoring, I meant they could view our desktop, and take control of it if need be. My school uses a program called LanSchool which enables teachers and IT to view and control our desktops, and broadcast their own desktops across an entire classroom. And no, I would rather keep my soul thank you very much.

LanSchool Website
 
This is why I'd cover the cam up with a piece of tape just out of paranoia.

But, legally the schools have no ground to stand on here. It's one thing to snoop and police kids while they're in school. The supreme court already ruled (TLO v New Jersey) that the school takes on most of the rights of the parents when they're in school...and can do stuff like unwarranted searches. However, even with a disclaimer its unacceptable, reprehensible, and illegal to perform random video/picture surveillance on a student in his own private dwelling.

Theft prevention = lojack, not this.
 
Some of you here sound so pathetic. The officials never turned on the web cams. It was poor students who unfortunately couldn't afford mirrors. So stop bragging about covering the camera with a piece of tape. Officials NEVER turned on web cams. Besides, the user on the end of the laptop could see if indeed the camera was turned on by the officials. Please, think before you comment; otherwise, you sound like a 12 year old.

God give people wisdom to think critically.
 
[citation][nom]sicundercover[/nom]Alex Jones was talking about this going into effect last year and everyone said he was nuts.[/citation]

He IS nuts, but this is a real issue, and anybody could have predicted this...
 
I have one huge question... This watching of the web cam went on during school hours? or does the faculty have access to this software to use at home... Either way this is just wrong on so many levels.
 
It won't be long people before the NSA, CIA, FBI, DIA, etc can remotely activate your computer and webcam and or mics remotely so that they can perform surveillance. This is 100x 'better' than the CCTV system that's everywhere in Britain, better for the one monitoring. This is the ultimate form of a 'wire-tap', video, audio, files, everything. If schools are doing it can you imagine what the intelligence agencies are doing? As for putting Apple computers in schools, Apples have been a favourite amongst educators for decades, they can focus on teaching content and not teaching computers... their supposed ease of use and all. I'd rather have a PC any day. All the software I use and need for work and play is on PC.
 


When you have pulled your head out of your butt and scraped the faecal matter from your eyes, try actually reading something about this issue. :pfff:

The issue came to light when the Robbins's child was disciplined for "improper behaviour in his home" and the Vice Principal used a photo taken by the webcam as evidence.
Click to expand...

Source
 
[citation][nom]gladiator_mohaa[/nom]My question is that with all the "budget problems" with the public schools how can they afford to purchase 2300 high school kids a laptop, let alone the most expensive brand, A MAC! The "budget problems" sounds like "MANAGEMENT PROBLEMS" propped up by a teachers union.[/citation]
If our government can spend tax payer money like there is no tomorrow, why can't the schools ~snickers with sarcasm~
 
[citation][nom]xbsoft[/nom]Some of you here sound so pathetic. The officials never turned on the web cams. It was poor students who unfortunately couldn't afford mirrors. So stop bragging about covering the camera with a piece of tape. Officials NEVER turned on web cams. Besides, the user on the end of the laptop could see if indeed the camera was turned on by the officials. Please, think before you comment; otherwise, you sound like a 12 year old.

God give people wisdom to think critically.[/citation]
Oh man, my favorite idiotic/uneducated line of yours was the part about officials never turned on webcam BUT users could see if their camera was turned on BY OFFICIALS...LMFAO!, and then you end with the wisdom for people to think critically...how ironic is that?!
 
This video is not at all the same as the issue in Lower Merion School district. Those Laptops don't appear to be leaving the school at all, in fact it doesn't look like they leave the classroom. You can watch them distributing the laptops to the students at the beginning of a class, and the application monitoring is largely to prevent students from acessing myspace/youtube/facebook while at school since their system for preventing it isn't foolproof. I think it may be poor of the VP there to look at them, though provided those laptops aren't leaving the classroom, they're completely visible there anyway, and really amounts to no more than simply seeing them sitting at their desks. And if I understand correctly, they have to have the webcam's application opened for him to even see those images, which they're using to fix their hair or is being used similarly as a vanity.
 
[citation][nom]mousemonkey[/nom]When you have pulled your head out of your butt and scraped the faecal matter from your eyes, try actually reading something about this issue. Source[/citation]The problem is you're mixing up the Bronx school district in the video with the incedent in Lower Merion PA.
 
[citation][nom]pkeet[/nom]Ummm, these are school owned laptops being used in school. The school is remotely accessing this laptops to make sure the students are working. The students are not supposed to have this camera application open (as he says they are using it for checking their appearance). So rather then giving them say a detention he orders their computer to take a picture. This is meant to get the students back to work rather then goofing off (which he says works). Why is this a bad thing?[/citation]

You Sir are either a pedophile or have twisted sense of reality. This goes way beyond just property protection. This whole situation is so outrages that I don't even know where to begin of how many legal and moral laws this is breaking. If I was a parent of any of those students I would sue the school, the district, the county and the state till there is nobody left that even had the slightest idea with the program. This would make it all the way up to the federal court.

01
 

No I'm not, the point I was making was that people should look at the incident that has sparked off this whole debate and I am aware that different schools may have different policies regarding their laptops. Do you have access to all of the different polices from each school?
 
Well, let's put it this way, I don't see the mainstream media treating it the same way, nor, upon viewing of what was happening in the video at PBS site, do I see the same thing going on. Honestly, I don't see a school district in the Bronx giving out laptops, nor do I see them insisting on parents paying for laptops. There is too much likelyhood of theft, and it's too burdensome to the parents in the circumstances many of them are in. But perhaps you're right, perhaps a Vice Principal from the bronx advertised his pedophilia on PBS, and as well, PBS overlooked the privacy issues, and made no comment on them. No I do not have details on the policies, but somehow I doubt that those laptops leave the school grounds, or that anything untoward is happening to the students.
 
I find the whole matter abhorrently tasteless. Not the least being the almost psychotic levels of disregard these people seem to have for the privacy of their students. I mean how in heaven's name can they be so blase about it?
 
how did any teacher think that this wouldn't cause a fuss. They have a camera in a persons home where they can turn on whenever they want and watch. This invasion of privacy is sickening
 
investing in education is nice and all but spending upwards of 700+ $ on a cr@pbook pro when you could spend the 300$ for a decent netbook and im sure if you bought in bulk that the netbook would be even cheeper. i can understand why some families would be late on payment if the schools are paying for op macbooks. all they are are overpriced intel machines people. get it out of your head that these machines are special or anything the only thing special about it is osx which why are they teaching kids on a platform that only the graphics arts industry uses and not 9/10 of what the entire world uses...
 
[citation][nom]Goro[/nom]You Sir are either a pedophile or have twisted sense of reality. This goes way beyond just property protection. This whole situation is so outrages that I don't even know where to begin of how many legal and moral laws this is breaking. If I was a parent of any of those students I would sue the school, the district, the county and the state till there is nobody left that even had the slightest idea with the program. This would make it all the way up to the federal court.01[/citation]

1) In the NY schools, these are laptops distributed to kids in a class, temporarily, not on a loan/lease basis for the duration of a school year. They're issued for a task and recolelcted.
2) All parents sign a school [olicy document, which informs them that monitoring software is included.
3) the monitoring software can not activate the camera remotely, it DETECTS camera activation (which is banned for most if not all school related tasks), and looks in to see what the kid might be doing that breaks school policies.
4) ALL of the kids know this happens, it's a big joke to them. Some of them do it on purpose just to play back at the administrators.

Take a pill. This is not immoral, or even illegal, and the monitoring happens only on campus (as these machines are NOT taken home ever.)

The case in the other district, yes, I expect people to be jailed for that, and if it was in fact district policy then the district should pay some heavy fines, however, this looks to be the actions of a few select administrators, not the action of a school board, and thus the school itself, even in that case, should be removed from responsibility (civil cases against the superintendent and IT admins not withstanding).
 
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