Bang Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 No argument at all. The potential for abuse is astounding. But I just thought it an amazing sidebar that the school district equips all their students with laptops. I totally agree. the fact that they gave students laptops gives me hope for our future. On a sidebar.. my son will be a HS freshman next year, so last night we went to orientation. Now, they won't give him a laptop, but they do have some really amazing programs in place now. Each student is to choose a career path, which creates a program designed for that. They are encouraged to prepare for their future, and the programs that they have in place are pretty impressive. The engineering pathway was unbelievably good. I sat there listening to them lay it out and my jaw was hanging open. (My son is interested, and I couldn't be happier.) It's hands on, problem solving oriented. By the time they reach 11th grade they'll actually be earning college credit, going to UofMD to work side by side with scientists. There are financial perks to encourage them through college like tuition assistance. The only request being that after they leave college they put four years in to public service in their field. The beauty is they enter that field at the salary level of a 3rd tier engineer instead of entry level. One hell of an incentive, in my mind. The biggest impression I got is that they are not interested in just passing kids along anymore. They are truly preparing them for the future, and they are offering outstanding incentives based on the needs of our society. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Bang, that's amazing. That is at a public school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Bang, that's amazing. That is at a public school? Yes, Patuxent High School in southern Calvert County Maryland. Like I said, I was blown away. I don't know if this is an offshoot of the No Child Left Behind incentives, but in my mind, this is a prime example of how government can work for us. The future is of paramount importance, and it shows that they recognize it. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veretax Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 so wonderful find the laptop camera and cover it with felt and tape or something... problem solved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 so wonderful find the laptop camera and cover it with felt and tape or something... problem solved Sort of. That's like saying in order to stop the pervert who's spying on your daughter, have her change in the other room. The solution is simple. Find whoever turned on the cameras and slap every charge in the book on them. ~bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koolblue13 Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Yes, Patuxent High School in southern Calvert County Maryland. Like I said, I was blown away. I don't know if this is an offshoot of the No Child Left Behind incentives, but in my mind, this is a prime example of how government can work for us. The future is of paramount importance, and it shows that they recognize it. ~Bang That's great. That could really "move kids along" in the right way. I wish I had some kid of program like that, when I went to school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PokerPacker Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 On a side note, this business of giving out laptops is an example of money in education being wasted. We don't need a laptop for every student, we don't need smart boards and projectors in every classroom... so much wasted money in education that could be either removed from the budget or put towards teacher salaries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Now the FBI is looking into the case: Official: FBI probing Pa. school webcam spy case By MARYCLAIRE DALE, Associated Press Writer PHILADELPHIA – The FBI is investigating a Pennsylvania school district accused of secretly activating webcams inside students' homes, a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case told The Associated Press on Friday. The FBI will explore whether Lower Merion School District officials broke any federal wiretap or computer-intrusion laws, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Days after a student filed suit over the practice, Lower Merion officials acknowledged Friday that they remotely activated webcams 42 times in the past 14 months, but only to find missing student laptops. They insist they never did so to spy on students, as the student's family claimed in the federal lawsuit. Families were not informed of the possibility the webcams might be activated in their homes without their permission in the paperwork students sign when they get the computers, district spokesman Doug Young said. "It's clear what was in place was insufficient, and that's unacceptable," Young said. The district has suspended the practice amid the lawsuit and the accompanying uproar from students, the community and privacy advocates. District officials hired outside counsel to review the past webcam activations and advise the district on related issues, Young said. Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_laptops_spying_on_students Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vilandil Tasardur Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Yes, Patuxent High School in southern Calvert County Maryland. Like I said, I was blown away. I don't know if this is an offshoot of the No Child Left Behind incentives, but in my mind, this is a prime example of how government can work for us. The future is of paramount importance, and it shows that they recognize it. ~Bang Not to hijack the thread, but I'm wondering how much flexibility those sort of programs have. I'm a sophmore in college, I've changed my major once and know people who have more than that. In high school I thought I wanted to be a writer until 11th grade, when I became very much a history buff. As I graduated and spent my senior year's summer I developed an interest in biology as well. What's going to happen to your son if, when in his 11th grade year, he goes "Man, this math is really hard and I'm not enjoying engineering. I really enjoyed that forensics class I took though..." Do these programs bear that flexibility? Would your son be behind of he does switch because he wouldn't be in the new program since freshman year? Again, I didn't mean to hijack the thread. I just thought that program sounded amazing and wanted to know how it addresses these things. On topic...I hope the entire school district goes down. If the story had broken with a teenage girl being caught doing something in her room instead of a teenage boy, the backlash would be all the worse. This is flatly WRONG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veretax Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 With as much money as we spend on education, you'd think a computer every four years to do work on would be included LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The 12th Commandment Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 I have a laptop from work with webcams and I put tape over them because I was parry about this exact thing. Not that I do anything I'd have to worry about...:paranoid:. Seems awful close to unreasonable search IMO, at least in the case of the student. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0219/Teen-says-school-spied-on-him-at-home-via-school-issued-laptop "A Pennsylvania high-schooler has accused school officials of spying on him at home by remotely activating his laptop webcam. The case has sparked a new flurry of attention to the legal and ethical issues swirling around technology and education." -continued at link edit: missed it my bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THEREALTOR1 Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?t=317568 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan T. Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 The family's lawyer said in a clip on NBC news last night that the assistant principal had a webcam shot of their son with pills in his hand. That was the "inappropriate behavior" he was called out on, with the webcam photo as evidence, and he was brought in to see if he was dealing drugs. Except, according to the lawyer, the "pills" were actually Mike and Ike candy which, according to the lawyer, the kid eats a lot of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 The family's lawyer said in a clip on NBC news last night that the assistant principal had a webcam shot of their son with pills in his hand. That was the "inappropriate behavior" he was called out on, with the webcam photo as evidence, and he was brought in to see if he was dealing drugs. Except, according to the lawyer, the "pills" were actually Mike and Ike candy which, according to the lawyer, the kid eats a lot of. Wow. This assistant principal needs to be making license plates in prison. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vilandil Tasardur Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 I've never understood why the school system has the power to punish the students for illegal activity outside of school anyways. If the kid WAS dealing pills out of his room and never brought any to school, it isn't their business. I knew girls who got suspended because they got caught drinking in their own home; how is it the schools right to knock them educationally for a bad decision they made miles away off school property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bang Posted February 20, 2010 Share Posted February 20, 2010 I've never understood why the school system has the power to punish the students for illegal activity outside of school anyways.If the kid WAS dealing pills out of his room and never brought any to school, it isn't their business. I knew girls who got suspended because they got caught drinking in their own home; how is it the schools right to knock them educationally for a bad decision they made miles away off school property. Same right your company has to fire you if you get arrested for doing something away from the workplace. If a kid is dealing drugs, regardless of where he is, as a parent I don't want him in my kid's school. The school has a responsibility to protect it's students. And, for an even further reason, here in America we treat the courts like a giant ATM machine. we sue at the drop of a hat. If a kid ODs, well, sue the school for not keeping the dealers off the premises. When you break the law, you lose certain rights. Like it or not. Now, that still doesn't excuse the school from spying like this, but that is why they can extend their policies beyond school grounds. ~Bang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeaconBlue Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Same right your company has to fire you if you get arrested for doing something away from the workplace.If a kid is dealing drugs, regardless of where he is, as a parent I don't want him in my kid's school. The school has a responsibility to protect it's students. And, for an even further reason, here in America we treat the courts like a giant ATM machine. we sue at the drop of a hat. If a kid ODs, well, sue the school for not keeping the dealers off the premises. When you break the law, you lose certain rights. Like it or not. Now, that still doesn't excuse the school from spying like this, but that is why they can extend their policies beyond school grounds. ~Bang Again I have to disagree with you Bang. The relationship is different entirely. At work you were hired and serve at the behest of and as a representative of that company/business. Not so with the public school system. It's more like a business and its customers, with the students as the children of the taxpaying parents being the customer. Its a problem with public school system that Ive always had. The administrators have always seemed to be under the delusion that the parents and students served them rather than the other way round. An attitude that has always set my teeth on edge. So NO. The school is not entitled to enforce anything off school premises or not as part of a school function. And yes when you commit a d=crime you do lose certian rights , to the criminal justice system. Not the public school system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHendrix Posted February 21, 2010 Share Posted February 21, 2010 Wow. ~Bang Sigh. We're getting closer to that reality all the time. With a little Cameron Bergeron on the side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighOnHendrix Posted April 18, 2010 Share Posted April 18, 2010 Update: http://news.yahoo.com/video/us-15749625/school-allegedly-spied-via-web-cams-19196035#video=19196035 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
China Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Even more detail: PHILADELPHIA - A suburban school district secretly captured at least 56,000 webcam photographs and screen shots from laptops issued to high school students, its lawyer acknowledged Monda."It's clear there were students likely captured in their homes," said lawyer Henry Hockeimer, who represents the Lower Merion School District. http://www.dailyfinance.com/article/pa-district-took-56000-images-on-student/912040/ 56,000 is a little bit more than what you would expect from the 42 times the laptops were accessed as originally claimed. Click on the link for the full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sideshow24 Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 Even more detail:http://www.dailyfinance.com/article/pa-district-took-56000-images-on-student/912040/ 56,000 is a little bit more than what you would expect from the 42 times the laptops were accessed as originally claimed. Click on the link for the full article Fox news says they were programmed to take a picture every fifteen minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 The one student Blake Robbins was said to have a "couple' pictures taken of him per previous remarks. couple now = over 400 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Punani Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 That school system and county are so screwed it is not even funny. I wouldn't be surprised if the county had to file for bankruptcy because of all the civil cases against the school system. Those people who authorized this better get used to the fact some of them will be doing some jail time and their careers are over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimboDaMan Posted April 21, 2010 Share Posted April 21, 2010 The one student Blake Robbins was said to have a "couple' pictures taken of him per previous remarks.couple now = over 400 The school is saying since he didn't pay the required insurance fee he wasn't allowed to take the laptop home. He took it home without authorization, so they turned on the "lost-computer" function.But...if they knew where the computer was - at his home - why would they need to take pictures? Why not just tell him to bring it back? Especially since the computer apparently has a GPS device so they can locate it easily. And if for some reason they absolutely had to have a picture, why did they need 400? There are emails chuckling about how turning the cameras on is like watching a soap opera. Somebody goin' to jail over this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattFancy Posted April 21, 2010 Author Share Posted April 21, 2010 There is no way the school system gets away with this. Like I said before, they can monitor what the students were doing on the computers at their homes, but there is no need to take pictures and record videos of them in their homes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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