The Lower Merion Webcam Incident and other tales of technology gone wrong in the classroom

Wasn’t technology supposed to make life easier?

In the 1950’s post-WWII boom of industry and technology, the future looked bright. We were promised that in 50 years we’d all be living in a world of flying cars, bullet trains, and enough hi-tech gadgets that the corny sci-fi fantasies of movies and television were to become a reality. It was a realistic vision to a certain extent, and while we don’t as of yet have flying cars, technological advances have become so ubiquitous and commonplace, it’s become highly integrated into the way we communicate with others and go about our daily business. All too often, we take it for granted.

Problems inevitably arise when technology makes life too easy, particularly for the classroom. New features on handheld devices or websites can quickly exploit the vulnerable and witless alike. Across the nation, the camera-enabled cell phones have led to rampant incidents of “sexting” between students, causing legal bouts between school officials and prosecutors over the extent of the law and school authority. Social networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace, not to mention cell phones and like devices, have enhanced the efforts of bullys to target their victims, commonly referred to as “cyberbullying”.

As is often the case when technology is either intentionally or intentionally misused, even the best of intentions can quickly become legal and ethical whirlpools of confusion and chaos. Case in point: the Lower Merion school district of Philadelphia. When the school decided to give each of its 2,300 students their own laptops (provided the students paid a small insurance fee against damage, a monitoring and tracking programming came pre-loaded on each of the students’ laptops. Seems harmless enough, right? And what a fine gesture by the school administration – each student has their own laptop now to better enhance their studies!

However, trouble began when the tracking software was activated which provided the school’s servers with the pinpointed locations of potentially missing laptops. The software kicked into gear and using the laptop’s built-in webcam began taking pictures of the students using the laptops, including screenshots of any programs that were running and what the students were doing – whether they were actually Lower Merion students or not!

After the pictures surfaced, allegations of student and teacher misconduct began to fly. By November 2008, one particular student “claimed that an assistant principal confronted him with a Web cam photo of him in his bedroom. The photo shows him with a handful of Mike & Ike candies, but that the assistant principal thought they were drugs.” Soon, the district attorney was on the case, with allegations that the school district had violated the students’ right to privacy, while the school district contends it was only intending to monitor for laptops that had been potentially stolen.

Sweet dreams: Homework always goes down better in between naps, right? ... One of the alleged webcam photos taken by the monitoring software.

Since the case broke, the monitoring of the laptops by the school district has been disabled. As legal woes continued over the summer, the district’s legal fees topped $1 million dollars. Finally, this last week, prosecutors announced no criminal charges would be filed in the case, although lawsuits from two students who were first tracked and monitored are still pending. Meanwhile, as they should have done in the first place, the school district has “adopted new policies governing how, when, and for what reasons staff will track the take-home laptops Lower Merion issues to each of its nearly 2,300 high school students.”

The Lower Merion Webcam Incident raises a few important ethical questions about the use of technology in schools, how it should be used and where it ought to be used. Obviously, the school district valued the students’ accessibility to technology that would help them in their studies. Why would they have purchased the laptops for the students in the first place? But perhaps they didn’t think this through. What prevents the students from allowing friends or unauthorized users to use the laptops? What if they’re stolen or sold? What will students be doing with the laptops?

Tracking and monitoring software would solve those issues, but then what of students’ rights? Shouldn’t students be afforded privacy when at home or away from school, away from laptops that allow school officials to “snoop” at what activities the students are engaging in at home?

I think there is a very good case here on either side of the issue, but ultimately, I think the fault rests with the school district for their shortsightedness. Everyone wants students to have access to technology that will make their lives easier (particularly low-income or at-risk students who wouldn’t have access to laptops). We value the enhancements that computer programs such as word processors and e-mail will bring to students’ learning. Perhaps the school district should have only allowed the students to “check out” the laptops with a sort of library/honor system rather than simply giving the students their own laptops.

Technology has enabled students to express their learning in many new and unique ways that were not otherwise possible. Advancements in speed and software applications have also made learning fun, accessible, and functional for students of all abilities and needs. Technology was supposed to make life easier, but for school administrators, teachers, and students, at what cost?

With great power comes with great responsibility…

Right? What do you think?