School issues free laptops

[SteamWake]

With one small catch :oops:


The system that Lower Merion school officials used to track lost and stolen laptops wound up secretly capturing thousands of images, including photographs of students in their homes, Web sites they visited, and excerpts of their online chats, says a new motion filed in a suit against the district.


http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100415_Lawyer__Laptops_took_thousands_of_photos. html

[August]

We're sort of going through the same issue. How do we keep track of laptops issued to students without invading their privacy? So far the solution has been to not allow them to be removed from school property which sort of defeats their purpose.

[CaptainHaplo]

August - simple answer.

Make them sign for it - stating in the case of loss they are responsible for the cost of the device. Also in the agreement of issuance - note that there are security capabilities built in (you don't have to define them) but note that they will never be activated UNLESS the laptop is reported stolen or lost through a specific process.

If a student doesn't report it and doesn't turn it in - they pay for it. If they report it stolen - you can then activate the security features legally. Such capabilities can be laptop lo-jack, remote video capability, etc.

That way - if the device is EVER activated without it being reported lost or stolen - then the person activating those features is responsible for any privacy violations.

[GoldenRivet]

one of my student pilots, his school issued laptops to all the students.

He says that it has a camera on it, and a light to indicate when the camera is active... but the camera can only be activated when two conditions are met

1. the laptop is open and turned on with a user logged in

2. during regular class hours.

he says that sometimes... the little light will come on mid class. and its a little awkward sitting there taking notes knowing you are being watched for 10 or 15 seconds.

the students have greatly enjoyed the privilege of having the laptops... at the end of the school year on the last week of school they are returned to the school on various days of the week.

dont return your lap top?

thats fine, but you have to pay a fee which is something on the order of twice the cost of the laptop (thus there is no real benefit in stealing one)

[August]

We had thought of that Hap but it's getting the students to pay for it that's going to be the big issue here. Most of our students are displaced workers and youngsters right out of HS who barely can afford gas money let alone pay to replace a laptop.

[GoldenRivet]

build them into the desk and issue everyone zip drives.

easiest solution by far.

[SteamWake]

Meh.. just put a piece of tape over the lens... hey wonder if they had the michrophone feed as well :hmmm:

Wonder whom pays if one of the students were to 'loose' one of the laptops?

Surely a kid could hack out the security features.

[krashkart]

he says that sometimes... the little light will come on mid class. and its a little awkward sitting there taking notes knowing you are being watched for 10 or 15 seconds.

That would not go over well with me. I'd politely take the laptop back to the school and give the kid my old one. That's just too far out of line for me. No way. :stare:

[bookworm_020]

They have been issuing laptop computers here to students in Australia over the last year. Still a few issues to be worked out, but it seems to be going well (so far)

[GoldenRivet]

When i went to school, sometimes this was my laptop... other times it was my desktop.

http://www.indiana.edu/%7Elibpres/manual/materials/matimages/notebook.jpg

[krashkart]

When i went to school, sometimes this was my laptop... other times it was my desktop.

http://www.indiana.edu/%7Elibpres/manual/materials/matimages/notebook.jpg

They still make those? :up:

[Torvald Von Mansee]

They still make those? :up:

I remember I went to a CMS conference with a notebook, and one guy made a rather inappropriate comment about it. I wanted to respond: "I see you have Asperger's Syndrome, and rather badly" but you don't know who could be a potential employer or co-worker. (And he very obviously did have it)

[krashkart]

Heh. I don't mean to minimize the usefulness of pencil and paper. I use them all the time. The times have changed so much even in the last fifteen years it boggles my mind sometimes. OTOH, believe it or not, I knew what an abacus was (even learned how to use it, to an extent) before I'd even heard of a slide rule. :o

Now if I could just get my hands on one of those, I'd know what all the older guys were so jazzed about. :DL

[SteamWake]

When i went to school, sometimes this was my laptop... other times it was my desktop.

http://www.indiana.edu/%7Elibpres/manual/materials/matimages/notebook.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh312/UlteriorModem/tablet.jpg

[frau kaleun]

Slightly OT but... is it just me, or does anybody else get an inexplicable urge to buy notebooks and binders and other such stuff every year when they put the school supplies out on special display?