Who's watching the class? Webcams in schools raise privacy issue: "Who's watching the class? Webcams in schools raise privacy issue
By Greg Toppo
USA TODAY
When students in Biloxi, Miss., show up this morning for the first day of the new school year, a virtual army of digital cameras will be recording every minute of every lesson in every classroom.
Hundreds of Internet-wired video cameras will keep rolling all year long, in the hope that they'll deter crime and general misbehavior among the district's 6,300 students -- and teachers.
''It helps honest people be more honest,'' says district Superintendent Larry Drawdy, who, along with principals and security officers, can use a password to view classrooms from any computer. In an emergency, police also can tune in.
So far, Biloxi is the only school district in the nation to install Webcams in every classroom -- nearly 500 so far. But school districts in cities nationwide and in England are experimenting with classroom Webcams for security reasons, installing the affordable cameras in hallways and selected classrooms and planning devices for future schools. One security firm says it's negotiating with an undisclosed urban district to install 15,000 cameras so security personnel can keep an eye on classes, hallways and parking lots."
This is just crazy.
By Greg Toppo
USA TODAY
When students in Biloxi, Miss., show up this morning for the first day of the new school year, a virtual army of digital cameras will be recording every minute of every lesson in every classroom.
Hundreds of Internet-wired video cameras will keep rolling all year long, in the hope that they'll deter crime and general misbehavior among the district's 6,300 students -- and teachers.
''It helps honest people be more honest,'' says district Superintendent Larry Drawdy, who, along with principals and security officers, can use a password to view classrooms from any computer. In an emergency, police also can tune in.
So far, Biloxi is the only school district in the nation to install Webcams in every classroom -- nearly 500 so far. But school districts in cities nationwide and in England are experimenting with classroom Webcams for security reasons, installing the affordable cameras in hallways and selected classrooms and planning devices for future schools. One security firm says it's negotiating with an undisclosed urban district to install 15,000 cameras so security personnel can keep an eye on classes, hallways and parking lots."
This is just crazy.
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