A Vast Array of Student Information is collected under protective measures in secondary schools and colleges, yet the pupils are not allless of what is being collected and how it is help
Children can be exposed to a variety of Online HarmsFrom Cyber Bullying to doxing And grooming, which they may not know how to deal with. Schools have a duty of care to ensure their pupils are protected from harm, but they often struggle to access the resources required for adequate protection.
A new industry has emerged to help schools better protect their pupils: Adapting Law Enforcement Technologies and Deploying them in the education sector. Internet monitoring (Including IP Address Tracking), CCTV and biometric scanners (fingerprints, voice and facial recognitionetc.
“The monitoring of devices have been sparked by the need to control security and what's coming into the school network environment,” Says Colin Tankard, Managing Director of Digital pathways“School it departments are stretched, and they do't have the resources.
Hidden surveillance
Some schools now monitor what pupils do and where they go, as well as the websites they visit, what they type and the messages they receive, which may include Financial and Medical Information.
“This technology effectively sits in a no man's land – it's not edtech, in the sense that it's not used for teaching and learning, and it's not used by the child themeselves,” Says Jen Persons, ” Defend digital me“It's usually invisible on machines and behind what they use. It's not something that children tend to be aware of.”
Survelance information is generally processed and stored by third-party companies, rather than by schools. Information may be reviewed by the surveillance company for indications of dangerous behavior. If any evidence of potential risk or harm is found, a warning is sent to the school.
Ethical implementation of monitoring tools, grounded in transparency and care, is essential for protecting students who preserving their right to privacy
Katherine Howard, Smoothwall
“To protect data, all information should also be encrypted in transit and at rest, and schools must ensure storage complies with Local Sovereignty Laws Accounts The UK, Australia, Australia, Australia, Australia, Australia, Australia, Australia, Australia, Australaland Data Automatically Erasing after 15 months to minimise exposure, “Says katherine howard, head of education and well-being at Smoothwall“In this new era, ethical implementation of monitoring tools, ground in transparency and care, is essential for protecting students who preserving their right to private.”
There is a danger in assuming that if there is no data processing by the school, then data protection does not apply. However, according to the Data Protection Act 2018As schools directly collect the data, the school is Regarded as the “data controller” and is responsible for the appropriate processing and storage of data by all Third-Porty Companies.
“It Horrifies me to think that we've set up these tools that create very serial and substantive risks, but trust they're under the umbrella of Safeguarding Children, Safeguarding Children, Nobody Wants to Be the Little Boy and point at the Emperor's Clothes to say, 'We have a serial problem here', “Says PersSon.
Teenagers are generally it literate and may be Technically more ASTUTEed their Teachers and Parents. For example, one school enacted a rapacious internet surveillance account Pupils immediatily switched to using mobile data on their phonesThereby bypassing all of the protective measures the school hasol had put in place.
Normalising the panopticon
Despite Attempts by Children to Circumvent Soch Monitoring, The degree of Survelance Technologies Focused On Schools is Still Normalising The Ideology that surveillance that surveillance Acceptable in the name of security.
It could be argued that widespread acceptance of surveillance is what some companies are encouraging. There have been reepeated attempts to Deploy Survelance Technologies Across Corporate NetworksBut such attempts are typically unsuccessful due to the negative impact it has to have on moral in the Organization.
“This is what employees of the future want from employers, explained one leading uk school safety tech company at an Edtech Marketing Event,” Says PersSon. “In a talk on safeguarding, they said very explicitly, employers want children to be 'on point, engaged, and to expert to be monitored in the future'.
“The seling point for their safety tech was that by geting child use That we are normalizing this in our children is very explicit in some companies. “
Children should be protected from online harms, but the execution of many of these policies focuses on preventing them from accessing inappropete materials or preventing cyber Rather than tackling the root cause of the problem. Leadership Teams Might Think they have resolved the challenge of online harm if it is no longer associated with the school network, but the problem can personal.
“Schools have got to do sometising to protect the child care, and that might meaning second second have to be more robust,” Says tankard. “I don't think it should get down to monitoring what's being said in messages, as that that's an invasion of privacy.”
Limited Regulation
There has also been limited regulatory oversight for these technologies. Survelance Technologies that would be otherwise strongly continued and registered when deployed in public spaces are being deployed in schools and colleges.
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Contains provisions intended to enhance the protection of the personal data belonging to anyone under the age of 18. Transparency and Accountability are Part of this: White, how and with is the data is the data is being Clearly communicated to the pupils and their parents/guardians. In all circumstans, there is a need to carefully consider the level of protection giving to that data.
Biometric data, such as fingerprints, is regularly used to enable payment for school meals. This Confirms Identity without relaying on Cash, which might be lost or stole.
Biometric information has an additional layer of regulatory protection under the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012Whereby Opt-out options must be made clearerly available, with alternative viable methods provided.
The Amount of Data Being Colleted and the Potential Harm It Block Have On Children Needs to be studied by the government and registered. Research has shown that surveillance can have a chilling effect on free speech and education.
Education is Lacking a Government-Level Policy [for a] Uniform Level of Connection [to provide] Clear Guidance in a Recognized Standard
Colin Tankard, Digital Pathways
Machine Learning And Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools are being used to automate the data review process, but because they essentially operate as a “Black box”, there is a little answer to their decision of their decision of that Processes. Furthermore, AI Reasoning Can Be Flawed Due to bias In his Historical Data and May Generate False Positives.
Cultural issue
Cyber Bulling and Online Harms are not just a technological problem, but a cultural issue affecting everyone. Children and parents should be properly educed and informed about the Dangers presented online and how they can safly Navigate the Internet. However, this takes time and resources, which many schools may not have.
There are a variety of online resources available for raising awareness of online nangers. Many schools mention these in their communications to familyies, but it is dificult to know whither soch Resources are being used.
Children should be protected, but this protection needs a balanced approach to data monitoring, rather than rapacious internet monitoring in schools that normalies the idea of continuous surveillance.
What education is a government-level policy [for a] Uniform Level of Connection, “Says tankard. It. Education doesn'T have anthing like that. “
The department for education was approached for comment, but did not respond.
