Yes, Teachers Can Now See & Control Your Laptop Screens- Any Time, Any Place
As of this week, teachers are being trained to use "Lightspeed Classroom Management," a software that allows them to not only see students' laptop screens, but also control them remotely.
According to the company that created it, Lightspeed Systems, the program aims to,
"Enhance the interactive classroom experience for any learning environment. Lightspeed Classroom Management gives teachers real-time visibility of student activity and control over their online workspaces. Teachers can see student screens, close distracting tabs, and push URLs to all students to keep students focused on exactly the right content—precisely when they’re supposed to be."
Even at home, students’ laptops will still be accessible to school staff, according to a "Frequently Asked Questions" section on their website, Lightspeed Systems adds that,
"Yes. Lightspeed Classroom Management is cloud-based, so it can work on devices at anytime, anywhere. Since we understand the importance of data privacy, admins can set the classroom management system to be used on devices at home or only on campus, as well as allowed hours."
This change is sure to upset many students, but school staff may have a different view. One anonymous teacher said,
“I think cell phones are always going to be a problem- I think it’ll work to a certain extent, but I think it’s going to be interesting to see what the county does with cell phone policy next year. Because I think they’re going to . . . do something like Loudoun County [that] basically received parental support, because that’s where you need to go, a cell phone policy has been debated in Prince William County and it’s the parents that really are against [it.] So, until you do that, you’re really not going to prevent the distractions. That’s my humble opinion from what I know about it so far.”
However, students may have concerns for their privacy. On whether they felt it was an invasion of students’ privacy, one freshman said,
Yes, but no. It’s not an invasion of privacy because the laptops aren’t ours in the first place, so we’re not supposed to have privacy on these laptops- but it’s uncomfortable to know that I’m always being watched . . . I remember when this first [started,] I opened a google tab and my teacher got mad at me.
Regardless of our opinions as students, this change is on track to be implemented across the district. It is yet to be seen how parents will react, and if their voices may have more of an impact.
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