Ever since the beginning of this century, thousands of schools have begun to use biometric devices. Students at these schools use biometric thumbprint devices to check into class and to buy lunch. School administrators will try to back up this policy by stating how it helps fight truancy by keeping better attendance. They also mention the need to track subsidized lunches, speed up lunch, and to replace library cards.
The problem is many schools fail to address the overwhelming number of concerns of these devices in a reasonable manner. Many parents are rightfully concerned of identity theft of their children. Federal Privacy laws protect student information from simply being given away, but many parents and privacy experts are worried companies managing school computer networks using this information to create marketing databases to track consumers. Other concerns include the cleanliness of using these devices.
Suppose a child is last to eat lunch in a school using biometric thumbprint scanners. He places his thumb where hundreds of other students who could be sick did. Next he places the same thumb on the food he eats. Who is going to regulate if all of the hundreds of students before washed their hands after using the restroom. The use of biometric devices in schools is the worst place for it, and simply gross.
It is obvious that the benefits justified by school administrators are outweighed by the risks. Even if the schools offer the option of ID cards instead, the risks of some students using the system is too high. This use of biometric devices has many parents and experts concerned that policies like these are brainwashing students to expect no privacy in the future. This and other infringements (The Patriot Act) on our disappearing American freedoms look like the beginning of future such as the one in George Orwell's 1984 novel. Whether policies could be the start of a future with no privacy or not, it is important to stop schools and universities from using biometric devices.
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1665119,00.html
I like your comparison to 1984. Very fitting.
ReplyDeleteMy school did not have any biometric devices installed, and everything worked just fine. I feel that, while we should include more advanced technology in our school systems and such, this is not a step in the right direction. I think the line is blurred about what is necessary and what makes your school more "cutting-edge" when it comes to things like this... and most schools would rather be "cutting-edge" over practical.
Besides, making personal information like that available on a network, also makes it available to hackers/crackers and, as you mentioned, identity theft and the like.
I agree that biometrics would be the way to go in the future or within a school where thousands of students pass through the line everyday. This would help the lunch line moving rather quickly and keep a steady flow.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand I feel that a school with less than a thousand this would not be as beneficial. Most schools have a schedule set up to divide the lunch sessions into three plus lunches that way the students can all get through the line in a timely manner.
I'm not as worried about the identity theft of the younger children as the older more established students. I mean if a hacker were to take advantage and hack into a ten year old's identity than he or she has not done the proper homework needed to be a successful identity thief.
In my opinion, your comparison to 1984 is not fitting for this subject. 1984 more focuses on surveillance by using the cameras and so on than biometric devices. Biometric device could make management easier. Teachers do not have to call students’ name to check attendance and students do not have to wait for his or her turn to use student card or credit/debit card. The biometric device will allow more comfortable life. On the other hand, there are also some defects. As you told, children are so easy to be contaminated and people who have a dishonest motive such as a cracker can use the other’s information to make their own profit. After working out a countermeasure, the biometric device must be used in the education.
ReplyDeleteI agree that biometrics would be beneficial in the future for different places to use, but not for schools. You brought up a very good point when mentioning that this could cause much contamination among students. I think that simply having an I.D. with a barcode to identify students is simply the best way to monitor attendance and the purchasing of meals. With students having their own personal I.D.'s this will eliminate the scare of illness that could be caused by biometrics (fingerprint scanning).
ReplyDeleteI do not think I would have liked to the biometric devices. The foremost reason is the one you gave. You have no idea where other students hands have bee, thus causing me to be a little squeamish. The reference to 1984 is not completely relevant but it does have some truth to it. The scanners would have the ability to track where you go, so the people running the programs will know where you have been.
ReplyDelete