Hey teachers! Ever thought that the security at your school was lacking the bit of... well security? In my building, school security leaves a little to be desired. Students run halls, sneak into other classrooms, and do things we shouldn't talk about here in the bathrooms.
RFIDs (Radio Frequency Identification Tags) are changing the way that some school districts are thinking about security. Altogether, RFIDs aren't new devices to the tech scene. For years these id tags have been used to track supplies and materials around the world. In fact, the US military uses them to make sure that shipments sent out in, say, San Diego, arrive to, say, Iraq. Similarly, WalMart requires that all of their vendors implement RFIDs into their merchandise.
School systems are waking up to the idea. If students are required to wear an ID badge, schools could track their movements and better ensure their safety. By installing radio signal readers in classrooms, bathrooms, entrances, and hallways that students pass throughout the day, administrators can see how many students are in each classroom, which students might have vandalized the second floor girls bathroom, and whether or not Ms. ---'s last period gym class went outside to play basketball if a parent requested a child for early dismissal.
Just like with everything else, there's some controversy about the legality of tracking movements of youngsters. The ACLU and other consumer advocacy groups contend that RFIDs invade privacy because they could be used to track people. Unfortunately, this is exactly why I want this in my school---to track students down.
Here are some links on the nuts and bolts of RFIDs, arguments for their use, and warnings
against.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNPDgudPmXE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JL3JP1m_Crk
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Interesting -- I never thought to use RFID tags for the school in that manner. I agree that with the problems that you mentioned, it makes total sense for the school to use some sort of tracking mechanism to know what the students are up to. I can definitely see there being a problem with the whole privacy issue. However, maybe if it was known to the students, parents, and community that these tags would only be recognized in the school only during school hours, they might feel better about the issue?
ReplyDeleteWow! How great would it be if we could know where our students are at all times! I can see the debate about invading privacy, but I think the benefit of security and safety outweigh the negatives.
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