Face identification, thumbprint ids, fit bit calculations are very useful for our Smartphones, exercise, and sleep patterns, but how can these things be used in schools?
With the rise of school security issues, many districts are trying to find more secure systems. The Kenai Peninsula School District(KPBSD) uses a surveillance system called Milesone Xprotect. This system has the capacity to integrate hand geometry, fingerprints, and iris identification. So far the school district has not implemented these features as it is currently cost prohibitive. They are, however, looking at more affordable options such as ID card readers for building access in conjunction with the surveillance cameras that capture live footage to match against IDs as well as back up saved footage for review. The features of the Milestone Xprotect would match the scanned ID of the person entering the building with the footage. The conversations that might come from this is, how do parents gain access to their kids? What happens if the school secretary is not in the office to let someone in?
Outside of security issues biometrics could be used for school lunch programs, access to computers, assessment security, attendance, measured physical activity to optimize brain function, efficiency statistics (how much time was spent on each assigned task), etc. So what is the cost of these luxuries?
Casey Olson (KPBSD Programmer/Analyst) says a practical way to consider integrating biometrics at some point in the future is by having these conversations as more computers in the district have this capacity already built in. The rotation cycle for KPBSD is normally to rotate 1/3 of the computers at a set number of schools each year, with the average age of a computer being 5-6 years. Olson says that many of the current computers have biometric capabilities, but they have not been activated because it requires accurate data points associated with each students’ account that would be entered by trained personnel. As newer models with these features are purchased, it would be more plausible to implement such features, but all students would have to have parental consent and availability to opt out.
References:
Olson, Casey. Personal Interview, January 29, 2019.
aksoldotnaedtech 
Hi Heather!
My district is actually using biometrics for our lunch program (finger scans). It has definitely sped the process up (when the technology is working flawlessly – which the first year it wasn’t but we’re three years in with this process now). I have had several parents opt their children out of this though because they don’t want their identifying features kept in a database. I understand that as parent there may be security concerns about protecting their child’s personal information.I like your comment in your blog about using it for computer access. Computer access has been a hot topic in our district with fears of accessing inappropriate sites, materials, cyber bullying, etc. have been strong points in limiting access. Others have argued that we shouldn’t restrict information but rather teach students to use these resources responsibly. The end result is that it’s agreed that are good points all around. I could see biometrics as a potential solution. I think that biometrics will definitely have a strong presence in our schools in the future, but cost and security will be hurdles that need to be overcome.
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Holly,
That is awesome that your food services use finger scans and that your staff is open to conversations about ethical issues in technology. Our IT department has a list of sites which are blocked and student friendly. Currently, it would cost prohibitive to replace nonbiometric ready devices, but as the cycle of new computers are updated all will automatically have this feature and the advancement of biometrics will take momentum.
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My Surface uses facial recognition. I do not know how good it is, but biometrics will definitely become used much more in the future. Nice blog.
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I have tested my out on my dell laptop and it works 95% of the time…….It doesn’t like if I don’t wear my glasses. Within 5 years, I believe we are going to see it in every classroom.
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I wonder how to get students and parents to buy-in to using biometrics in the school. Our school district recently got a fingerprint scanner for the lunch program and there was quite a bit of hesitation and resistance. On another note, I was amazed to see that video you posted was from 2009. Ten years old?! I’m surprised schools were moving to biometric data that long ago.
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There are already safeguards in place to protect privacy I’ve information of students and Families using Biometrics in various other technology equipment. one option that might be helpful for bigger by and is to use Biometrics as a reward system example it can be used to enter home games for free before prom after prom school dances or other activities. Disney uses biometrics for every person who enters each of the parks because people want to go and play they don’t hesitate using their fingerprint to access their gateway to fun.
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When I started reading this blog post, I kept thinking about how to communicate this to parents. I can see a lot of parents getting upset if the information isn’t relayed in the proper way.
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Absolutely, I believe that it is our professional responsibility to work with the IT department within our school districts and institutions so they understand the laws that protect them and how this information can be used. This should be provided in many places: a hardcopy that might go home, on the schools website there should be a link to privacy laws using biometrics, the school district should also have such policies and the educators and administrators should have adequate training and Verbiage to articulate with great clarity the concerns parents. Also any family has the option of opting out of such programs if they do not wish to use biometrics with their child.
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Good evening Katie another great post! So I my week 5 post was on a technology called iBeacon which could be a more subtle way to track to track attendance. I get the parent perception hurdle is a big one to overcome and even have my own reservations around collecting Biometric data “enmasse”. Apple Inc introduced the Touch ID in 2013 and has become ubiquitous along with other phone manufacture as a secure way to access devices. Fast forward to 2018 and it has been replaced by Face ID recognition by Apple and onscreen fingerprint ID in Android devices. The truth is that anything can be hacked and potentially could be at some point too many examples exist already. Should we be cautious with it comes to students? I was unaware of the KPBSD implementing XProtect, but I can say with a loaded handgun found in a student back pack at Rogers Park Elementary last week, we need tech to solve these problems. I am a huge fan of the in-school learning experience and wonder if we are marching inexorably towards a future to create safe learning environments that will need to take schools completely online?
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I’m not sure that we are solely looking at online learning as the safest environment to school our children but it does provide a lot of flexibility under budget cuts to supplement courses parents find attractive to be made available for their children. I do believe technology might need to be embraced more fully to insure safety of our children through biometrics or Security resources. As an early childhood specialist I believe that we need to invest more time and active listening, positive communication, self-regulation and coping skills along with developmentally appropriate opportunities to play and use imagination. I believe through attachment relationships and positive environments in schooling we could see a huge change in this deficit of empathy and perspective taking in our society.
***This response has been done using voice typing due to surgery on my right arm and inability to use that arm .
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Cybernetic Katie! I agree with you there is no replacement for human interactions between class peers and educators. I definitely believe that the mode and means of learning empathy is transforming as a result of online behavior. I find it both fascinating and a bit scary as the world grows smaller, and any one particular opinion can go viral.
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