Opinions about school monitoring software?
Hello! My name is Cate Charron, and I'm a reporter for the Indianapolis Star. I've been recently researching the widespread use of school surveillance software that tracks Indiana K-12 students down to the keystroke on school devices and accounts on private devices during and after school.
If you're wondering if your school has this type of tech, multiple studies and my reporting show it's actually rare that a school doesn't have some sort of monitoring. Some of these companies go by Securly, Gaggle, GoGuardian, LineWize and Lightspeed.
Also, often, these contracts cost schools about $30,000 a year, but some Indiana districts pay double, triple or quadruple that for additional tracking bells and whistles. Some organizations, including the ACLU and the Center for Democracy and Technology, say that is a high price for largely unproven technology that may be violating students' free speech and privacy rights.
So why am I posting here? I want to know what you think about this technology. Do you think this is an invasion of privacy, or is this a necessary and expected technology to keep kids safe? Do you or your student know that your school is tracking students so closely? I want to hear any and all opinions on the topic.
If you have any thoughts about this technology (or would like to learn more first before chatting), you can reach out to me over direct message or you can send me an email at ccharron@indystar.com.