Now Schools Are Worried About Camera Phones

from the easy-come...-easy-go dept

In the last few years, many high schools started changing their policies on mobile phones. For years, they were banned in schools. However, following events like Columbine and September 11th, many parents wanted their kids to have mobile phones, in case of emergency. Thus, the schools caught up with the times and changed the rules. However, now some are rethinking the issue because they never thought far enough ahead to consider what happens when a camera gets added to the phone. Like many other locations, they're worried about privacy issues of kids snapping pictures in the locker room, but they're also worried about kids cheating via camera phones. Again, banning the phones completely seems like an over-reaction to the problem. It's not the phones, themselves, that are the problem - but the misuse of those phones. Kids are always going to come up with new ways to cheat and teachers should be made aware of the potential here. How hard is it for a teacher to simply tell students that no camera phones are allowed out during an exam? Sure, some students will probably sneak them out, but it's easier to spot. Meanwhile, students are always going to be one step ahead of teachers when it comes to cheating. It's just up to the teacher to be aware of the possibilities and to watch out for them.