Student Monitoring Software Poses Student Risk

Sep 21, 2021, 7:12 PM

(From The 74 Million) Tools that monitor students’ online behavior have become ubiquitous in K-12 schools, but a majority of parents and teachers believe the benefits of such digital surveillance outweigh the risks, according to research from the Center for Democracy & Technology, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C. The research was compiled based on surveys of students, parents, and teachers and was combined with in-depth interviews with school district staff that provided further insight. The new data also showed that a majority of students reported that they do not share their true thoughts online because they know they are being monitored. The findings additionally included concerns from parents and teachers that monitoring could have unintended consequences like 'outing' LGBTQ+ students.