“The role of technology in K12 education continues to grow, and schools across the U.S. are turning to monitoring technologies to track students’ online activity. Yet, as student activity monitoring has become commonplace, students and parents report concerns about irresponsible uses of these tools even as they recognize their potential benefits.”
That’s according to a new report from the nonprofit Center for Democracy and Technology, which sought to better understand the possible negative implications surrounding student activity monitoring on school-issued devices. Featured in the report are the thoughts and feelings of 20 parents of high school students who have experienced short- and long-term consequences of student activity monitoring tactics used by their schools.
As we enter the 2023-24 school year, here are six “chilling effects” the researchers have identified based on these parents’ responses that K12 administrators and technology leaders should consider:
The most common activity flagged by monitoring software
The respondents raised several concerns over how their child’s device flags certain activities. For instance, students’ device usage was most commonly interrupted when they viewed “inappropriate content.” However, one parent said the software kept their child from doing their school work.
“My son was researching online to write an essay on the pros and cons of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) and its implications,” a parent of a 10th grader said. “He was told that some of the content was inappropriate and would not be allowed. This seems pretty extreme to me as I viewed the materials and there is nothing obscene or even objectionable.”
In another instance, a student’s activity was flagged for accessing websites that promoted conspiracy theories, although it was related to the student’s homework assignment.
How surveillance impacts learning
Several parents mentioned that their school’s monitoring software has adverse effects on how their child navigates online content.
“This included limiting or changing how they communicated with other students and also their teacher, or changing what kinds of content they might engage with online,” the report reads.
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In a similar survey conducted in 2021, the CDT found that nearly 60% of students reported feeling “held back” from saying what they wanted to online because they were being monitored. And the parent interviews in this survey reflect that.
For instance, one parent described an incident in which their child’s online search queries for a research project were “incorrectly flagged” as there was mention of suicide.
“[He was] humiliated, embarrassed, just really frustrated and angry… and he’s like, well, now I’m afraid to talk [or] type anything in, I don’t want the same situation to happen again,” said the 12th-grade student’s parent.
Lingering effects
Not only can the surveillance technology itself pose detrimental effects on a student, but so too can the school’s response to an incident. According to several parents, their school’s response to certain flagged activity was much more severe than the “inappropriate material” that was flagged.
This is even more chilling when the student unknowingly interacts with flagged content, the report declares. One parent’s child had their activity flagged when they researched racism in the U.S.
“We had to go talk to his principal at the time about why he was accessing this material. And, whether he had these beliefs… This kid who does really well in school and hasn’t had other problems… I don’t know if you’ve ever been in the principal’s office, but it was very stressful for him,” said one ninth-grade parent.
Its toll on student-staff relationships
As you may already know, establishing trust with students as an educator is one of the most important aspects of ensuring they feel a sense of welcoming and belonging when they’re in school. However, when students perceive a lack of privacy as a result of their school’s monitoring software, it can negatively impact that trust. This is especially the case when the monitoring is of a surprise to the student.
One parent detailed the aftermath of the discipline their child faced as a result of disciplinary action being taken over flagged activity.
“After that, there were more issues [between my son and] that teacher… it created a bad rapport between the both of them,” the parent said.
Flagged content is not always kept private
The searchers found that how schools handled incidents was often problematic. According to one parent:
“I don’t know how other students found out but there was no confidentiality or privacy,” they said regarding the exposure of their child’s behavior using a school-issued device.
In another case, one teacher called out a student and shared their screen with the class without consent when they were flagged for being off-task during classroom instruction, although the messages were personal and “highly embarrassing for the student.”
A catalyst for negative student behavior
Depending on how a student reacts to receiving an alert on their device, monitoring software can easily escalate the situation. Here’s one common example highlighted in the report that details a harmless mistake that can get out of hand quickly.
“In one case, a student wanted to charge their personal cell phone and so connected it to a school-issued laptop. However, upon connecting, the phone started uploading content to the school laptop. The teacher was informed about potentially inappropriate content on the laptop and asked for the student’s phone. The student, who had no idea that their phone’s content was shared with the laptop, resisted, leading to an argument with the teacher.”
“In retrospect, the student was particularly upset with the teacher’s reaction, in part because they did not know about the monitoring software, and also because they felt that their phone was their personal device. They were eventually sent to the principal, who determined that the flagged content was fine and was not subject to further school action.”
Incidents like this can raise immediate concern among parents surrounding their child’s rights to privacy.
Recommendations for leaders
While student monitoring software is seemingly necessary to ensure the safety and well-being of your students, the researchers offer several recommendations for administrators in order to keep parents in the loop. Here’s what they advise:
- Parents want more transparency about their school’s monitoring technology
- Narrow the scope of student activity monitoring use
- Address alerts and flags responsibly
- Include parents in decisions regarding student activity monitoring
