CITYWIDE Music player. Miniature television. Cheating device?
The ever-evolving, ever-versatile iPod just might be the perfect toy for conniving students.
Mountain View High School in Meridian, Idaho, made national headlines recently when its administrators issued a directive to teachers that students would not be allowed to use their iPods during tests.
The order came after a teacher at Mountain View overhead students saying they could use their iPods to cheat on tests.
Students can utilize the digital devices to cheat in several ways — uploading a document counting the answers, or even vocally record the answers and play it back on their iPods during a test.
The school has not officially caught any students red-handed.
Though no incidents of cheating via iPod or other digital music player has been recorded in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, it could very well be just one more unexpected challenge the Board of Education and administrators face as schools continue to embrace technology.
It was in January when SMMUSD officials learned of student-made videos on YouTube.com — uploaded videos that poked fun at other students and teachers at Malibu High School. The videos were taped on school grounds with cell phone cameras.
The incident prompted members of the Board of Education to ponder drafting a policy regarding technology use and abuse on local campuses.
At this juncture, administrators are not considering banning any music players or other technological devices, which are already prohibited from being used in the classroom. The policy that is currently being drafted outlines student obligation and responsibilities when it comes to technology and use of the Internet, according to Dr. Chiung “Sally” Chou, the district’s chief academic officer.
“You need to put out guidelines so (students) know what the parameters are first,” Chou said on Thursday. “Students here are very smart about what they need to do.”
Schools first got a taste of things to come regarding technology when they received reports of so-called “cyber bullying” in the past few years on MySpace, a social networking Web site popular among teenagers and young adults.
“There are a lot of problems that I think school districts don’t really have the answer for right now,” said School Board Vice President Oscar de la Torre on Thursday. “It’ll be a process for us to determine what the best course of action is.”
With a new hot technological gadget being put out on the market seemingly every month, administrators will need to find a way to “respect privacy rights, but also protect the integrity of the public education process,” de la Torre said.
One way administrators are keeping up with technology is training, paid for by technology grants the school district receives, Chou said.
“We need to be aware of students’ use of technology and, at the same time, how we can effectively use technology to enhance teaching and learning,” Chou said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 4, 2007. Read the original PDF.