Right: Those who show up: is electronic ''marking of rolls'' in schools invasive, or just more efficient?.
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Arguments in favour of using facial recognition cameras in schools
1. Facial recognition technology can efficiently and ongoingly monitor student attendance
All Australian schools are required by law to mark rolls through the day, to monitor attendance and to seek and record reasons for student absence from parents. There are similar requirements of schools in other jurisdictions around the world. One of the purposes for which facial recognition cameras are currently being used in schools is to monitor student attendance. Advocates of this system claim it is accurate, time-saving and gives an ongoing record of which students are on campus and in class. It can also be used to check student attendance during off-campus activities.
One of the manufacturers of these facial recognition programs, LoopLearn, has stated, 'Small, unobtrusive LoopLearn Devices are easily installed in all spaces and observe which students are present - displaying this information in an easy to use web dashboard and mobile app...Made for the classroom, these devices scan your learning spaces in real time providing detailed attendance data down to the minute.'
Another manufacturer of this technology, Ayra Analytics, has described the utility of its product in this way: 'Our team is currently solving one of the big challenges of student management - tracking attendance. Manually checking off names on a register is time-consuming for teachers and is prone to errors. After putting our collective heads together, we hit upon the perfect solution - facial recognition!
We initiated this technology using Python OpenCV, which is an image processing library that can be processed with pictures and video. The student pictures are saved in the library. School cameras are then able to sync with this image library to match student faces to the pre-loaded pictures, which happens via advanced machine learning algorithms.
This sophisticated technology can also be applied to identify students on school buses, to cut down on truancy.'
One of the Victorian schools trialling facial recognition for roll marking is Ballarat Clarendon College. The College's acting principal, Shaune Moloney, has claimed that this technology allowed staff a chance to respond quicker to class absences in what was a duty of care, allowed them to know students were safe through the school day and to monitor more easily those who needed to leave early.
Mr Moloney said teachers no longer needing to take the roll helped to free up valuable teaching time in the classroom for carefully planned lessons. He also noted the technology would help eliminate the need for teachers to update the roll for late students.
In July, 2014, the International Journal of Advances in Engineering & Technology, published a favourable evaluation of the use of facial recognition software in Indian schools and universities for monitoring student attendance. The article stated, 'When it comes to schools and universities, the attendance monitoring system is a great help for parents and teachers both. Parents are never uninformed of the dependability of their children in the class if the university is using an attendance monitoring system...With the monitoring system in place, the information can easily be printed or a soft copy can be sent directly to parents in their personal email accounts.'
2. Facial recognition technology can increase student safety
One of the main arguments used to justify the use of facial recognition cameras in schools is that they help to create a safe school environment. According to this argument, facial recognition cameras can inhibit anti-social behaviour among students and can help identify and thus protect against dangerous intruders.
On May 19, 2016, School Governance published a comment by Craig D'Cruz, the National Education Consultant at CompliSpace, an Australian provider of Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) programs and services. D'Cruz stated, 'One of the prime objectives for Australian schools is to ensure that they provide a stable, safe and secure teaching and learning environment for their students and teachers. The development and maintenance of this environment often results in the promotion of a safety culture that is often identified in orderly and disciplined schools.'
D'Cruz went on to argue that surveillance technology can be an important part of promoting a safe environment within schools. He stated, 'The use of this technology can enhance the perception of safety amongst students and staff, can protect school property against acts of vandalism and can aid in the identification of perpetrators of crimes and anti-social behaviour. Security experts in schools that use surveillance technologies comment that students and teachers seem to appreciate the increased sense of security and peace of mind. Research also suggests that although cameras are generally passive, information about their presence quickly becomes apparent throughout the school and the wider community. Schools advise that the school community feels safer knowing that potential perpetrators will be scared off by the presence of cameras before committing an offence.'
It has further been noted that facial recognition cameras can help protect students against dangerous intruders. The trend toward the use of facial recognition cameras for this purpose has been particularly pronounced in the United States as a means of helping to prevent school shootings.
On June 8, 2018, Ed Scoop published an analysis by Emily Tate of the use of technology in United States schools for security purposes. Tate noted the more frequent employment of 'high-tech systems to increase security, such as mobile apps that allow real-time head counts during emergency situations, facial recognition technology that identifies individuals who have been placed on a school's "blacklist" and tools that recognize and alert officials to exposed guns.'
Referring to the facial recognition cameras being used in New York's Lockport High School, its manufacturers, SN Tech notes, '[It] alerts school staff to any unwanted individuals on school property when those individuals' faces come into view of one of the 300 high-resolution digital cameras on Lockport's premises. The list includes registered sex offenders and anyone with a violent criminal conviction, but it may also extend to students who have been suspended or expelled, employees who have been fired, parents who have lost custody or anyone else who may pose a threat and whose photo has been programmed into the system.'
3. Facial recognition technology can help teachers monitor student engagement
Another area where facial recognition technology has been claimed to be of benefit to schools is in the monitoring of student engagement.
Ellucian, an education technology company which operates in nearly 50 countries around the world, actively promotes the use of facial recognition cameras to 'enhance the student experience.' The Ellucian Internet site states, 'Facial recognition technology can be programmed to recognise a wide range of nonverbal expressions and emotions. Through this, a professor can assess the emotion levels of the class to determine the parts of his lecture that are the most exciting and engaging, or where students' attention appears to diminish. In this way, every unique face can function like a uniquely identifiable thumbprint that also speaks, through verbal and nonverbal data.'
The site further explains, 'As class-engagement data of this sort comes in, week to week and semester to semester, faculty and administrators can partner to build new data models that unlock powerful insights into how students learn, what methods are most effective, and what differentiates great classes (and great teachers) from less-effective learning experiences.
Furthermore, as a student matriculates toward graduation one semester at a time, aggregate data can perhaps be used to discover learning strengths and areas of concern, enabling more tailored learning experiences that can lead each student to better outcomes.'
This technology has begun to be used in some Chinese schools. It has been reported that the technology scans classrooms at Hangzhou No. 11 High School every 30 seconds and records students' facial expressions, categorising them into happy, angry, fearful, confused or upset. The system also records student actions such as writing, reading, raising a hand, and sleeping at a desk.
The information collected by this system is analysed and reported to teachers so they can better supervise the performance of their students. Zhang Guanchao, the school's vice principal, that the system can help teachers rethink their teaching method using statistical data.
An unnamed student was quoted as saying, 'Beforehand in some classes that I didn't like much, sometimes I would be lazy and do things like take naps on the desk or flick through other textbooks. Since the school has introduced these cameras, it is like there are a pair of mystery eyes constantly watching me, and I don't dare let my mind wander.' The unnamed student added he felt everyone's concentration had improved.
4. Facial recognition technology is favoured by many parents
Supporters of the introduction of facial recognition cameras into schools for security purposes argue that this technology is generally valued by parents as an important means of keeping children safe, especially from attacks from intruders at their schools.
The parent-supported use of facial recognition technology in a number of United States schools has been used to demonstrate parents' acceptance of such programs. Since March, 2017, Seattle's private elementary University Child Development School (UCDS), has used a facial recognition system, Secure, Accurate Facial Recognition (SAFR), to control the entry and exit of parents who come to pick up or drop off their children.
The system acts as an automatic doorman for parents and staff members - if a parent's face is recognized by the camera mounted above the front gate, the door opens, largely removing the need for someone inside the school to answer a buzzer. The school sent out information about the system to parents and gave them the option of adding their face to the machine's database, which about 300 parents and caregivers have done.
Parent Ana Hedrick, whose daughter attends the school, has stated that the use the SAFR technology to recognize a great number of individuals makes her feel more secure about her child's attendance at University Child Development School. Hedick stated, 'It's very convenient. It feels safe.'
This opinion was reiterated by another mother whose children attended the University Child Development School, who stated, 'Feeling like my kids are safe here is huge.'
A similar reaction has been recorded from David Weil, the director of an after-school recreation centre in Bloomington, Indiana. The centre has installed a system that logs thousands of visitors' faces - alongside their names, phone numbers and other personal details - and checks them against a regularly updated blacklist of sex offenders and unwanted guests. Weil, whose granddaughter attends the centre he directs, has stated, 'Some parents still think it's kind of "1984".?A lot of people are afraid we're getting too much information. .?.?. But the biggest thing for us is that we protect our kids.'
In 2014, St. Mary's High School in St. Louis because one of the first schools in the United States to install facial recognition cameras to help guarantee its students' safety. The school's president, Mike England, has stated, 'When Parkland [an area which suffered a student mass shooting on February 14, 2018] happened, I was watching it on the TV going, "Boy, I'm glad we have what we have." Some people were saying we would be violating privacy laws, and my answer to all of them is: That's really not my biggest concern right now. .?.?. I'm going to do whatever I need to do to keep my kids safe.'
The support of other parents for the security program operating at St. Mary's High School was indicated in an article published in the St Louis Post-Dispatch on March 9, 2015. One of the parents, Mary Pat Banach, whose 16-year-old son, Michael, attended St. Mary's, was quoted as saying that the cameras offered 'comfort', not a sense of confinement. She stated she had watched the company install the equipment from inside the school gift shop, where she volunteers, and concluded, 'I've always felt safe on campus, but it is just something that makes you feel comfortable because with any school, you just never know what could happen.'
5. Facial recognition technology need not infringe student privacy
Many supporters of the use of facial recognition technology in schools, including those who manufacture the systems, argue that it can be used in a way that does impinge upon student privacy.
RealNetworks, the developers of the SAFR facial recognition systems recommend a set of steps to ensure that clients' (including students') privacy and autonomy is respected. They stress, 'The first element of proper facial recognition implementation is clear and transparent communication with stakeholders-including parents, staff and students-at the early stages of consideration. Soliciting thoughts and concerns from the community before any systems are installed improves the chances of a smooth and successful deployment.
Once the decision to implement a facial recognition system has been discussed and approved, all stakeholders should be notified, preferably in writing or via email, of the upcoming installation and told precisely what data will be collected and how it will be used.
Schools should take a thoughtful approach regarding camera placement. This includes avoiding putting cameras in areas likely to be considered sensitive, such as restrooms, locker rooms, classrooms, nurses' offices, or guidance counsellor offices. Once systems are installed, notice should be clearly posted wherever cameras are present.'
RealNetworks then recommends, 'To meet Privacy by Design principles and legal requirements, schools should obtain explicit consent prior to collecting biometric data. A sign stating, "By entering these premises, you agree to being photographed" is not sufficient. Explicit consent means that a person needs to "opt in" or "say yes" before agreeing. If there are parties who are underage, an appropriate guardian can opt in on their behalf.
Explicit consent also requires that the school be clear about what they are doing, why they are doing it and what is being done with the data. Again, signage assuming consent fails to meet this standard. An example of explicit consent could be a signed document reading, "I agree to be recorded so that my face can be matched to a database of people allowed to enter this campus. I understand that my data will not be shared with any third parties and will not be retained for more than one year." Consent can be revoked when a user deletes his or her account, or sends in a form stating consent has been withdrawn. Upon withdrawal, all data of that individual should be immediately removed from the system and destroyed.'
A further element of privacy protection that RealNetworks emphasise is data security. RealNetworks states, 'When a new security system has been implemented, staff, students, and visitors may expect that the school is taking care to protect their data and privacy. To meet this expectation, schools need to have modern security protections in place.
RealNetworks provides several options to support secure data storage, with options for storage at the school or managed in the cloud. Having multiple options for data security ensures flexibility for the school, and protection for the user. The data is also password-protected, encrypted, and can only be accessed by a select group of authorized users.'