Record-Journal
09-28-2007, 01:34 AM
At a time when many in Connecticut are worrying about laptop security, schools that provide students and staff with the mobile computers are not.
Edison Middle School, a magnet school run by Area Cooperative Educational Services, gives all its teachers and students laptops, which they take home every day. Gregory J. Dandio, ACES chief technology officer, said 900 laptops are distributed each year.
Edison is in the fourth year of its one-on-one laptop initiative. Dandio said only three laptops have not been returned to the school in that time and only a small number have been severely damaged.
Several computers suffered incidental damaged, he said, adding that many things can happen to computers in a middle school environment.
“That’s just the name of the game,” Dandio said.
Wallingford schools provide laptops to all teachers.
Randall Backus, director of information technology services for Wallingford schools, said some of the roughly 600 laptops given to teachers get stolen, but the thefts are few. He did not have an exact figure available.
Similar to the Edison staff, Wallingford teachers take their laptops home over summer vacation. Any sensitive information, however, is not saved on the hard drives, but rather in folders on main networks.
“There isn’t any sensitive information on the laptops,” Backus said of Wallingford’s computers.
Wallingford schools monitor laptop security continuously, Backus said. Teachers are often reminded to take their machines home at the end of each day, and the district has looked at computer software that would add a security lockdown feature to the laptops.
Backus said the software ultimately was cost prohibitive.
Edison does not have computer software to protect the laptops it distributes, Dandio said, but all computers are password protected.
The computers are designed to “lock down” if the computer cover is closed. The laptops in a computer lab at the school, however, are equipped with a Deep Freeze program that ensures consistency on each machine, he said.
To physically secure laptops when students are in a class such as gym, or when they are eating lunch in the cafeteria, there are storage carts in school hallways.
“We really try to work with students and instill in them responsibility,” Principal Karen Habegger said.
Because Edison gives its laptops to students, Edison and ACES are also concerned about what students view on their machines. But Robert D. Parker, ACES marketing and public information officer, said Edison acts quickly when incidents arise.
As an example, he cited an incident thatoccurred last week.
In the course of handing out new laptops to students, Edison administrators learned Sept. 20 that a staff member had inadvertently sent an e-mail to sixth-graders on a listserve.
Staff immediately halted laptop distribution and took back any of the computers that were already distributed so the e-mail could be deleted.
Staff also had to search all the other computer hard drives to make sure the e-mail was not sent to students in other grades, he said. The whole process took about a day.
“It was a precautionary measure,” Habegger said.
School officials would not reveal the content of the e-mail.
“It was kind of a computer glitch,” Parker said.
The staff member who sent the e-mail was not disciplined, but Parker said staff is now more aware of the problems that can arise when corresponding via e-mail. Edison is continuing to review its listserve process, he said.
As with teachers and students, others are also starting to rely on laptop computers for daily use, and there have been some problems reported.
Laptop computers were recently stolen from Meriden City Hall and Cheshire High School.
More than two dozen computers have been reported stolen from state government offices, classrooms and employee vehicles and their homes since July 2006. That number includes a state Department of Revenue Services computer containing the names and social security numbers of more than 100,000 Connecticut taxpayers.
Local and state government officials appear to be more worried about laptop security.
Many public agencies are looking to create policies for laptop users, and some are researching security features that could make laptops more secure.
Edison Middle School, a magnet school run by Area Cooperative Educational Services, gives all its teachers and students laptops, which they take home every day. Gregory J. Dandio, ACES chief technology officer, said 900 laptops are distributed each year.
Edison is in the fourth year of its one-on-one laptop initiative. Dandio said only three laptops have not been returned to the school in that time and only a small number have been severely damaged.
Several computers suffered incidental damaged, he said, adding that many things can happen to computers in a middle school environment.
“That’s just the name of the game,” Dandio said.
Wallingford schools provide laptops to all teachers.
Randall Backus, director of information technology services for Wallingford schools, said some of the roughly 600 laptops given to teachers get stolen, but the thefts are few. He did not have an exact figure available.
Similar to the Edison staff, Wallingford teachers take their laptops home over summer vacation. Any sensitive information, however, is not saved on the hard drives, but rather in folders on main networks.
“There isn’t any sensitive information on the laptops,” Backus said of Wallingford’s computers.
Wallingford schools monitor laptop security continuously, Backus said. Teachers are often reminded to take their machines home at the end of each day, and the district has looked at computer software that would add a security lockdown feature to the laptops.
Backus said the software ultimately was cost prohibitive.
Edison does not have computer software to protect the laptops it distributes, Dandio said, but all computers are password protected.
The computers are designed to “lock down” if the computer cover is closed. The laptops in a computer lab at the school, however, are equipped with a Deep Freeze program that ensures consistency on each machine, he said.
To physically secure laptops when students are in a class such as gym, or when they are eating lunch in the cafeteria, there are storage carts in school hallways.
“We really try to work with students and instill in them responsibility,” Principal Karen Habegger said.
Because Edison gives its laptops to students, Edison and ACES are also concerned about what students view on their machines. But Robert D. Parker, ACES marketing and public information officer, said Edison acts quickly when incidents arise.
As an example, he cited an incident thatoccurred last week.
In the course of handing out new laptops to students, Edison administrators learned Sept. 20 that a staff member had inadvertently sent an e-mail to sixth-graders on a listserve.
Staff immediately halted laptop distribution and took back any of the computers that were already distributed so the e-mail could be deleted.
Staff also had to search all the other computer hard drives to make sure the e-mail was not sent to students in other grades, he said. The whole process took about a day.
“It was a precautionary measure,” Habegger said.
School officials would not reveal the content of the e-mail.
“It was kind of a computer glitch,” Parker said.
The staff member who sent the e-mail was not disciplined, but Parker said staff is now more aware of the problems that can arise when corresponding via e-mail. Edison is continuing to review its listserve process, he said.
As with teachers and students, others are also starting to rely on laptop computers for daily use, and there have been some problems reported.
Laptop computers were recently stolen from Meriden City Hall and Cheshire High School.
More than two dozen computers have been reported stolen from state government offices, classrooms and employee vehicles and their homes since July 2006. That number includes a state Department of Revenue Services computer containing the names and social security numbers of more than 100,000 Connecticut taxpayers.
Local and state government officials appear to be more worried about laptop security.
Many public agencies are looking to create policies for laptop users, and some are researching security features that could make laptops more secure.