The Tiger Print — April 2006

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April 14, 2006 Vol. 35 Issue 8 6001 W. 159th Stilwell, Kan. 66085

tiger print

How does your room stack up? Teens furnish rooms with all the necessities. See pages 12-14.

Blue Valley High School

District tests internet monitoring programs Three programs being tested to monitor student internet activity ellen thomas

opinions editor

T

he Blue Valley school district is currently appraising new software programs that would allow teachers to monitor students’ computers from a remote location. “What we are doing right now is trying out applications that would allow teachers in computer labs to monitor activities,” technology integration specialist Mark Klopfenstein said, “and if necessary, block certain applications or websites that are deemed inappropriate or anti-educational.” Currently the district is testing the programs AristroClass, Webapps School and Vision in all Blue Valley high schools. At Blue Valley High School, the software is being tested only in the computer labs and the library. No date has been set for when it can be expected. “What’s happening now is three different programs are being tried in all four high schools, and we are getting feedback from the teachers,” Klopfenstein said. With the proposed system, the district would be able to see everything that a student has on his or her screen at any give time. “It’s not supposed to be only punitive. It’s supposed to be for productivity,” Klopfenstein said. “We want them to

Today juniors and seniors work around the city doing community service. Some places include the Wilderness Science Center, Overland Park Police Department and St. Joseph Health Center.

be doing what the teachers instructed them to do while using the computers.” The Olathe and Shawnee Mission school districts have already been using one of the programs Blue Valley is looking at, according to Klopfenstein. “We are one of the few districts of our size, I would say, that does not already have a uniform policy on this,” Klopfenstein said. While teachers may not have the ability to control students’ computers now, the district as already set up other forms of computer monitoring, “There’s a lot of different monitoring going on,” {computer specialist} Jeff McCright said. “We have web monitoring so we can see who’s going where on the web, inappropriate sites and things of that nature.” The district is looking into a computer monitoring system for legal purposes, as well as educational. “If a student goes to an inappropriate website, that puts the district in a legal situation,” McCright said. “If the parents find out, they may want to sue the district for allowing their child to go to a website they would not have allowed their child to go to at home.” Even with the possibility of the district reading personal e-mail, privacy is not legally breeched with the system. “Students sign an acceptable use policy at the beginning of the year and turn it in,” Klopfenstein said.

Students work, give back to community for service day matt killen

staff reporter

B

y the time you pick up this paper, all seniors and juniors will have already left the building. That’s right folks; it’s community service day again at BV. Today hundreds of Tigers are out helping the community in one way or another, and for most, community service day is a chance to have fun and help out the Kansas City Area. “I think community service is a good time to bond with your classmates as well as help the community before you leave,” senior Greg Allen said. BV seniors and juniors could pick between 25 organizations to go to, ranging from the Kansas City Zoo to the Overland Park Police Department. The number of people per group varies, with 10 (ReDiscover) being the lowest, and 100 (KC Zoo) being the highest. Other activities include the “I Can Ride” Therapeutic Riding Center, which requires the students to paint fences. Elsewhere, students will be cleaning police cars, making new trails, picking up litter and interacting with nursing home residents. Members of the jazz band will even put on a free concert. Many students chose where to go based on friends or how exciting the activity sounded. “I chose the Wilderness science center because it sounded like fun,” junior Morgan Snell said. Students chose their destinations from March 23 through March 31, with seniors getting the first pick. This year the students registered online for the first time thanks to seniors Scott Cummings, Steven Wallace and Tom Peterman, who created the register system. The new system helps by making the choices quick and easy to tabulate, not to mention that none of the ballots get lost. “You instantly know where you going, everything is left up to you, you get your first choice,” tech lab supervisor Connie Snodgrass said.


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